The Meaning of Not a Bad Thing by Justin Timberlake

Both men and women that have been through tough relationships end up feeling like they aren’t worthy of being loved. The effects of a bad relationship can be so traumatizing that people end up building walls to avoid intimacy and commitment to others.

They begin to attach the feeling of pain and misery to the feeling of love. They know that although they might be able to fall in love with someone, in the end, they will only end up getting hurt. They have concluded that it’s better to avoid love entirely then to put themselves out there again only to be let down.

They may have gotten out of a tough relationship, maybe a long one, and met someone that made them feel so happy and special only to have it end in disaster again. They may have done this several times before they gave up on love entirely — experiencing heartbreak after heartbreak, loss after loss, and going from an extreme high to an extremely low and dark place.

This is why falling in love can be viewed as a bad thing. From that point on everyone is the same and no one is given a fair chance. The defense and walls built up are so high that it keeps out everyone.

If you build your walls too high to keep others out, you can end up keeping yourself out as well. This allows you to hide from who you really are and how you really feel. You are denying yourself the pleasures of this life, including happiness.

Justin’s song is literally an attempt to win someone over that has had a rough relationship history.

Let’s pick the song apart and watch Justin try to scale the wall and win her heart.

Said all I want from you
Is to see you tomorrow
And every tomorrow
Maybe you’ll let me borrow, your heart
And is it too much to ask for every Sunday?
And while we’re at it throw in every other day to start

This is a very cute verse that starts out by chipping away at those walls by making just a very simple request. The only thing I want from you is to see you tomorrow, there’s no commitment, and it’s a one time thing.

The next 4 lines turn that simple request into a very serious commitment, to let her know that he intends it to be a forever kind of thing.

[Pre-Chorus]
I know people make promises all the time
Then they turn right around and break them
When someone cuts your heart open with a knife
Now you’re bleeding
But I could be that guy to heal it over time
And I won’t stop until you believe it
Cause baby you’re worth it

The pre-chorus acknowledges the past she’s gone through, broken promises and pain. He’s going to be the one to show her that she IS worth it and he’s going to prove that to her no matter how long it takes, as indicated by the line “I won’t stop until you believe it.” He’s going to make her feel alright on the inside again.

[Chorus]
So don’t act like it’s a bad thing to fall in love with me
Cause you might fuck around and find your dreams come true with me
Spend all your time and your money just to find out that my love was free
So don’t act like it’s a bad thing to fall in love with me, me
It’s not a bad thing to fall in love with me, me
Fall, yeah

Most of the chorus is dedicated to changing her perspective on love. He’s not only saying falling in love isn’t a bad thing, but by the use of the word “me” he’s saying that he is an exception to the pain and let downs she’s gone through.  He’s different than everyone else.

The two lines that have alternate meanings are the 2nd and 3rd lines.

Cause you might fuck around and find your dreams come true with me

Fuck around can simply mean you could take a chance with me, fuck around meaning let’s not start out too serious. Let’s just fuck around and go with this and see what happens.

But fuck around also has an alternative meaning. It could mean that she can go out and do what she wants with whoever, but he’s the only one who can make her dreams come true.

Spend all your time and your money just to find out that my love was free

Depending on how you want to view what the word fuck around means, this could either mean that together they go off and do extravagant things together, wasting away a lot of time and money, but he’s saying he doesn’t need that, all he wants is her.

If you took it the other way then you would assume that she spent all of her money and time running off with other people when he was right there all along.

[Verse 2]
Now how about I be the last voice you hear tonight?
And every other night for the rest of the nights that there are
And every morning I just wanna see you staring back at me
Cause I know that’s a good place to start

In the first verse he covered spending almost every day with her, now he’s covering his commitment to spending hours of the day with her. Being the last voice you hear tonight is meant to be intimate, “Good night I love you babe.”, not “Hey I had fun tonight, I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

And every other night shows he’s committed. “Every morning I just wanna see you staring back at me.” very clearly refers to waking up together. Both people awake and just stare at each other amazed, “Wow this is real life and you’re really here.” This scene is portrayed in many love stories, it’s called speaking from your heart and soul by using just your eyes.

[Bridge]
No I won’t fill your mind
With broken promises and wasted time
And if you fall, you’ll always land right in these arms
These arms of mine

He’s reaffirming that he’s different and not like the other people in her life. Everything he says he means. And if things get hard, like they do for every relationship, he’s going to be there to catch her when she falls to help her back up again, to let her know that she’s safe and secure in his arms, and even though times will get hard, they will get through it because they love each other.

It’s a happily ever after kind of song that occurs after someone has gone through a period of unhappily ever after in their life.