Don't Be Messin' 'Round

"Don't Be Messin' 'Round"Song by Michael Jackson
General information
Released	September 18, 2012
Recorded	1982 • February 19-October 25, 1986 • 1990-1991 • 1994-1995 • Late 2000s
Studio	Hayvenhurst (Encino, California) Westlake Recording Studios (Los Angeles, California)
Genre	Funk • pop • R&B • jazz
Length	4:20
Album	Bad 25
Label	MJJ Productions Inc.
Writer(s)	Michael Jackson
Producer(s)	Michael Jackson • Matt Forger • Bill Bottrell • Teddy Riley • Brad Buxer
Track list
Previous	"Leave Me Alone"
Current	"Don't Be Messin' 'Round"
Next	"I'm So Blue"

"Don't Be Messin' 'Round" (later referred to as "Messin' 'Round" and "Don't Be Messin'") is a previously unreleased song written and produced by American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson, released as the twelfth track from the Bad 25 reissue. It made its debut as the B-side to the 2012 reissue of the "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" single.

Background

Jackson recorded "Don't Be Messin' 'Round" at multiple points during his career, seemingly being one of his favourite songs to craft. He first wrote and recorded it in 1982, during recording sessions for his sixth studio album, Thriller. However, due to an overflow of new material at the time, Jackson pushed the song aside for his next album.

In 1986, Jackson revisited "Don't Be Messin' 'Round" with longtime collaborators Matt Forger and Bill Bottrell at the Laboratory, a nickname given to Jackson's Hayvenhurst recording studio. According to Forger, the original demo for "Don't Be Messin' 'Round" was nearly eight minutes long, so Jackson had to cut it down to the current length of 4:20, nearly half the runtime of the original demo. Jackson continued to work on the track throughout February 19-October 25, 1986, both at Hayvenhurst and Westlake Recording Studios.

“	There was one day at Westlake MJ came in and wanted to start this song again. He sat at the piano and did some random stuff, lost interest and we went on to something else.	”
–Bill Bottrell, X, February 18, 2025

Jackson revisited "Don't Be Messin' 'Round" between 1990-1995 during sessions for both the Dangerous and HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I albums, as well as another revisit for the scrapped late 2000s project. Jackson, however, decided to leave the song off all of them.

In early April 2012, unauthorized pre-sales for the CD single of "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" began circulating online, prematurely leaking news of the upcoming release of "Don't Be Messin' 'Round". Later, in May 2012, the Michael Jackson Estate issued a statement officially announcing the song's release. The released version was a new mix done by Forger, which he made from combining elements recorded across multiple different multitrack tapes in an attempt to best represent the Bad-era version of the track.

Lyrics

[Intro]
Da-da-da
Da-da da-da
Da-da-da-da
Da-da da-da
Da-da da-da-da
Da-da da-da
Da-da-da-da
Da-da da-da-da
Da-da

[Verse 1]
Are you ready for a real good time?
Are you ready for a real good treat?
There'll be so much dancing, singing
Are you the girl, meant to me

[Chorus]
So don’t be messin' 'round, don’t be messin' 'round (With me)
Don’t be messin' 'round (With me), hey, hey, hey
So don’t be messin' 'round, don’t be messin' 'round (With me)
Don’t be messin' 'round (With me), hey

[Verse 2]
If I started now in the deep
Think you said this feeling is your life
I’ll be so proud if you let me love you, girl
Let me love you for a little while

[Chorus]
Don’t be messing around, don’t be messing around
Don’t be messing around (with me), hey, hey, hey
So don’t be messing around, don’t be messing around
Don’t be messing around (with me), hey
O-ho, yeah, yeah
O-ho, yeah, o-ho, yeah, o-ho, yeah

[Verse 3]
Now, she started finger-popping to the beat
So I said let’s get right on the floor
She said to keep your mind on dancing
Won't be no romancing
No, no, don't mess around with me
I ain't playing

[Chorus]
Don’t be messing around, don’t be messing around (with me)
Don’t be messing around (with me), hey, hey, hey
So don’t be messing around, don’t be messing around (with me)
Don’t be messing around (with me), hey, hey
Bridge!

[Bridge]
Da-da-da da-da
Da-da-da-da
Da-da-da da-da
Da-da-da-da
Da-da-da da-da
Da-da-da-da
Da-da-da da-da

[Chorus]
Ba-ba-ba-la-ba-la
Ba-ba-la-ba-la
Ba-ba-ba-la-ba-la
Ba-ba-ba-la bam
Ba-ba-ba-la-ba-la
Ba-ba-la-ba-la
Ba-ba-ba-la-ba-la
Ba-ba-ba-la bam

Chh, aah, chh, aah, chh, aah, chh, aah
Chh, aah, chh, aah, chh, aah
Chh, aah, chh, aah, chh, aah
Ooh!
Ba-la ba-ba-ba-la
Ba-la ba-ba-la

[Chorus]
So don’t be messing around, don’t be messing around
Don’t be messing around (with me), hey, hey, hey
So don’t be messing around, don’t be messing around (with me)
Don’t be messing around (with me), hey, hey
So don’t be messing around, don’t be messing around (with me)
Don’t be messing around (with me), hey, hey, hey
So don’t be messing around, don’t be messing around (with me)
Don’t be messing around (with me), hey, hey

[Outro]
Listen to me
Dow-dow-dow-dow-do-do-dow-dow
Dow-dow-dow-dow-do-do-dow
Dow-dow-dow-dow-do-do-dow-dow
Dow-dow-dow-dow-do-do-dow
Dow-dow-dow-dow-do-do-dow-dow
Dow-dow-dow-dow-do-do-dow
Dow-dow-dow-dow-do-do-dow-dow
Dow-dow-dow-dow-do-do-dow
Dow-dow-dow-dow-do-do-dow-dow
Dow-dow-dow-dow-do-do-dow

Gallery

"I Just Can't Stop Loving You" reissue

"I Just Can't Stop Loving You" reissue back cover

"I Just Can't Stop Loving You" reissue CD

Note with titles considered for Dangerous.

Trivia

• "Don't Be Messin' 'Round" is one of the only songs Jackson recorded a version of for nearly all of his albums.
• On May 25, 2020, a collector, Korg Nex, released his "redux" of another demo of "Don't Be Messin' 'Round".
  • Although the video's thumbnail features a picture of Jackson from the Thriller era, fans often speculate that the remix is actually of the Dangerous demo.
• Fans often noted similarities between "Don't Be Messin' 'Round" and "Streetwalker", another Bad outtake. It has also been compared to various Stevie Wonder songs.