“It’s an Emotional Vocal”: Morgan Wallen’s Co-Writer Jessie Jo Dillon Discusses ‘Lies, Lies, Lies’

During a new appearance on BobbyCast, one of Nashville's most revered songwriters, Jessie Jo Dillon, has opened up about the process behind Morgan Wallen's ‘Lies, Lies, Lies’.

Dillon has become a cornerstone of Music City's songwriting landscape in recent years, penning iconic tracks like Megan Moroney's ‘Am I Okay?’, Russell Dickerson's ‘Happen To Me’, Jelly Roll's ‘Halfway To Hell’, Kelsea Ballerini's ‘We Broke Up’ and more.

While chatting about some of her biggest hits with Bobby Bones on BobbyCast, Dillon pays tribute to Wallen's performance on his 2024 single, ‘Lies, Lies, Lies’. Dillon wrote the heartbroken ode with Josh Miller, Daniel Ross and Chris Tompkins, with the intimate track serving as one of the lead singles from I'm the Problem.

When Bones brings up ‘Lies, Lies, Lies’, Dillon immediately responds, “Oh, love”, before underlining how special Wallen's voice is, “He's a top vocal for me of anyone. There's something about it, you just always...It's an emotional vocal. And that's another pivotal song because that song came from a very real place, and one of my favorite cuts...I love the way he [sings]...the artwork with the tattoo, everything about it”.

As for whether ‘Lies, Lies, Lies’ was written specifically with Wallen in mind, Dillon pauses, before explaining, “You know, in a way, but no. Like, when we were starting the song, I don't know if we thought that and then as we got going along”.

Dillon goes on to share that, as they got further into the process of writing ‘Lies, Lies, Lies’, the team did start to wonder if it might be a good fit for Wallen, “I think we were like, man, it would be cool if he liked this, and then he did. And it was really awesome”.

It's particularly interesting hearing Dillon's meditations on whether ‘Lies, Lies, Lies’ was penned for Wallen, given all the speculation that surrounded the track when it droped.

Numerous fans online were convinced it was inspired by Wallen's rumoured romance with Megan Moroney. But Dillon's reflections here suggest that, while it's possible the ‘Last Night’ hitmaker cut the song with Moroney as the muse, the original intention behind the track wasn't necessarily anything to do with Wallen's own life.

Either way, given all the chart-topping anthems Wallen packed into his sprawling 2025 album, I'm the Problem, from ‘What I Want’ with Tate McRae and ‘Love Somebody’ to ‘Just in Case’ and ‘20 Cigarettes’, and the fact that ‘Lies, Lies, Lies’ was released in 2024, it sometimes feels like the brooding song gets overlooked.

It's arguably the first signal we were given that I'm the Problem would see Wallen exploring new sonic territory and experimenting with a more alternative style. ‘Lies, Lies, Lies’ is deftly dialled-back and wonderfully intricate, allowing the spotlight to fall on Dillon and her co-writer's powerful lyrics and Wallen's captivating vocals. After this, we hope Dillon has more cuts on the Sneedville native's next project.