Me, myself and I

‘It’s not all about you, you know.’ Where did this nonsensical phrase come from and how did it enter into common parlance?

I had a boyfriend who used to say it regularly, with particular vigour during times of crisis. I would arrive back from a trip to the Middle East bursting to tell him about how I’d passed out on a Hercules jet in 120 degree heat and been revived by the head of the British army and he would huff and puff and say, ‘It’s not all about you, you know.’

I had a similar run-in with a girlfriend recently. She rang up to ask whether I would like to go to the cinema and I said I was terribly sorry but I had just driven 200 miles to and from the hospital where my horse was being treated for a serious injury and I was about to put myself to bed.