Jessica Simpson laid her heart on the line in her new song, “Blame Me.”
The singer, 44, dropped “Blame Me” alongside her new album, Nashville Canyon: Pt. 1, on Friday, March 21.
The song’s lyrics tell the story of someone acquiescing to an ex blaming them for the demise of a romantic relationship. The words urge the ex to continue because they’ve given up caring what the ex has to say.
“Go on and blame me/ Go tell your mama, your friends/ All at my expense / Couldn’t care any less if you shame me,” Simpsons sings in the chorus.
Other lyrics include: “You don’t know what you’re sorry about / I let you be king of everything that is mine / Now you’re drunk on the power / As you bury me alive.”
Meanwhile, the final verse references “guilt” and having to “clean up” a mess in the wake of a broken romance.
“Blame me for the pain, from the shame / For the nights, for the days / For your guilt, for your emptiness / And you’re good, that it’s me/ That is losing sleep / While you let me clean up all your mess,” the lyrics read.
Simpson also touched on the release of “Blame Me” in a behind-the-scenes video released via YouTube on Friday, March 21.
“Today’s my heartbreak song, it’s called ‘Blame Me.’ Go on, blame me. It ain’t my fault,” she declared in the video’s introduction, adding, “The reward of a broken heart is a ballad.”
During the behind-the-scenes clip, Simpson spoke further about the meaning of the song.
“I think that it’s an empowering heartbreak song,” she explained. “I think it’s the side of heartbreak where you just have to surrender to the other person just blaming you when it’s just not your fault [laughs]. And it’s okay, just let ‘em blame you.”
In February, Simpson announced her return to music after 15 years and released the album’s lead single, “Use My Heart Against Me.”
“I’ve lived through the hardest parts of life, and music is what has brought me back,” she said in a statement at the time. “Nashville Canyon is for anyone who’s ever been told who they are or how they should live their life. It’s about finding your true voice and the courage to be exactly who you are.”
She added, “Music makes you un-become to become, and through this process my soul has been pulled to the very place it belongs. This music is mine to share, and it’s not just about me — it’s about everyone who’s ever felt lost or overlooked. I want to remind them that they’re not alone.”
Earlier this month, Simpson released a second single from the album titled “Leave,” which hinted at an ex cheating on her.
“What we had was magic / Now you made it tragic / Giving her what you gave to me / Now the well that you drank from is empty,” she sang.
Ace Knute Johnson, Eric Johnson, Birdie Mae Johnson, Jessica Simpson, and Maxwell Drew Johnson. Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Jessica Simpson Collection
The lyrics continued, “Did you do to her what you did to me? / Was she on her knees? / Oh, she’s everything but me.”
Simpson went on to sing about “unholy matrimony.”
“Did you do to her what you did to me? / Was she on her knees? / Oh, she’s everything but me,” she sang. “Oh, I, I’d rather die / Than let you be inside me with her on your mind.”
Simpson’s new album comes two months after she confirmed her split from estranged husband Eric Johnson. The pair married in July 2014 and share daughter Maxwell, 12, son Ace, 11, and daughter Birdie, 6.
“Eric and I have been living separately navigating a painful situation in our marriage,” Simpson told Us Weekly in a January statement. “Our children come first, and we are focusing on what is best for them. We are grateful for all of the love and support that has been coming our way, and appreciate privacy right now as we work through this as a family.”
Prior to her relationship with Johnson, 45, Simpson was married to Nick Lachey from 2002 to 2006. She also dated the likes of John Mayer, Tony Romo and Billy Corgan.
