Selena Gomez's 'People You Know' Lyrics Seem to Address Her Relationship With Justin Bieber
Selena Gomez has songs on Rare exploring her feelings immediately after her breakup with Justin Bieber. She has songs addressing her life as a single woman. And then she has "People You Know," which seems to poignantly capture the changed relationship between Gomez and an ex post-breakup...or even, more holistically, the lost friendship.
Gomez seems to mourn the decay, singing in the chorus, "We used to be close, but people can go / From people you know to people you don't / And what hurts the most is people can go / From people you know to people you don't."
Bieber and Gomez have a decade's worth of history, of course, so while freedom from their toxic on-off cycle was gained, a lot was lost in their final breakup too. The last thing Bieber said about Gomez publicly was that he stilled loved her, but was married now and chose his wife Hailey Baldwin.
He wrote on Instagram in March, "I absolutely loved and love Selena she will always hold a place in my heart, but I am head over heels in love with my wife and she is absolutely the BEST THING that has ever happened to me period....This is a reply to all immature sick people who send Hailey hurtful messages like ' he always goes back to Selena' or 'Selena is better for him' YOU HAVE NO IDEA MY LIFE AND WHATs good for me. Hailey is my Bride period if you don’t like that or support that that means you don’t support me and if you don’t support me your [sic] not a fan nor a good person."
Gomez, of course, didn't respond to that. She took down her last Instagram of Bieber in June 2019, and in an October 2019 interview, she spoke about how her album reflects where she was, not where she is now. "I’m always going to be honest with people. I’ve never not been," she said of having the courage to share her intimate feelings and personal experiences in her music. "I might not be overly chatty about it all the time, but this is where I’m able to release it. This is where it turns into art." She added, "The biggest topic [of my music] is love and in a way, it’s [the breakup] not something negative. It’s actually something positive that I was able to experience that, as beautiful and ugly as it was. I think it’s beautiful that I’ve been able to turn this into a new chapter."
A source told Us Weekly earlier that month that Gomez was fine not having Bieber in her life anymore. “Selena knows she’s better off without Justin, and that it’s the healthiest decision for her,” a source told the outlet. “She is open to dating, but right now she is solely focused on herself and enjoying life to the best of her ability, and getting back to being the Selena that she and all of her close ones knew prior to dating Justin.”
Here, the lyrics to "People You Know" to analyze, via Genius:
Verse 1:
You are runnin' through me like water
Now the feeling's leavin' me dry
These days, we couldn't be farther
So how’s it feel to be on the other side?
Pre-Chorus:
So many wasted (Wasted)
Nights with (Nights with) you (You)
I still could taste it (Taste it)
I hate it, wish I could take it back 'cause
Chorus:
We used to be close, but people can go
From people you know to people you don't
And what hurts the most is people can go
From people you know to people you don't
We used to be close, but people can go
From people you know to people you don't
And what hurts the most is people can go
From people you know to people you don't
Verse 2:
When it was good, we were on fire
Now I'm breathin' ashes and dust
I always wanna get higher
I never know when enough is enough
Pre-Chorus:
So many wasted (Wasted)
Nights with (Nights with) you (You)
I still could taste it (Taste it)
I hate it, wish I could take it back 'cause
Chorus:
We used to be close, but people can go
From people you know to people you don't
And what hurts the most is people can go
From people you know to people you don't
We used to be close, but people can go
From people you know to people you don't
And what hurts the most is people can go
From people you know to people you don't
Post-Chorus:
Dum-dum-dum, da-da-dum-dum-dum
Da-da-dum-dum, da-da-da-dum
People you don't
Dum-dum-dum, da-da-dum-dum-dum
Da-da-dum-dum, da-da-da-dum
People you don't (Ooh)
From people you know to people you don't (Ooh)
From people you know to people you don't
Chorus:
We used to be close, but people can go
From people you know to people you don't
And what hurts the most is people can go
From people you know to people you don't
We used to be close, but people can go
From people you know to people you don't
And what hurts the most is people can go
From people you know to people you don't
Post-Chorus:
Dum-dum-dum, da-da-dum-dum-dum (Ooh)
Da-da-dum-dum, da-da-dum
From people you know to people you don't
Dum-dum-dum, da-da-dum-dum-dum (Ooh)
Da-da-dum-dum, da-da-dum
From people you know to people you don't
Dum-dum-dum, da-da-dum-dum-dum (Ooh)
Da-da-dum-dum, da-da-dum
From people you know to people you don't
Dum-dum-dum, da-da-dum-dum-dum (Ooh)
Da-da-dum-dum, da-da-dum
From people you know to people you don't
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