'Miss Universe' by Megan Moroney - Lyrics & Meaning

Like her hero Taylor Swift, with the arrival of any new Megan Moroney record comes a flurry of internet sleuthing as fans rush to try and unpick the meanings of her songs and the specific people and places that certain lyrics are about.

It’s no surprise that the 14 songs on Megan Moroney’s 2024 project, Am I Okay? are crammed with mouth wateringly juicy titbits about boyfriends past and present.

Coming in at track 8 on the new album is the seemingly very autobiographic ‘Miss Universe.’

The song begins with a chunky country rock riff and a sighing background vocal courtesy of Megan herself before the lead vocal comes in with her distinctive raspy vocals.

The song overall has a ‘90s country feel with steel guitar licks and keyboards.

On production duties is Kristian Bush who adds a little punky edge to the guitars giving it a pop punk feel quite reminiscent of Olivia Rodrigo to the overall ‘90s country vibe of the song.

The Meaning:

I was just 21 and he was barely 22

I wanted him to want me
And he said, “Baby you know I do”

We were picture perfect

Thought the distance would be worth it

As Megan was born on 9th October 1997 and she is looking back on a past relationship that began when she was 21 then this would mean it was probably late 2018 or early 2019. Unfortunately this is a couple of years before Megan released her first single, ‘Wonder,’ in 2021, so without her really being in the public eye we can’t be exactly sure who she was dating at the time but it appears they weren’t living that close to each other because she refers to there being some distance between them.

It's not specific about how serious their relationship was but Megan does say, “technically we weren’t really dating” as an aside at the beginning of the second verse.

He said, “When you know, you know” and I believed him (and I believed him)

Then I got a goodbye call

Whoever it was, it seems that at some point the distance between them became too much because he calls Megan up to tell him it’s over.

’Cause he found a beauty queen

I’m in a dive bar drinking while she’s in a magazine

This is the first hint that we get in the song that her ex-boyfriend left her for another woman who seems to be attractive or “a beauty queen” of some sort, but we don’t whether that is just a metaphorical beauty queen or an actual one.

And yeah it hurt like hell

But hell it could’ve been worse

At least my whole world left me for Miss Universe

Again, it’s implied that this other woman is in fact a previous winner of the annual international beauty pageant, Miss Universe.

Miss Universe is a “global, inclusive organization that celebrates all cultures, backgrounds and religions,” according to their website. They aim to “create and provide a safe space for women to share their stories and drive impact personally, professionally, and philanthropically. The women who participate in this international platform serve as inspirational leaders and role models to their communities and fans around the world.”

Although it is often criticized for its perpetuation of unrealistic beauty standards and its objectification of women.

The Miss Universe pageant takes place in November and has been running since 1926, but if this song is indeed autobiographical then the Miss Universe that Megan Moroney’s ex-boyfriend left her for would have been Catriona Gray from the Phillipines who was crowned in November 2018.

Gray was in a relationship with Filipino-German actor and model Clint Bondad from 2012, until they broke up on 23 February 2019. This could possibly tie up with the dates of Megan Moroney’s relationship ending.

However, it could also be that Megan is just using the phrase ‘Miss Universe’ as a catch-all to describe a woman who is seemingly perfect in her eyes, and the song should not be taken as literally.

And yeah it hurt like hell

But hell it could’ve been worse

At least my whole world left me for Miss Universe

(Ok so technically we weren’t really dating, but still) I can’t lie she’s everything

And I’d have probably picked her too

At least it wasn’t a county pageant

I lost that boy to

Megan admits that she almost understands why her ex-boyfriend left her but concedes that she would have been disappointed to lose out to her if it had been a competition based on country music.

But I want runner-up roses

Want the sash for the second place

I want confetti falling

Cameras flashing in my face

In this verse Megan urges her ex-boyfriend to recognise her own position in his dating history and to celebrate her as a runner up in the competition for his affections.

But I got a goodbye call

’Cause he found a beauty queen

I’m in a dive bar drinking

While she’s in a magazine

And yeah it hurt like hell

But hell it could’ve been worse

At least my whole world left me for Miss Universe

He better count his lucky stars

It went down like it did

’Cause I’d have left him first

If I’d have met Brad Pitt

Megan admits that if the roles had been reversed, she too would have been tempted by a more conventionally “successful” man who conformed to standardised definitions of heteronormative masculine beauty, like the actor Brad Pitt, who the Canadian country pop singer Shania Twain famously name-checked as being unimpressed by in ‘That Don’t Impress Me Much.’

But that ain’t the way it went

No I got a goodbye call

’Cause he found a beauty queen

I’m in a dive bar drinking

While she’s in a magazine

Megan Moroney is yet to delve into the creative process behind ‘Miss Universe’ or to share whether the story is based on real life. But we'll be here as soon as she's ready to share.

I was just 21 and he was barely 22

I wanted him to want me

And he said, “Baby you know I do”

We were picture perfect

Thought the distance would be worth it

He said, “When you know, you know” and I believed him (and I believed him)

Then I got a goodbye call

’Cause he found a beauty queen I’m in a dive bar drinking

While she’s in a magazine

And yeah it hurt like hell

But hell it could’ve been worse

At least my whole world left me for Miss Universe

(Ok so technically we weren’t really dating, but still) I can’t lie she’s everything

And I’d have probably picked her too

At least it wasn’t a county pageant

I lost that boy too

But I want runner-up roses

Want the sash for the second place

I want confetti falling

Cameras flashing in my face

But I got a goodbye call

’Cause he found a beauty queen

I’m in a dive bar drinking

While she’s in a magazine

And yeah it hurt like hell

But hell it could’ve been worse

At least my whole world left me for Miss Universe

He better count his lucky stars

It went down like it did

’Cause I’d have left him first

If I’d have met Brad Pitt

But that ain’t the way it went

No I got a goodbye call

’Cause he found a beauty queen

I’m in a dive bar drinking

While she’s in a magazine

Yeah it hurt like hell

But hell it could’ve been worse

At least my whole world left me for Miss Universe

My whole world left me for Miss Universe