Paramore’s “Misery Business” Lyrics Meaning  

“Misery Business” is reflective of a crush that Hayley Williams, the vocalist and primary writer, had on Zac Farro, her Paramore bandmate, back in their early teens. At the time, he was apparently dating another woman whom his bandmates and friends deemed as being negatively manipulative. They believed she was using her sexuality to bend Zac to her will. 

So what we are met with here is basically the musings of a vocalist who hates the apple of her eye’s girlfriend and once “stealing it all away” from her makes that fact blatantly known.

The Story

This narrative is very descriptive, almost reading like a short story. At first we hear the vocalist dissing the addressee, i.e. the lady mentioned above. She seems to note that said individual is in fact attractive but revels in the notion that, eventually, her beauty will fade. The reason the vocalist has beef with the addressee, as inferred above, is because they have a mutual romantic interest, one whom the singer was on the verge of securing until this chick entered the picture. 

But eventually, after nearly a year, it appears that the addressee cut him off. Then, the vocalist went about expeditiously making this man her own. So now, it’s like the addressee has some type of palpable beef with her also.

Normally when a couple breaks up, you wouldn’t expect the lady who comes after to celebrate as if she stole the man away. So the logical implication would be that the addressee still has feelings for this guy, or maybe that the vocalist somehow contributed to their breakup. Or in any event, she is using the opportunity to throw her newfound romantic acquisition in the face of her rival.

So it is in the second verse where Hayley really lets it all hang out. Here, she more or less delineates the reasons why she hates the addressee. And honestly, it’s understandable why some listeners had issues with this part of the song, because the vocalist really does come off as being petty and vindictive. 

Well that latter characteristic, i.e. her sounding vengeful, is definitely intentional. And in the process she goes about dissing “a million” unspecified women whom she feels, like the addressee, are ‘whores’ who feign ‘innocence’ in the name of manipulating men.

Thesis Sentiment

Once you get past the aforementioned contempt, the thesis sentiment being emitted is pretty clear. The vocalist hates the addressee alright. But it is only now, after hooking up with the man that they both seemingly covet and feeling victorious as a result, is Hayley gleefully empowered to make the deepness of that hatred known.

Song’s Title (“Misery Business”)

And finally concerning the title, it has been put forth that what the vocalist is referring to is the concept of being able to generate profit off of “misery”, i.e. this song. But all lyrics considered an alternate explanation, when Hayley puts forth that she’s “in the business of misery”, is her saying something like she enjoys making her enemies miserable.

Paramore

Paramore is a rock band from Tennessee. At the time this song (“Misery Business”) was dropped, the band consisted of frontwoman Hayley Williams alongside three others. They are:

• guitarist Josh Farro
• bassist Jeremy Davis
• drummer Zac Farro

Hayley and Zac are still a part of the crew as of the writing of this post. 

Release Date of “Misery Business”

This song (which was released on 13 April 2007) is from the group’s second LP “Riot”. This project stands as Paramore’s most commercially-successful album to date. And likewise “Misery Business” can be considered their biggest hit. For instance, the track topped the UK Rock & Metal Chart. It scored within the top 20 of the UK Singles Chart. Furthermore, it appeared on 5 different Billboard lists stateside. But even more importantly from a monetary standpoint, as of 2019 this song has achieved quadruple-platinum status in the US.

More Facts about “Misery Business”

The music video to “Misery Business” was directed by one of Paramore’s regular collaborators during the band’s early goings, Shane Drake. The clip was a critical success. For example, it was named Video of the Year by the Alternative Press in 2007.

This song made headlines again in 2022. This was when Hayley Williams performed it alongside Billie Eilish at the ever-popular Coachella Music Festival in California.

“Misery Business” was composed by Hayley Williams alongside her bandmate Josh Farro.

In 2021, Olivia Rodrigo dropped a track titled “Good 4 U” which originally did not credit Hayley and Josh, who are the only official writers of “Misery Business”. However, some listeners would not let it rest that the two songs sounded alike. So eventually, Williams and Farro did get official writing credit for “Good 4 U”. Furthermore, “Misery Business” is listed as being interpolated into the track.

In the second verse, the vocalist refers to the addressee as “a whore”. It is such scathing, “slut-shaming” lyricism which led to Paramore opting, from 2018 going, not to play “Misery Business” live any longer. This is in addition to basically shunning the track altogether later down the line.

It has been noted that the title of this track was derived from a 1990 film titled Misery. The said movie is based on a 1987 Stephen King novel that has the same name.

Paramore’s “Riot!” Album of 2007

American rock band Paramore, released “Riot!” on the 12th of June, 2007 as their 2nd studio album.

Recording took place at House of Loud, a recording studio located in Elmwood Park, New Jersey.  Englishman, David Bendeth, a multi-award winning record producer has been credited with its production.

“Riot!” was released through Fueled by Ramen, an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group.

It received favorable reviews from music critics, including a positive score from Metacritic. The online platform gave “Riot!” a score of 67 out of 100. According to Jonathan Bradley of Stylus Magazine, the album is appealing. He was impressed it made use of sounds that others in the genre had neglected. 

The album was placed at No. 10 on the list, “101 Modern Classics” by British magazine, Rock Sound. On a list of 2007’s top 50 albums by Stylus Magazine, “Riot!” was No. 49.

Sales of over 40,000 copies of the album were recorded within its first week in the US alone. In the UK, it has sold over 250,000 copies. It peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard 200 and No. 24 on the UK’s OCC.

“Riot!” is currently 3x platinum in the US, platinum in the UK and gold in Canada, New Zealand as well as Australia.