 Gotye stated that the song was " definitely drawn from various experiences I 've had in relationships breaking up , and in the parts of the more reflective parts of the song , in the aftermath and the memory of those different relationships and what they were and how they broke up and what 's going on in everyone 's minds . Yeah , so it 's an amalgam of different feelings but not completely made up as such " . In an interview with Rolling Stone ( Australia ) , he described the song as " a curated reflection of multiple past relationships " . 
