Bye Bye

Album: Bye Bye (1998)
Charted: 43
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • With characteristic bluntness, singer/songwriter Jo Dee Messina says that this was a song she definitely related to at the time she recorded it. And it was the whole "You know what? I'm outta here, I deserve better than this" strength of this song that caught her interest. "Not in an arrogant sense, but everyone deserves to be treated well, and everyone deserves to be happy. And I love that this song was like, You know what? I'm never looking back. See ya! You've given me the runaround, I really deserve better than that. Everyone does. So I love the strength in this song, and the whole, 'I'm going to take care of me.'"

    Complainers have no place in her life. Jo Dee is a believer in action and sees complaining and remaining stationary in the problem as a lousy way to spend your time. "You'll see that belief in a lot of the stuff that I sing about and I write about," she says. "It's very low energy, it takes its toll on you physically, it affects you when you're sitting in that humdrum place. Look at the person that gripes all the time. Look at their face. It's written all over their face. They don't smile, they've got these really deep creases, the frown lines, the this, the that. You can see it. They're constantly angry. I don't want that." (Read more in our interview with Jo Dee Messina.)
  • This was written by Phil Vassar (and country scribe Rory Michael Bourke), who started out in Nashville as a songwriter before releasing his self-titled debut album in 2000. Vassar included his rendition on his 2006 album, Greatest Hits, Vol. 1.
  • This was a #2 hit on the Country chart.

Comments: 2

  • Kate from Poughkeepsie, NySinger/songwriter Phil Vassar co-wrote this song, and he sung it on his Greatest Hits album...I like his version of this song is pretty good! I like Jo Dee's version too!
  • Mark from Lancaster, OhI wish her later songs had the band this one did. The instrumentation is simply amazing: one of the finest arrangements I've heard anywhere.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Philip Cody

Philip CodySongwriter Interviews

A talented lyricist, Philip helped revive Neil Sedaka's career with the words to "Laughter In The Rain" and "Bad Blood."

Michael Franti

Michael FrantiSongwriter Interviews

Franti tells the story behind his hit "Say Hey (I Love You)" and explains why yoga is an integral part of his lifestyle and his Soulshine tour.

Graham Parker

Graham ParkerSongwriter Interviews

When Judd Apatow needed under-appreciated rockers for his Knocked Up sequel, he immediately thought of Parker, who just happened to be getting his band The Rumour back together.

Dennis DeYoung

Dennis DeYoungSongwriter Interviews

Dennis DeYoung explains why "Mr. Roboto" is the defining Styx song, and what the "gathering of angels" represents in "Come Sail Away."

Chris Frantz of Talking Heads

Chris Frantz of Talking HeadsSongwriter Interviews

Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz on where the term "new wave" originated, the story of "Naive Melody," and why they never recorded another cover song after "Take Me To The River."

Dar Williams

Dar WilliamsSongwriter Interviews

A popular contemporary folk singer, Williams still remembers the sticky note that changed her life in college.