The subject of Carly Simon's hit 'You're So Vain'

A newly revealed fourth verse to Carly Simon's 1972 song, You're So Vain, has shed fresh light on which heart-breaker might have inspired the singer's lyrics.

Former lovers who have been named in the past as fuelling the damning lyrics include Mick Jagger, Kris Kristofferson, Cat Stevens, Warren Beatty and David Geffen.

But in a documentary shown last night, the veteran singer shared a previously unsung fourth verse which suggests the late author Willie Donaldson is the man to whom she warbles 'this song is about you'.

Simon, now 71, said: 'So this is a verse which I haven't ever sung, and I'm going to try to sing it for the first time.

'I wrote it on a pad a while ago but it never made it into the song.'

In the latest episode of the BBC's Classic Albums series, which focuses on Simon's 1972 album, No Secrets, the singer plays piano at her home to accompany her first performance of the lost verse.

The new lyrics are: 'A friend of yours revealed to me / That you'd loved me all the time / You kept it secret from your wives / You believed it was no crime.

'You called me once to ask me things / I couldn't quite define / Maybe that's why I have tried to dismiss you / Tried to dismiss you.'

Hints include that he was married at the time of the song - which would discount the other potentials because of the new reference to 'wives'.

Donaldson and Simon had a whirlwind romance in the 1960s where in less than six weeks the satirist was referring to Simon as 'the next Mrs Donaldson', according to the Telegraph.

She was unceremoniously dumped by Donaldson in a letter explaining that he was moving on to actress Sarah Giles, the paper added.

The Cambridge graduate, who died in 2005, lived an eventful life. He lost two fortunes, lived in a brothel for a time, and was an early promoter of Bob Dylan.

Just last month an auction was held for the satirist's hilarious letters written in the 1970s and '80s to the likes of Margaret Thatcher, Cliff Richard, Mary Whitehouse, Jeffrey Archer and a young Harriet Harman.

This article was first published on dailymail.co.uk and is republished here with permission.