Songfacts®:

• This heart-on-the-sleeve song starts off with Lauv addressing an indecisive girlfriend. She has become cold towards him and doesn't communicate her feelings. He tells his lover unless she commits herself more fully to the relationship, he doesn't want the romance to continue.
  
  Baby, don't run me 'round and 'round
  Don't kiss me, no, don't kiss me right now
  On your lips, just leave it
  If you don't mean it
  
  The girl is messing with Lauv's head; he doesn't want dive further into the relationship until she "means it" more.
  
  Lany singer Paul Klein joins Lauv halfway through the song. During his verse, he makes it clear that the girl only sees him as the second choice.
  
  But you only let me hold you when he can't
  Yeah, I don't understand
  
  She has hooked up with Klein on the rebound and is stringing him along.
• Lauv said in a statement that he and Paul Klein had been talking about working together for a long time. He started off writing a song "from the perspective of what I thought somebody might want to say to me." When Lauv sent Klein the demo of what he'd come up with, the Lany frontman responded that he wanted to record it with him. Once they got in the studio with the rest of Lany to lay down "Mean It," it all came together. Lauv believes the end result is "a perfect blend of our two sounds."