He's Messed Up

Album: Me (2014)
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Songfacts®:

  • Jo Dee Messina originally penned this tune with Pink in mind. "I wanted to co-write it with her while she was in town, but it ended up that she had a crazy schedule," she said … so I was like, 'I'm going to finish this song anyway.'"
  • The song was inspired by a real person. "Maybe this is too much behind the song, but it's about a guy in the industry who's, like, Joe Cool," she divulged. "He just thinks he's, like, the Cat's Meow, and I had seen him backstage, and all these little girls are hanging on him."

    "He's not an artist. He's not a singer. But he's just some guy that thinks he's, like, the coolest thing, and he plays that off, and girls buy into it," Messina added. "I remember seeing him backstage, with girls all around him, and I'm like, 'Dude.'"

    "I was like, 'Oh, young girl. Walk away,'" she continued. "He is messed up, you know? This guy is never going to change. He's a dog. He always will be a dog. And so, that's where literally the idea came up."

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