Who Knew
by Pink

Album: I'm Not Dead (2006)
Charted: 5 9
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Pink in the London Daily Mail May 26, 2006, said "Who Knew" is about losing a loved one to drugs: "My life was insane, I was (in her youth) out of control and doing lots of stupid things. Some of my friends were selling crack, and I got into drugs too. I've always been honest about that, although I don't like going into details. I've got lots of young fans and I wouldn't want to give them any ideas. I found a friend dead from a drug overdose when I was 14. He was a male friend, not a boyfriend. Most of the people at the funeral were just children. It should have been a wake-up call for me, but it wasn't."
  • Pink revealed that the guy she sings about in this song is Sekou Harris, who died of a heroin overdose. As the years went by, Pink says the song has taken on different meaning for her, as it can relate to many people in her life, including her husband, Carey Hart.
  • Pink wrote this with Max Martin and Lukasz "Dr. Luke" Gottwald, the team behind Kelly Clarkson's hit power ballad "Since U Been Gone," who also produced the track.
  • This was the second single from Pink's fourth studio album, following "Stupid Girls." It initially failed to impress in the US, not even cracking the Hot 100, but was re-released when "U And Ur Hand" hit the Top 10. This time around, it peaked at #9.
  • Pink told MTV the song is also about the metaphorical death of friendship. She said: "You're best friends forever, and then three years later, you haven't seen each other in two years. What happened? You grow apart and people come in and out of your life for different reasons, seasons."
  • The music video, directed by Dragon (Samuel Bayer, Robert Hales, and Brian Lazzaro), was shot in Los Angeles. It follows a young couple at a carnival seemingly having a great time going on rides and playing games, but the boyfriend has a secret: He's a drug addict. When he sneaks away to get high, he overdoses and his distraught girlfriend finds him. Dragon's Samuel Bayer is a prolific director who helmed Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and Green Day's "American Idiot," among a host of others.
  • I'm Not Dead peaked at #6 in the US. In 2017, it earned double-Platinum certification for 2 million copies sold.

Comments: 41

  • Kehlten from AtlantaI can relate to this because my friend committed suicide. She was like a sister and I still remember it like it was yesterday that I told her not to do it and she just stopped talking to me like not even 5 minutes from there and still haven't heard a word from her to this day.
  • Aj from HomeI love this song and I can relate bc one of my friends tried to commit suicide.
  • Bridget from Whidbey Island, Washington PERFECT.. really Poignant… What writing and what version. I don’t have any heroes the pink is one of them
  • Kristine from Philadelphia This song cuts to the bone.
  • Link from BrisbaneI heard this song at work yesterday and I almost cried, I remember hearing this song so much as a kid but it never really resonated with me until now…I lost someone last year who I cherished with all my heart, he was my best friend and I loved him a lot, he passed away in his sleep suddenly… he was only 23 years old…I never would have thought I’d ever lose him this soon…I still cry whenever I think of him or a song or other piece of media being forth the memories…I wish I could have said goodbye to him, talked with him more…but now it’s too late
  • Gina from Baltimore Maryland This song cuts me to the bone! My husband was my best friend,sole mate. My everything! He died very suddenly. He didn’t die from drugs but from a car fell on him. He was working on his car when the jack broke and crushed him immediately. I was told he didn’t suffer. This song really hits home. I was told in time the pain gets better but it’s been 11yrs and I’m still traumatized!
  • Peggi from Melbourne,florida My husband died 5 years ago, not of a drug overdose but cancer. This hits home for me because we were living a great life, than the diagnosis. I thought we really had a handle on it and out of no where it had gone to his brain. Surgery twice wasn't enough and in the end I had to watch him die a little every day. The end was such a whirl wind much of it is a blur.i had no idea that he was keeping from me how bad it really was because he didn't want me to worry. As a nurse I feel like I should have seen it abs should have been able to save him. But I couldn't. This song always makes me think of him.
  • Boon from Sydney, AustraliaLoved reading everyone's comments! I too feel overcome with emotion every time I hear Pink singing "Who knew". It's so powerful and can resonate with the message and its contents. Maybe it's because I lost two brothers to drug overdose or reminiscing past relationships - either way, Pink really brings the message home loud and clear.
  • Brokenhearted Siobhan from N. Ireland I never really thought about the lyrics of this song until l heard it on the radio this week. Ironically my husband is 3 year's dead and the lyrics describe exactly how l feel. I have listened to it so many times since and will continue to play it.
    I have also taken comfort from the comments of your other listeners. Thankyou xx
  • Fat Ass Leaving A Casino from Middle Class, UsaOne of her best songs. I think about my old girlfriend with this one as we were together seven years. A long time. Some of the better years of my life. At least in adulthood.
    She’s the most beautiful woman I ever saw.
    I was lucky to be with her.
    I suffer from depression, anxiety, and suicidal tendencies.
    When I was with her, I could actually sleep.
    I could let go, she would help me.
    But that’s not her job to be my doctor.
    If I was on my deathbed, she’d be someone I would want to see.

    Unfortunately we wanted different things but I think about her every day. She was always my “goddess.”

    I never had anybody talk to me the way she did. She would tell me we met in another life.
    I believe her.

    The heart of the song is the very end:

    “The last kiss, I’ll cherish,
    Til we meet again,
    And time makes it harder,
    I wish I could remember.
    But I keep your memory,
    You visit me in my sleep.
    My darling,
    Who knew?”

    Enjoy today as tomorrow is not guaranteed
  • Jcw from England Pink release this three years after I lost my Grandad. It helps so much as I sing along to it.
  • Elise from Derbyshire I'm 17 and last year my best friend past away although it wasn't drug related this song makes me smile laugh and cry thinking of the good times and the horrible end but even when I cry I'm glad I heard it because it makes me feel closer too her. I've still not been to her grave a year later because it scares me the idea of seeing her name on a headstone solidifies she's gone and I'm not in some nightmare but she's truly gone. This song reminds me she isn't her but is still in my heart.
  • Chantelle Louise Pride from Mansfield, NottinghamshireThis song reminds me of two of my friends who died and this song and Perfect by Pink make me cry.
  • Left High Kick from Middle Class UsaI had a beautiful girlfriend for seven years, we don’t talk anymore. But this song takes me back to times over the first couple years we were young, wild, loving, and carefree. We were young and we were stupid to think it would last forever.

    She wanted marriage and a future and I never wanted that. Made it clear from upfront and ever changed my mind. When she started getting resentful towards me and taking frustrations out on me , had to be a man and let it go.

    Now we don’t talk anymore.

    The lyrics make me think of our times together, the times we shared. It’s frustrating for me because we took one last trip to Vegas in December 2019. For the life of me, I can’t remember where we were the second day we were there. Too much alcohol and weed.

    Enjoy today, because tomorrow is not guaranteed.
  • Maya from California One of my favorite songs by Pink. I used to listen to this song all the time when I was younger but I did not realize the meaning until a few years ago.
  • Lilly from A City, NyWho Knew, Glitter in the Air and f--kin Perfect are the top three most beautiful P!nk songs in my opinion! They made me cry when I first heard them!
  • Snow from ..., NyThere are only three songs that can make me cry -- My Immortal by Evanescence, How Far We've Come by Matchbox 20, and Who Knew. It's just.... beautiful.
  • Christina from Allentown, PaI wanted to thank Pink for writing this song, It hits home with me for several reasons.. One i lost several friends to drug over doses and i myselfe almost ended my own life 9 times. When i first saw the video it made me cry. Not because of first part but the part where she calls someone and walks away. I was the one who made the call several times and eachtime it was too late.. I lost my best friend to Herion overdose. My cousin to a cocaine overdose. My attempts were always with Pills
  • Behija from Glasgow, KyTwo years ago my ex boyfried died of a pill ovderdose, he was my first love, my everything, we dated off and on for almost four years. Well the week and the day before he died we were talkin about getting back together, and the night before we said goonight and i love you, the next morning i got to school and found out his sistr found him dead. It was the worst day of my life, i feel guilty because he kept calling and calling and the pain of him being gone will never go away. On the way to his burial this song was playin on so many stations it was ironic, because i looked it up and found out the meaning behind it...it still makes me cry when i hear it.
  • Mia from Melbourne, AustraliaMy brother has just turned 18 and he has always been wild, he first got drunk when he was 14 and that night the police came to our door. i love him a lot but every time his friends pick him up i get scared. he has three friends i know he can trust but they are the only ones i've met. i remember once he had some friends over and one of them was high. he came into the kitchen looking for a knife... i was about 5m away from him. my mum had to get a hammer off him. listening to this song scares me and makes me think of what could happen to my big bro but that's just how powerful the song is.
  • Steph from Claverack, NyI had a best friend; we don't talk any more. When I hear this song, it takes me back to when we were young, wild and free. And, not knowing what would come down in the future. It means youth, and NOT knowing to me. Just a great song, can make you cry and think.
  • Jack from Denver, CoThis song breaks my heart. Its the very most honest and personal Pink has ever gotten, and its fantastic.
  • Stephanie from Southampton, United KingdomI admit, some of her stuff isn't my style, has that bad poppy quality to it, but this song is just...amazing. Try running and listening to this song, it's like your running away from yourself.
  • Bev from Western Sierras, CaJust because it mentions a kiss, people think it has to be a BF not just a friend. This song brought to me not the death of someone, but just the loss of a dear friend in general. For me it was my best friend (male) who I lost touch with due to various things & all the words matched exactly how I felt & what I would say. I love Pink. I realte a lot to her songs. This one in particular had special meaning to me. I am sorry for Pink to have lost her firend like that.
  • Loretta from Dalby, Australiait sounds like the dude is her bf, not just a friend...
  • Shilo from Noneofyourbuisness, ItalyI love this song.I'm just wondering if it has to be taken as losing a loved one to drugs.Could it also mean your'e just losing a loved one becuse the two of you just won't work?The first time I heard it,that's what I thought of.But does anyone else get what I'm talking about?I'm probably wrong,but I honestly don't know.To sum this all up: GREAT SONG ^^ ~Shilo~
  • Courtney from Salt Lake City, UtI honestly had no idea this song was about losing a loved one to drugs. Pink did an incredible job with this one. I interpreted this completely wrong. I took it as loosing someone like an ex boyfriend or girlfriend...I guess depending on what's going on in your life you choose to interpret lyrics differently. In my case, the man I love is getting married in a month and this song truly makes me think of him..."That last kiss, I'll cherish."
  • Miriam from Erie, Pait's been almost a month since my husband committed suicide... the most devestating time of my life.. this song just makes me think about him.. I cry and cry but somehow it's a comfort to me.. it jsut fits how I feel.
  • Natasha from Oklahoma City, OkDJ from Winchester, I thought it was about the same thing the first few times I heard it but then i started wondering if it was about the death of a friend...this song still reminds me of my last boyfriend who I was really serious with and the line "that last kiss, I'll cherish" made me cry for over a month after we broke up.
  • Jaclyn from Buffalo, NyI am in fact pleasantly surprised by the actual meaning of the song. Pink has never failed to bring depth toher music though, so for her, this kind of misleading lyrical quality is typical, which is one of the reasons her music appelas to me so much. "Who Knew" is a very touching song on many levels, and regardless of how the lyrics may or may not fit into your life, it is nice to see the actual perspective of the writer.
  • Christie from Watsontown, Pathis song is really nice. the meaning behind it is sad though...
  • Stephanie from Pittsburgh, PaMy friend Jake who died of a drug overdose a year ago. He was the love of my life and if anyone HAD told me he would be gone, I truly would have punched them out . . . he always seemed somehow immortal. Who knew? RIP Jake A.
  • John from Ellicott City, MdThis song stands together with "Back on the Chain Gang," written by Chrissie Hynde and released by the Pretenders in 1982. Each deals with the death of a beloved friend by a drug overdose. The worst shame of it is that 25 years later we still have to write songs about this. Please (help your friends) stay clean.
  • Brittany from Sacramento, CaWhen she sings, "If someone said three years from now, you'd be long gone, I'd stand up and punch them out," does she mean if someone said that she will not remember him anymore she would hit them or if three years ago someone said her friend would die soon, she would hit them?
  • Nat from Derby, Englandi love this song & da wrds r so powerful!! x x
  • H from New York, NyI automatically interpreted this song as a boyfriend telling his girlfriend they'd be together forever...then he leaves her. I couldn't believe it wasn't about that.
  • Dj from Winchester, VaI Really like this song. I usually like the harder rock and Pink's other songs but I really like this one from her. :)
  • Erica from Belleville, CanadaNormally I don't like her music, but I love this song
  • Susanna from Klaukkala, Flthis is very nice i like that
  • Emma from Melbourne, AustraliaRachel,
    Like what the description said earlier about her finding her male friend dead at the age of 14, the video represents this. The girl and boy in the clip are having fun, enjoying themselves when things get shaky and she finds him shooting up, she calls an ambulance and walks away crying- just like how she found her friend.
  • Rachel from Deerfield , Ilthis is one of the best songs i've ever heard. it makes me cry and think of a girl i know whose mom died...the "if someone said 3 years from now..." and "count your blessings now..." parts. but will someone please explain the video to me?
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