Is ‘You Oughta Know’ About Uncle Joey? The Wild Lore Behind Alanis Morissette’s Hit Song
Alanis Morissette’s breakup anthem still sparks debate—was it really about Dave Coulier on 'Full House’?
Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know” has all the makings for a perfect track—impressive vocals, scornful lyrics perfect for karaoke night with the gals, and—oh, yeah—it may or may not be about Full House’s Uncle Joey, brought to life by actor Dave Coulier. The lore on this 1995 hit off her album Jagged Little Pill runs deep. Here, read the backstory behind this iconic breakup tune that’ll always stay in our playlists.
Alanis Morissette and Dave Coulier’s relationship timeline
It was in 1992 when Canadian-American singer Alanis Morissette started dating Dave Coulier, who was at the height of his Full House fame—Morissette being 18 years old at the time and Coulier being 33 when they first got together. Two years later, the duo called it quits—but it was Morissette who got the last word in the end.
The song came out in 1995 on her Jagged Little Pill album, which took home a Grammy Award for both Best Rock Album and Album of the Year. Additionally, the song won for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance and Best Rock Song, and it isn’t a wonder why that is. “‘Cause I’m here, to remind you/Of the mess you left when you went away/It’s not fair to deny me/Of the cross I bear that you gave to me/You, you, you oughta know,” Morissette sings passionately in the chorus.
When Dave Coulier realized the song might be about him
Though Morissette herself has never actually come out and said who the song was about, Dave Coulier put the pieces together himself when he caught the track while on a car ride. “I’m driving in Detroit and I’ve got my radio on, and I hear the hook for ‘You Oughta Know’ come on the radio,” recalled Coulier during an appearance on SiriusXM. “I’m like, ‘Wow, this is a really cool hook.’ And then I start hearing the voice and I’m like, ‘Wow, this girl can sing…’ And then I was listening to the lyrics, going, ‘Oh no. Oh, I can’t be this guy!’”
When the alarms started going off in his head, Coulier went out to purchase the album for himself and listen to it in its entirety. “There was a lot of familiar stuff in there that her and I had talked about. Like ‘your shake is like a fish’ (a line from her song “Right Through You”), I’d go, ‘Hey, dead fish me,’ and we’d do this dead fish handshake. And so I started listening to it and I thought, ‘Oh, I think I may have really hurt this woman.’ And that was my first thought.”
Alanis responds: ‘Six people have claimed credit!’
Though Coulier has taken the heat for this track, Morissette has doubled down on the fact that she’s never revealed that the song was truly about him. When appearing on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, a viewer asked, “How sick are you of people asking if ‘You Oughta Know’ is about Uncle Joey from Full House, and will you ever reveal who the song is actually about?” Alanis responded by saying, “No revealing, but I am intrigued at the fact that more than one person has taken credit for it, and I’m thinking, I don’t know if you want to take credit for being the person I wrote ‘You Oughta Know’ about,” sharing that there have been about six people who have claimed to be the song’s inspiration.
Dave & Alanis’ relationship today
Despite the song’s sting, there’s no lingering bad blood. Dave has called Alanis “brilliant” and “super talented,” and says he’s proud to have inspired such an iconic record (even if it wasn’t flattering!). Alanis has never spoken poorly of him by name, saying she prefers to keep her past relationships private and focus on the art they inspired.
Whoever the song might truly be about, it’s a hit either way!
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