Carly Simon reveals who she was singing about in 'You're so Vain'

The singer had a number of romantic attachments during the period the song was released

Carly Simon (AP)

For those of a certain generation, it counts as one of the most tantilising mysteries of pop music; just whom was Carly Simon singing about in her song You're So Vain?

Now, more than 40 years topped the charts with her 1972 hit, the singer has revealed the answer, at least partly.

In an interview with People magazine, the singer said the song about a a self-absorbed lover was based on a composite of three of the men in her life around that time, and that one of them was actor Warren Beatty.

“I have confirmed that the second verse is Warren,” Simon said in an interview to promote her upcoming memoir Boys in the Trees.

The lyrics to the second verse read:

“You had me several years ago when I was still quite naive

“Well you said that we made such a pretty pair

“And that you would never leave

“But you gave away the things you loved and one of them was me

Carly Simon and Warren Beatty (AP)

“I had some dreams, they were clouds in my coffee

“Clouds in my coffee, and…"

Warren Beatty (AP)

Simon, 70, says Beatty, the star of hit movies Bonnie and Clyde and Shampoo, is aware of his role in the song, although, she said: "Warren thinks the whole thing is about him!"

The Associated Press said that Simon, who had romances with singers Mick Jagger and Cat Stevens and actor Jack Nicholson as well as Beatty, has not named other names, but in the past she has said the song was not about her then husband, singer-songwriter James Taylor.

The hit single, with the chorus "You're so vain, you probably think this song is about you," reached the top of the charts in the United States, Canada, Australia and Ireland in 1972 and was Simon's biggest hit.

Simon told People she was struck by the enduring interest in the song's inspiration.

"Why do they want to know?" she said. "It's so crazy!”