Jo Dee Marie Messina (born August 25, 1970 in Framingham, Massachusetts), k… Read Full Bio ↴Jo Dee Marie Messina (born August 25, 1970 in Framingham, Massachusetts), known professionally as Jo Dee Messina, is an American country music artist. In her career charted six Number One singles on the Billboard country music charts. She has been honored by the Country Music Association, the Academy of Country Music and nominated for a Grammy Award. She was the first female country artist to score three multiple-week Number One songs from the same album. To date, she has two Platinum and three Gold-certified albums by the RIAA.

Messina debuted in 1996 with the single "Heads Carolina, Tails California". Her album was certifified Gold by the RIAA. Her second album, I'm Alright produced five Top 10 Country hits between 1998 in 1999 and sold over a million copies in America. Since her debut, six of her singles have peaked at #1 on the Billboard Country singles chart and five of her albums have received a certification by the RIAA or the CRIA.

She was raised in Holliston, Massachusetts, by Vincent and Mary Messina, and had two sisters, Terese and Marianne, as well as a brother named Vincent. Messina had a variety of Country music influences, which included Patsy Cline, Reba McEntire, and The Judds. She soon started performing live, and by age 16 she was playing local clubs with a rhythm section made up of her brother and sister. The family band played up until Messina was in her late teens.

Realizing that living in the Northeast would limit her chances of achieving Country music stardom, Messina moved to Nashville at age 19. To support herself, Messina worked various temp jobs, including computer programming and accounting. In her spare time, she entered talent contests around Nashville.

One win led to a regular gig on the radio show Live at Libby's, which in turn caught the interest of producer Byron Gallimore, who helped her assemble a demo tape. Gallimore was also working with the young Tim McGraw around the same time, and Messina befriended him. Backstage at one of his concerts, Messina met an executive from his label, Curb, and jokingly suggested that they needed a redhead. With the help of fellow Curb producer James Stroud, Messina was then signed to the record label. Gallimore and McGraw would later become co-producers of Messina's studio albums under Curb.

In 2022, Cole Swindell had a major hit with a remake of "Heads Carolina, Tails California" entitled "She Had Me At Heads Carolina." In the music video, Jo Dee plays a small part as the bartender in a Karaoke bar.

I'm Free
Jo Dee Messina Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You trade with all your mind
You had to have control
You have on so tight
You almost crashed my soul
And now I'm braking from these chains
Not looking back again

Heeeey! Look at me now, I'm flying

'Cause do now I got the best, yeah,
This wings will take me higher
Then you thought I'll never be
Yeah look at me, I'm free

Like every every king on hos throne
Your heart was made of stone
Tell me so, what you wnat to see
But never notice me
I was never good enough for you
And now that will go though

Heeeey! Look at me now, I'm flying
'Cause do now I got the best, yeah,
This wings will take me higher
Then you thought I'll never be
Yeah look at me, I'm free, I'm free
Yeah look at me now, look at me now

'Cause you ai't, you ain't got the best of me

This wings will take me higher
Then you thought I'll never be
Yeah look at me,

Yeah look at me now, I'm free, I'm free
Yeah look at me, I'm free

Overall Meaning

In Jo Dee Messina's "I'm Free," the lyrics depict a woman who has broken free from a toxic relationship. In the opening lines, she sings about her past partner who traded with all his mind and had to have control, holding on so tightly that he almost "crashed" her soul. However, now she is breaking free from those chains and not looking back again. The chorus emphasizes her newfound sense of freedom and soaring to greater heights than her former partner likely ever believed she could achieve. She revels in her liberation and declares that her ex-lover did not get the best of her.

The second verse touches on the emotional neglect that the woman felt throughout the relationship. She compares her ex-partner's heart to stone and bemoans the fact that she was never good enough for him. But now, things have changed, and she proudly declares that she is free. The lyrics convey a sense of empowerment and triumph that comes with breaking free from a toxic relationship and rediscovering one's self-worth.

Line by Line Meaning

You trade with all your mind
You are always calculating and making deals in your head

You had to have control
You craved power over everything and everyone

You have on so tight
Your grip on me was suffocating and constricting

You almost crashed my soul
Your control was so overwhelming, it almost broke me completely

And now I'm braking from these chains
I am breaking free from the ties that held me back

Not looking back again
I refuse to dwell on the past and I am moving forward

Heeeey! Look at me now, I'm flying
Hey, see me now, I am soaring and thriving

'Cause do now I got the best, yeah,
Because now I have everything I need to succeed

This wings will take me higher
I have the means to reach unimaginable heights

Then you thought I'll never be
I am proving you wrong by achieving greatness

Yeah look at me, I'm free
I am finally free from your grasp and I am living my best life