Breakfast at Tiffany's

Album: Home (1995)
Charted: 1 5
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Songfacts®:

  • Deep Blue Something lead singer Todd Pipes was inspired to write this song after seeing Audrey Hepburn in the film Roman Holiday, but he thought "Breakfast at Tiffany's" would be a better title.
  • Breakfast at Tiffany's is a 1961 movie based on a book by Truman Capote. It starred Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly, a high-priced escort looking for a rich man to marry. The movie made the song "Moon River" famous.
  • The song is a humorous and optimistic look at a failing relationship. One partner focuses on how different the two people are and how they aren't going to last as a couple:

    You say that we've got nothing in common
    No common ground to start from
    And we're falling apart


    The other partner, however, focuses on one small detail they have in common which is that they both like the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's. The speaker clings to this one detail and repeats it five times as the chorus in the song:

    And I said, "What about Breakfast at Tiffany's"
    She said, "I think I remember the film"
    and as I recall, I think, we both kinda liked it
    And I said, "Well, that's one thing we got"

    >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Margot - Madison, NJ
  • Deep Blue Something was formed by four college students from the University of North Texas. This was their only hit, and they did not release another album until Byzantium in 1998.
  • Todd Pipes recalled to Q magazine November 2008 that promoting this song got to be pretty tiresome. He explained: "As the song had Breakfast in the title, radio stations thought it would be genius to have us on at breakfast time. We'd be up till 3 a.m. and they'd wonder why we were pissed off playing at 6am."
  • Truman Capote (1924 - 1984) was an American author, many of whose short stories, novels, plays and non-fiction are recognized literary classics. He was born in Louisiana and his early works, including The Glass Harp, are about the South. He then moved to New York, where he wrote scripts for plays and films plus further novels including his 1958 novella Breakfast at Tiffany's. In the early 1960s, Capote's career flagged until In Cold Blood (1965), his journalistic work about the murder of a Kansas farm family in their home, made Capote a celebrity.

    Capote was 5 feet 3 inches tall and openly homosexual. His distinctive, high-pitched voice and odd vocal mannerisms were bought to life in Philip Seymour Hoffman's Oscar-winning portrayal of him in the 2005 movie, Capote.
  • Apart from this song, Capote has several other connections to rock music. They include:

    1) In 1972 Capote was commissioned by Rolling Stone to cover the Rolling Stones' tour of North America. And though he set out on the tour and began taking copious notes, he quickly fell out with Mick Jagger and refused to write the article. "Mick Jagger is about as sexy as a pissing toad," he later cattily averred.

    2) Capote posthumously appeared on the sleeve of The Smiths' 1985 single, The Boy with the Thorn in His Side. English fashion and portrait photographer Cecil Beaton took the picture in 1949.

    3) Capote was name-checked along with a number of other famous people in the Red Hot Chili Peppers' 1991 track, "Mellowship Slinky In B Major."

Comments: 30

  • Bob Terwilliger from Tucson, AzThis song is widely misinterpreted, it's a breakup song, he thought she was the only one that knew him and all they had in common was a movie she barely remembers.
  • Martin from Fresno, CaI think the great thing about this song is that there is always something we have in common and while it is not enough to sustain a romantic relationship the phrase "Nothing in common" is wrong.
  • Lauren from Bedford, TxTodd Pipes is my Brit. Lit. Teacher at my school. He's awesome:)
  • Brian from Boston, MaDude the Gin Blossoms did not sing this.They never did why do people insist they did?
  • Stephanie from Wigtown, United KingdomJust managed to get a copy of "Breakfast at Tiffanys" film. Different ending to the book.
  • Ava from Boston, MaThis song always makes me smile when i hear it! =]
  • Theresa from Murfreesboro, TnPeople hate this song but I love it.
  • Robert from Zanesville, OhAnd I said
    what about
    Breakfast At Denny's?
    She said
    I think I
    remember the food...
    -me, 1996, Lewisville Texas
    Yay!
  • Lisa from State College, PaThis song completely fits my life. I love it.
  • River from IstanbulI'm glad Jimmy gave us all the "truth" and cleared up all the lies...
  • John from Conover, NcIf you like this song, I suggest you check out Gin Blossoms, especially their new album, Major Lodge Victory
  • Jimmy from Denton, TxOk. Here is the Truth. I lived on Fry Street in Denton at the same time Deep Blue Someting was getting started. They wrote this song. I went to their frist show and know them very well.
  • Darrell from Eugene, United StatesI have known several ladies who were named Tiffany, and all of them were primadonnas with an inflated sense of fashion and the IQ of George W. Bush.
  • Dave from Cardiff, WalesI've done some research on this point, and the song was definitely written by Todd Pipes, but did not become a hit until many years after he first wrote it. Deep Blue Something's version is the original, and it is certainly not a cover of a Gin Blossoms song
  • Joey from Goshen, NyMarks right on.. check the Gin Blossoms myspace page they say that its a Deep Blue Something song
  • Mark from Orlando, FlNo way the Gin Blossoms covered this tune. Deep Blue Something may have SOUNDED like the Gin Blossoms. It ends there.
  • Armus from Whales, EnglandThis is a classic 3-chord-song(involving the chords D,A G).
  • Dave from Cardiff, WalesRob - Todd Pipes is credited as songwriter oon the NEW HITS 96 compilation and NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL MUSIC 35. Are you sure that the Gin Blossoms' version is not actually a cover?
  • Rob from London, EnglandThis song was a cover of a Gin Blossoms song, look up the lyrics, the facts above are wrong
  • Kelli from Cedar Rapids, IaVERY bland song...in fact, I found it on a list of bland songs.
  • Ronnie from Huddersfield, EnglandThe video was so expensive that lead singer Todd Pipes had to sell a kidney to pay for it.
  • Elliot from St. Louis, MoVery catchy...almost, too catchy. Maybe it has like, subliminal messeges secretly making us go out and rent old movies......and maybe Eddie Vedder is a Japanese karate master, you can never be so sure. Be careful, be very, very careful.
  • Josh from Sacramento, CaThis song was covered by the wallflowers
  • Melissa from Baltimore, Mithis song randomly pops up in my head from time to time when im walking down the street....mainly in the morning...if i didnt have breakfast..weird---baltimore,MD
  • Mike from Clinton, MaLead singer Todd Pipes was fired as a teacher at a Christian school after this song recieved a lot of airplay. Parent's didn't want a "rock and roller" teaching thier children.
  • Dave from Cardiff, WalesApart from The Korgis' "Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime", this probably the best song that deals with the subject of unrequited love.
  • Mariah from Miami, FlI loved it too! My guilty pleasure, I'll just be walking down the street and start singing it... Good times... I wanted to throw something at the TV when I saw that. haha, it really wasn't that imaginative though, was it?
  • Madison from Atlanta, Gai cant believe that this was on vh1's most awesomely bad songs. i loved this song when it was on the alternative scene!
  • Adeeb from Dhaka, OtherI love this song. If I were a bit more sappy, I'dd say that it doesn't really matter how different you are or what not, all that matters is that you want to make it work.
  • Jessica from Kemp, TxI went to school with Kirk Tatom, I was in the school choir with him. I sure miss him and Deep Blue Something.
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