Tate McRae has skyrocketed to fame over the last year with her pop smash “greedy.” The insatiable dance track is an instant floor-filler. On top of the radio fodder beat, the lyrics are deeply relatable—which no doubt has contributed to its success. Uncover the meaning behind “greedy,” below.
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Behind the Meaning
The opening line of “greedy” sees McRae at a bar, looking indifferent to a guy’s advances. He tries his best to poke and prod her into giving him some sort of reaction. I’ve been next to you all night and still don’t know what you’re about, he says to her. She quickly shuts down his pushy behavior with a tongue-in-cheek response: I would want myself / Baby, please believe me.
In the chorus, she reveals that it does take a while to get to know her. Only those willing to stick it out can earn her trust. Baby, don’t get greedy / That shit won’t end well, she sings, conflating greed and the guy’s monopolization of her time.
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According to McRae, the song was inspired by a real-life scenario.
“A guy had come up to me at a bar and he was like, ‘Oh, you’re so mysterious and I feel like I know nothing about you,” McRae once explained. “Then I was thinking, and I’m like, ‘Yeah, it takes a lot for me to really open up and get to know someone.”
“We started writing this really sassy song about the feeling of having utter confidence being like, ‘Yeah, it takes a lot to really get me to open up,'” she continued. “It ended up feeling like this really cool female empowerment song, which I loved.”
It’s hard to not feel a surge of empowerment when listening to this track. The bridge is particularly self-confidence boosting: He said, “I’m just curious, is this for real or just an act? / Can’t tell if you love or hate me, never met someone like that / Drive me so (so, so) crazy, did you know you got that effect?” / I said, “Lemme check,” yeah.
Repeating the refrain I would want myself is an instant pick me up. Try it for yourself, below.
Photo by Rob Kim/Getty Images for iHeartRadio
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