The Hilarious Origin Behind Harry Nilsson's "One Is The Loneliest Number"

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Here’s the hilarious origin behind the Harry Nilsson song “One Is The Loneliest Number” explained. There's no denying the power of setting a scene to popular music, as well-known songs can be used to effectively establish a geographical or period setting or to reinforce a character’s emotional state. They can also help form a connection between film and audience in a way that an original score might not.

That said, certain popular songs are so overused in TV shows or on movie soundtracks they become cliché. Film fans probably don't need to hear The Clash's “London Calling” every time a scene is set in the British capital or for singer Frank Sinatra’s “New York, New York” to ring out over the opening scenes of every film set in the Big Apple. Likewise, the late, great Jimi Hendrix’s cover of “All Along The Watchtower” always appears to be the go-to song to let an audience know a movie is set in the late 1960s.

Related: Who Wrote The Addams Family Theme Song: Origins Explained

Another song that’s featured pretty frequently in TV shows and movie soundtracks is Harry Nilsson’s 1968 song “One,” which is popularly known as “One Is The Loneliest Number” thanks to its opening lyrics. It’s a song that’s become synonymous with suggesting a character’s solitude and has been used in everything from The Simpsons (which missed its best series finale opportunity) and The Umbrella Academy to Shrek 2. While it’s interpreted by many as a melancholy meditation on loneliness, the song actually has quite a hilarious — and very human — origin story.

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Given how introspective the “One Is The Loneliest Number” lyrics are and how generally downbeat the song is, one might suspect that it was inspired by a relationship break up