Lyrically, the song features a message of female strength, the song lyrics were described as "goofy" and "fun" by Larry Katz from the "Boston Herald". Reading "Just like the Calgon commercial / I really gotta get up out of here", Carey tells her lover that she is leaving him, making a "clever" reference to a commercial. In regards to the latter lyrics, Lawrence Farber from the "Windy City Times" wrote "they are a playful approach to bitterness—and, more specifically, a cheatin' bad apple." She then sings "By the time you get this message / It's gonna be too late / So don't bother paging me / 'Cause I'll be on my way," establishing that the relationship is over, and that he shouldn't even try to mend the situation. She also makes reference to his infidelity, "with this one and that one / By the pool, on the beach, in the streets." In an interview with MTV News, Dupri described the song's composition: