Alanis Morissette hit the charts with “You Oughta Know”

You Oughta Know Alanis Morissette

Writer(s): Alanis Morissette, Glen Ballard (see lyrics here) Released: July 6, 1995 First Charted: June 17, 1995 Peak: 13a US, 2 CB, 9 RR, 3 AR, 15 MR, 22 UK, 6 CN, 4 AU, 1 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, 0.3 UK, 0.87 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 112.96 video, 261.18 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: In her native Canada, Alanis Morissette became a teen pop star, releasing two albums which spawned eight chart hits in the early ‘90s. However, the rest of the world didn’t know who she was until her internationally-released Jagged Little Pill on Madonna’s Maverick label. Alanis teamed up with songwriter Glen Ballard, who “opened her up creatively with strongly autobiographical lyrics and an edgy, jittery, new rock sound.” SS He said they connected instantly, noting that she was “ready to take a chance on doing something that might have no commercial application.” WK The “razor-sharp piece of rock writing and singing” SS on “You Oughta Know” marked a transition for Alanis from her previous bubblegum pop to alternative rock. As she said, the song “was written from a desperate, dark, almost pathetically sad place within my subconscious…A lot of the anger comes from the fact that I didn’t face it, out of fear…I denied myself any revelling in my darker side.” TC The lyrics for “You Oughta Know” came from a journal entry which Alanis wrote during what she called “a very devastated time.” SF She was reluctant to sing the “scathing, explicit lyrics” WK about an ex-boyfriend because she didn’t want to hurt anybody. SF Ballard, however, encouraged her, saying “You have to do this.” SF There was much speculation about the identity of the ex-boyfriend. Alanis has said she will never reveal who the song is about, SF but it has been widely assumed to be actor Dave Coulier, best known from TV’s Full House. As a thirtysomething, he dated a teenage Alanis in 1992. He has “alternately admitted to and denied being the subject of the song.” WK In 1997, he told the Boston Herald that lines like “bug you in the middle of dinner” hit close to come. WK Entertainment Weekly’s David Browne praised Morissette for turning her “jealous bile into something worth hearing.” WK While such darkness would seemingly be a recipe for commercial disaster, “You Oughta Know” was the first of six singles which propelled Jagged Little Pill to more than 30 million in sales worldwide. The song served as “a useful warning for the average male over the way a 1990s female will react when she’s treated disrespectfully.” HL That song included some big names who were familiar with commercial success. Benmont Tench of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers played Hammond organ and the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Dave Navarro and Flea added guitar and bass, respectively. WK “You Oughta Know” was nominated for three Grammys, winning Best Rock Song and Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. Resources: TC Toby Creswell (2005). 1001 Songs: The Great Songs of All Time. Thunder’s Mouth Press: New York, NY. Pages 520-1. HL Michael Heatley and Spencer Leigh (1998). Behind the Song: The Stories of 100 Great Pop & Rock Classics. Blandford Books: London, UK. Pages 44-5. SF Songfacts SS Steve Sullivan (2013). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings (Volumes I & II). Scarecrow Press: Lanham, Maryland. Pages 876-7. WK Wikipedia Related Links: First posted 1/26/2021; last updated 1/17/2025.