Songfacts®:

• The song was written by Minneapolis mainstays Bruce McCabe and David Z. McCabe, who played piano and clavinet on the track, later toured with Lang as part of his band.
• In this song, a guy is so distraught over his crumbling relationship that he asks his girl to tell him lies so he can believe everything will be as it was.
• A musical prodigy, Jonny Lang was just 15 years old when this song was released on his major label debut album, also titled Lie To Me. In a 2017 interview with Lang for Songfacts, he said: "I don't think I related to any of the songs until I was in my 20s, as far as life experience goes! At least not in a way where the meaning I could really understand. I wasn't necessarily singing from a place of experience - it was just more from a place of just singing music."
• The video was directed by Michael Lucero, whose clients were typically rap artists like Black Sheep and Common. The "Lie To Me" video, which is black and white, shows Lang selecting a guitar at a music store and using it to play this song. His sisters Heidi and Jessica make appearances, as does his mom.
• The video was shot at Black Market Music in San Francisco, which has since closed. During the shoot, Lang became smitten with a 1957 Squier guitar, which Al Cafaro, who was president of his label, A&M, later bought for Lang.
• Joe Cocker recorded this for his 1999 album No Ordinary World.