“Heads Clean” was the lead single from Alanis Morissette’s fifth album Under Rug Swept.
With the verses written in the voice of an older man she had an affair with when she was only 14, the chorus takes him to task for protecting himself by casually charging her to never speak of the affair again after it was concluded.

The title of the album Under Rug Swept album is taken from a line in the bridge of “Hands Clean.”

What part of our history
Is reinvented an under rug swept?
What part of your memory
Is selective and tends to forget?

Despite Alanis' story which tacitly describes her experience with what amounts to sexual abuse as a minor, the surprisingly sunny song rides along unsuspectingly on a shuffling acoustic-rock base with a catchy melody for its chorus. “Hands Clean” was released January 8, 2002.