“Truth Hurts” by Lizzo

Fundamentally, this track is based on Lizzo beefing with her ex. She has made a decision to snub him and move on with her life. And throughout the song she is basically stating the reasons she has done so as well as delineating the consequences thereof. And in the process, she throws a couple of jabs at men in general.

For instance, the song begins with the line “why are men great ’til they got to be great”. This is intended to be a criticism specifically against men in power and generally against the perceived ineptitude of men to manage those seats effectively.

First Verse

The first verse features Lizzo dissing some dude who apparently she just dumped. Her rationale for doing so seems to be that he was not serious. And in the process, according to her, he lost a “bad bi*ch” who was prepared to help him achieve success.

Second Verse

The second verse illustrates some animosity that existed between the two of them. In other words, her ex intentionally tried to hurt Lizzo by ‘breaking her heart’. But she asserts that she was never emotionally-vested in the first place to the point of becoming that vulnerable. Then she insinuates that he was trying to make her his “side chick”, which of course she did not appreciate. 

So now Lizzo is reveling in the fact that the homey is “back with (his) bi*ch” and that she’s once again single. In other words, she is not sweating marriage at this point. In fact her interests seem to have already shifted onto to one of her ex’s homeboys.

Chorus and Bridge

Meanwhile the chorus weaves a brief tale of dude apparently trying to dump her via text message, which is something yet again she did not appreciate. So Lizzo has decided to forget about him. In fact she now has a “new man” who is a member of the “Minnesota Vikings” – a professional football team – who she says is “more exciting” than her ex. This of course will ‘hurt’ him, but at this point, she doesn’t seem to really care.

As such, the bridge consists of Lizzo basically mocking her ex in the sense that she has unexpectedly excommunicated him and has no intention of looking back.

“Why men great ’til they gotta be great?
Don’t text me, tell it straight to my face
Best friend sat me down in the salon chair
Shampoo press, get you out of my hair
Fresh photos with the bomb lighting
New man on the Minnesota Vikings
Truth hurts, needed something more exciting”

Conclusion

While the guy this song is based on may not have obliterated Lizzo’s heart, it is obvious that he caused her some degree of emotional discomfort. But now it is rather he who is in pain due to learning the “truth”, which is that she is confident enough in herself to progress in life without him. Hence the title of the song “Truth Hurts”!

Facts about “Truth Hurts”

• Lizzo wrote “Truth Hurts” alongside three other noted songwriters. They are: Ricky Reed, Jesse Saint John and Steven Cheung.
• The song’s co-writer Ricky Reed also handled production of the track.
• Lizzo officially released “Truth Hurts” on 19 September 2017.
• Though initially released as a single not associated with any album, “Truth Hurts” has been added to the soundtrack of the Netflix’s 2019 romantic comedy film Someone Great. It is also played during one of the most-memorable scenes of the movie. In fact “Truth Hurts” and the film Someone Great are based on similar themes of recuperating from heartbreak.
• Over a year and-a-half after the release of “Truth Hurts”, a viral social-media phenomenon dubbed the DNA Test Challenge, which is based on a line from the track, began dominating the popular TikTok android application. This phenomenon made the song even more famous.

Grammy Win

“Truth Hurts” won Lizzo a Grammy at the 62nd Grammys in the “Best Pop Solo Performance” category. In winning that category, she beat the following songs:

• Taylor Swift’s “You Need to Calm Down“
• Billie Eilish’s “Bad Guy”
• Ariana Grande’s “7 Rings”
• Beyoncé’s “Spirit“