If you’re a fan of songs like “greedy” and “exes,” Tate McRae’s sophomore album THINK LATER is about to become one of your favorites of the year. IMHO, this is the year of pop music, and McRae is one of my favorite pop princesses leading this genre. And if there’s one thing to know about McRae, it’s that she’s going to create songs that will be stuck in your head for days, if not weeks. One of those songs is “cut my hair,” because the meaning of it is so good.
The vibe of this song differs from the others on the album, having more of a rock-pop sound. And before you ask, no, the song isn’t merely about McRae getting a haircut. It’s much more than that. If you’re looking for a song to get over an ex/situationship, or just need a song to remind you that you are that girl, “cut my hair” is for you. In the song, McRae clearly shows her listeners how much she has matured since her last album. IMO, it’s also a great hype song — I’d be lying if I said I haven’t had the song on repeat for the last 30 minutes.
Because of the lyrics and the overall vibe of the song, “cut my hair” was such a great way for McRae to begin her album. The song starts with the lyrics from the chorus: “Just wanna cut my hair, lose myself, make you sweat / Go out and get messed up, find myself in your bed / Just wanna cut my hair, little black dress, can’t forget / Just wanna show you whatever she do, I can do it better.” So yeah, it’s not just about her getting a new haircut, it’s about reminding people of her worth.
According to an interview with Apple Music, McRae explains how she wanted to open THINK LATER with “a big tonal shift from my last album.” McRae talks about how this year, she did “a lot of self-work” and tried to figure out “what the f*ck [she] actually wanted in life,” which led her to start the album with “cut my hair.”
In the first verse, McRae sings about “playin’ nice too long” and how she’s “been workin’ hard” while her hookup is “six drinks in.” Yikes! We can assume McRae is clearly dissing an ex/situationship of some sort. But, she’s also showing how she is improving and working on herself.
The second verse is where the vibe of the song shifts a bit. McRae sings, “Singin’ ‘bout the same old stupid ass things / Sad girl got a bit boring.” The lyric “sad girl got a bit boring” is one of McRae’s favorite lyrics from the song according to her video from Today’s Top Hits Behind The Song segment. In this video, McRae says “One of my favorite lyrics is ‘Sad girl bit, got a little boring’, and it’s just kind of funny because I’m kind of dissing my old songwriter self and, just shown how much I’ve grown and that I’m 20 now and I’ve gotten a lot older. So, it was very fun to write.”
The rest of the song repeats the same pre-chorus, chorus, and bridge, basically restating and instilling the message of the song. In her interview with Apple Music, she explains that the song isn’t really about a relationship, though. “The track starts off with a story about a person, but by the second verse you start to realize that I’m talking more about myself and it’s more of an introspective song than about a relationship.”
While “cut my hair” is more of a bad b*tch anthem, if you’re wanting some songs to cry about your ex about, McRae didn’t leave those behind. “messier” might be more up your alley.