Meghan Trainor’s “No” Lyrics Meaning

In this song (“No”), Meghan Trainor takes on the role of a woman who is victim of unwanted advances from a particular male, with the venue apparently being a club. And yes, this piece was inspired by her real-life frustration, not at persistent romantic interests but rather Trainor’s label at the time. 

But in any event, that angst eventually manifested itself as a tale in which the vocalist is vehemently letting a unyielding romantic interest know that she simply isn’t interested.

Instead, we find the vocalist ‘in her zone’. In context that means that even though she is in a club, i.e. a communal setting, Meghan is caught up in her own thoughts/vibe. For instance, the singer notes that she could “get a man” if she so desires, but obviously that’s not what she’s here for. So we can take it that she’s engaged in activities such as listening to music and enjoying drinks on her lonesome.

The Addressee

Then we have the addressee who is clearly diggin’ her, but what’s also being sorta inferred is that his ego/pride has also become part of the equation in terms of his pursuit of Meghan. In other words, he remains persistent despite every step he takes being met by a resounding “no”. 

It’s like sometimes, people may think that a woman is impressed by a tireless admirer. But in this case, the clear implication is that Trainor is letting dude know she isn’t truly interested, but he simply refuses to get the message.

So instead of being impressed by his admiration, it’s rather as if his approach is insulting her. And that’s because the way the vocalist perceives it, it’s as if the addressee is one of those types of guys who is unable to respect the notion that lady is able to be content without a man by her side. 

So by the time all is said and done, the focus sorta switches from how annoying he is to this being somewhat of a female-empowerment anthem.

Release of “No”

Meghan Trainor burst on the scene with her 2015 LP “Title”, which bested the Billboard 200 and was a multi-platinum success. 

As for the song “No”, it was issued by Epic Records on 4 March 2016 as the lead from the follow-up to “Title”, a project called “Thank You”, which didn’t fare as well overall but featured a couple of big hits. 

One of the hits in question was this very song, which charted in close to 30 countries and proved to be a chart topper in Latvia and Mexico. It also peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 11 on the UK Singles Chart. Thus far, it has achieved multi-platinum status in the US, Canada, Australia and Poland.

The Creation of “No”

The creation of this track was prompted by music industry titan L.A. Reid, who at that point was more or less dissatisfied with the songs Trainor laid down for “Thank You”. He therefore instructed her to be creative in putting together a lead single for the album. 

And even though it doesn’t read as if Reid was trying to diss or rush her, Meghan sorta took it as so, to the point of even shedding tears. So she proceeded to expeditiously hook up with the track’s producer, Ricky Reed, and they penned this piece within the timespan of seven hour. 

In all, a total of three songwriters worked together to compose “No”. These writers are:

• Meghan Trainor
• Eric Frederic
• Jacob Kasher Hindlin

Things worth Noting

Trainor has referred to this song as an anthem for every woman out there who wants a man to know that she’s good on her own. She’s also called this song her “sassy anthem” in which she is speaking directly to LA Reid and telling him “No”. What she basically means by that is that she is telling Reid to not doubt her because she has hits.

The music video to this track was directed by Fatima Robinson, who is seemingly better known in industry circles as a choreographer.

For the record, it has been pointed out that the word “no” is uttered a good 85 times in the lyrics.

In the United States, “No” has currently sold nothing less than 2 million units. In the UK, that number is almost half a million.

Chart Performance

In Latvia and Mexico, “No” topped the charts in 2016.

Below is how it performed in other places around the world:

Cover Versions

“No” has been covered by the likes of the following:

• Pentatonix
• Tanner Patrick  
• Sam Tsui + KHS
• Madilyn Bailey & Megan Nicole
• Brianna Leah