Misery Business

Album

Riot!

Label

Fueled by Ramen

Genre

Emo

Composer(s)

Hayley Nichole Williams;Joshua Neil Farro

Entered Chart

Jul 21, 2007

Peak Date

Jan 12, 2008

Released

June 4, 2007

Recorded

2007 Studio The House of Loud (New Jersey)

Catalog #

Fueled By Raman/Atlantic Digital

This song is about a mean girl who rules her school and terrorizes her classmates. This girl fits the description of a "Prep," who is skinny ("A body like an hourglass"), and is very popular. Lead singer Hayley Williams sings about how being popular doesn't make you great, and how it isn't new ("There are a million other girls who do it just like you"). >> According to Hayley Williams, the lyrics are based on real events. The song was written to get her high school experience off her chest. In an interview with the Manchester Evening News August 9, 2007, guitarist Josh Farro described how the background to this song concerned vocalist Hayley Williams enough to post a message on the band's Live Journal page, asking her fans to post what they were ashamed of: "The song is about a girl who ruined one of our friend's lives with sex, using her sexuality to get what she wanted. And it really affected us, watching him crumble. So, when Hayley wrote 'Misery Business,' she posted online how she wanted to encourage our fans not to be scared to say what you feel or what you're ashamed of, because once you do, you're setting yourself free. We had a huge response. There were some people that were embarrassed of using drugs, drinking, or sleeping around or having gay sex. Everything, really. There were a few parents who replied, ashamed of how they raised their kids." >> Of the music video's concept, Hayley Williams said she wanted to mutilate every part of her rival's existence. >> Hayley Williams sings here about taking a man from another woman: Whoa, it was never my intention to brag To steal it all away from you now But God does it feel so good 'Cause I got him where I want him now And if you could then you know you would 'Cause God it just feels so It just feels so good Williams published a blog on Tumblr in 2015 in response to unspecified criticism of the song, in which she said no longer relates to its words as a result of her feminist beliefs. She wrote: "I read a couple comments today about how I can't be feminist or whether or not I'm a 'good' feminist. To speak specifically to one of those comments, I'll say this: 'Misery Business' is not a set of lyrics that I relate to as a 26 year old woman. I haven't related to it in a very long time. Those words were written when i was 17… admittedly, from a very narrow-minded perspective. It wasn't really meant to be this big philosophical statement about anything. It was quite literally a page in my diary about a singular moment i experienced as a high schooler." Shane Drake (Paramore's "Pressure," "Emergency") directed the music video at Reseda High School near Los Angeles, which has also been used for films like Encino Man (1992) and Grosse Pointe Blank (1997), and TV shows like The Hard Times of RJ Berger and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. At one point, the Queen Bee snatches a guy away from his girlfriend and starts making out with him. According to VH1's Pop-Up Video the actress wanted him to grab her like he was into it, but he was allegedly terrified by the rough kiss and wouldn't do it. Paramore announced they will no longer perform "Misery Business" at live shows at a special one-off concert event in their hometown of Nashville on September 7, 2018. Before playing the song for the last time, Hayley Williams said: "This is a choice that we've made because we feel that we should, we feel like it's time to move away from it for a little while. This is to every bad decision that led us here, this is to all the embarrassing things we might have said, but we owned up to it and we grew." Hayley Williams sang "Misery Business" for the first time since 2018 on April 23, 2022, when she joined Billie Eilish on stage at Coachella to perform an acoustic cover of the song. Eilish sang a censored version of the second verse that included dropping the word "whore." When Paramore made their live comeback on October 2, 2022 at Bakersfield, California after a four-year hiatus, they included "Misery Business" in their setlist. Williams addressed the song's return mid-performance. "Four years ago, we said we were gonna retire this song for a little while, and I guess technically we did! But what we did not know was that just about five minutes after I got canceled for saying the word 'whore' in a song, all of TikTok decided that it was OK. Make it make sense."

Hit that, hit that snare

I'm in the business of misery, let's take it from the top
She's got a body like an hourglass, that's ticking like a clock
It's a matter of time before we all run out
When I thought he was mine, she caught him by the mouth
I waited eight long months
She finally set him free
I told him I couldn't lie, he was the only one for me
Two weeks and we had caught on fire
She's got it out for me, but I wear the biggest smile

Whoa, I never meant to brag
But I got him where I want him now
Whoa, it was never my intention to brag
To steal it all away from you now
But God, does it feel so good
'Cause I got him where I want him now
And if you could, then you know you would
'Cause God, it just feels so
It just feels so good

Second chances they don't ever matter, people never change
Once a whore, you're nothing more, I'm sorry that'll never change
And about forgiveness, we're both supposed to have exchanged
I'm sorry honey, but I passed it up, now look this way
Well, there's a million other girls who do it just like you
Looking as innocent as possible to get to who
They want and what they like, it's easy if you do it right
Well I refuse, I refuse, I refuse!

Whoa, I never meant to brag
But I got him where I want him now
Whoa, it was never my intention to brag
To steal it all away from you now
But God, does it feel so good
'Cause I got him where I want him right now
And if you could, then you know you would
'Cause God, it just feels so
It just feels so good

I watched his wildest dreams come true
And not one of them involving you
Just watch my wildest dreams come true
Not one of them involving

Whoa, well I never meant to brag
But I got him where I want him now

Whoa, I never meant to brag
But I got him where I want him now
Whoa, it was never my intention to brag
To steal it all away from you now
But God, does it feel so good
'Cause I got him where I want him now
And if you could, then you know you would
'Cause God, it just feels so
It just feels so good