Pink and Carey Hart's relationship [1] is full of more ups and downs than a motocross track. The singer and professional biker met in 2001, and their on-again, off-again romance has inspired several of Pink's biggest hits. They have broken up twice [2], have two kids together [3], and are currently going strong [4]. But without the struggle, we wouldn't have songs like "So What" or "Just Give Me a Reason." Her two most recent albums, 2008's Funhouse and 2012's The Truth About Love, are both heavily influenced by Carey. Read on to get some context, and find out what she's said about the tracks.
"So What"
- The context: Two years after they got married, Pink and Carey announced their split in 2008. She wrote the song as an anthem of empowerment; after the trauma of a breakup, she was letting the world know that she was still a badass. It's just one of many songs inspired by Carey off Pink's Funhouse album.
- In her words: Pink convinced Carey to star in the video, but he had no idea what the song was about [5]. He found out on the set that the lyrics were all about their relationship: "He hadn't heard the song before he showed up for the video. He's a good sport, he knows how psychotic I am, he spent six and a half years with me. A year with me is like dog years." Pink also admitted that the personal lyrics started out as a joke [6], but they kept going and it just kept getting "wronger."
- Most revealing lyrics: "I guess I just lost my husband / I don't know where he went / So I'm gonna drink my money / I'm not gonna pay his rent."
"I Don't Believe You"
- The context: While "So What" will bring you up, "I Don't Believe You" will break your heart. Pink also wrote this in 2008, when she and Carey split up. She notably wears her real wedding dress [7] in the video.
- In her words: Pink revealed to the Los Angeles Times that she played this track for Carey during their separation [8]. "It's the most heartbreaking song I've ever written. I've never been there before. I've never been in that much pain before as I was that night. That was tough, that was the darkest." In a post-recording interview, Pink added that while it was initially hard for her to listen to, she loves the song [9]: "It's the vulnerable and weak side of me that I don't let out very often."
- Most revealing lyrics: "No I don't believe you / When you say don't come around here no more / I won't remind you / You said we wouldn't be apart / No I don't believe you / When you say you don't need me anymore / So don't pretend to / Not love me at all."
"Please Don't Leave Me"
- The context: Also off her Funhouse album, "Please Don't Leave Me" shows Pink taking responsibility for her part in the problems in her relationship. The video, featuring Carey, is particularly telling.
- In her words: "I can be really really awful," she said, admitting that the separation wasn't all Carey's fault [10]. "It's about how we can get really, really nasty with the people that we love. It's just saying, 'F*ck you, come back, I didn't mean it.'"
- Most revealing lyrics: "I forgot to say out loud how beautiful you really are to me / I can't be without, you're my perfect little punching bag / And I need you, I'm sorry."
"Mean"
- The context: "Mean" was written while Pink and Carey were still together, but their relationship was crumbling.
- In her words: Pink really opens up about these lyrics [11] in a video about the album. She talks about a trip she and Carey made with their friends and how she pulled fellow artist Butch Walker to the side and said she wanted to write a song about how everyone became so mean. "We all knew that Carey and I were unraveling, even Carey and I did, and it was OK. It was sad and weird and beautiful. We knew it was once of our last trips. . . . We started writing it right there at the picnic in front of everyone. It was awkward and beautiful and amazing. There was still so much love at that picnic and honesty."
- Most revealing lyrics: "Oh we said some things that we can never take back / It's like a train wreck tryin' to hit the right track / We opened up the wine and we just let it breathe / But we should of drank it down while it was still sweet / It all goes bad eventually."
"True Love"
- The context: Pink cowrote the song for The Truth About Love in 2012, the year after she gave birth to Willow, her daughter with Carey. The video is an ode to her family and features candid footage of her on tour with Carey and Willow.
- In her words: "I've been in a relationship with this man for 10 years and I've figured out no one can push your buttons like your mother or your partner," she said, describing the inspiration [12] in 2013. "I have a tattoo on my wrist that says 'True Love' with Carey's name under it. I think lyrically, it's really funny and really honest, and people think I'm nuts anyway so why not tell the truth?"
- Most revealing lyrics: "You're an assh*le but I love you / And you make me so mad I ask myself / Why I'm still here / or where could I go / You're the only love I've ever known / But I hate you / I really hate you / So much, I think it must be / True love."
"Just Give Me a Reason"
- The context: The song, which is also from The Truth About Love, speaks to their ongoing struggles and heavily hints that Pink suspects Carey of cheating on her. Once again, Carey appears in the video.
- In her words: "It means everything because it's a conversation between lovers fighting the good fight and that's been our life [13]," she said, while accepting Billboard's woman of the year award. "Our family is everything to us. . . . At the end of the day I crawl onto his lap and complain, so if someone wants to award me for that, they should give him the award."
- Most revealing lyrics: "Just give me a reason, just a little bit's enough / Just a second we're not broken just bent and we can learn to love again / I never stop, you're still written in the scars on my heart / You're not broken just bent and we can learn to love again."