You Oughta Know (1995)

"You Oughta Know" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Alanis Morissette and the second track on her third studio album, Jagged Little Pill (1995). It was released in July 1995 by Maverick as the album's lead single. After releasing two studio albums, Morissette met producer Glen Ballard in Los Angeles, with whom she wrote songs including "You Oughta Know". Despite much speculation concerning whom the song is about, Morissette has never disclosed the person's identity and has never indicated an intention to do so.

"You Oughta Know" was praised by critics for its lyrics, music, and Morissette's vocals. The song was a commercial success, reaching the top ten in three countries and the top 40 in six other countries; Morissette also held the record for longest run by a woman atop the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart until 2013. "You Oughta Know" won the Grammy Awards for Best Rock Song and Best Female Rock Vocal Performance, and the Juno Award for Single of the Year. Nick Egan directed the song's music video.

"You Oughta Know" helped Morissette enter the mainstream, and is often ranked among the best songs of the 1990s and of all-time. The song has continued to inspire other artists, many of whom have covered it in live performances. It also appears on three of Morissette's compilation albums.

Background

In 1991, MCA Records Canada released Morissette's debut studio album Alanis, which went platinum in Canada. This was followed by her second album, Now Is the Time, which was a commercial failure, selling only a little more than half the copies of her first album. With her two-album deal with MCA Records Canada complete, Morissette was left without a major label contract. In 1993, Morissette's publisher Leeds Levy at MCA Music Publishing introduced her to manager Scott Welch. Welch told HitQuarters he was impressed by her "spectacular voice", her character, and her lyrics. At the time she was still living with her parents. Together they decided it would be best for her career to move to Toronto and start writing with other people.

After graduating from high school, Morissette moved from Ottawa to Toronto. Her publisher funded part of her development and when she met producer and songwriter Glen Ballard, he believed in her talent enough to let her use his studio. The two wrote and recorded Morissette's first internationally released album, Jagged Little Pill, and by the spring of 1995, she had signed a deal with Maverick Records. According to Welch, every label they had approached had passed on Morissette apart from Maverick.

Recording

Ballard met Morissette on March 8, 1994, after his publishing company matched them up. According to Ballard, the connection was "instant", and within 30 minutes of meeting each other, they had begun experimenting with different sounds in Ballard's home studio in San Fernando Valley, California. Ballard also declared to Rolling Stone, "I just connected with her as a person, and, almost parenthetically, it was like 'Wow, you're 19?' She was so intelligent and ready to take a chance on doing something that might have no commercial application. Although there was some question about what she wanted to do musically, she knew what she didn't want to do, which was anything that wasn't authentic and from her heart."

"You Oughta Know" was co-written by Morissette and Ballard. Morissette stated that she wrote the song from her "subconscious": "I wasn't aware of what was coming out of me. I'd go into the booth when the ink wasn't even dry and sing. I'd listen the next day and not really remember it." The demo was recorded on November 28, 1994, and additional vocals were recorded on November 30. Initial rhythm recording began with Los Angeles engineer Chris Fogel on December 1, 1994. Matt Laug played drums and Lance Morrison played bass. On December 5, Benmont Tench of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers recorded Hammond organ. Additional guitars were recorded on December 9.

In early 1995, producer Jimmy Boyle recruited guitarist Dave Navarro and bassist Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers to play on the track. According to Navarro, "There were no guide tracks, we just had the vocal to work from.... and we basically jammed until we found something we were both happy with. Alanis was happy too." Flea said, "When I first heard the track, it had a different bassist and guitarist on it; I listened to the bassline and thought, 'That's some weak shit!' It was no flash and no smash! But the vocal was strong, so I just tried to play something good."

Two mixes of the song appear on Jagged Little Pill. Track 2 was mixed by Chris Fogel, and is the most widely known version of the song. Track 13 is the "Jimmy the Saint Blend" and was mixed by Jimmy Boyle and it was only used in the original music video from 1995, replaced in 2020 by the Chris Fogel mix.

Lyrics

Morissette has never publicly identified anyone as the ex-boyfriend portrayed in the song. In 2008, she said,