Miley Cyrus’s “Midnight Sky” Teaches Us How to Be Our Best Single Selves!

After a musical hiatus that lasted far too long, Miley Cyrus has finally blessed us all with some new music. Last week, she released her single “Midnight Sky”, which will be featured on her upcoming album She is Miley, as well as a self-directed, disco-inspired music video for the new hit! After teasing the single on her social media platforms, it is finally here, and this is not your typical love song. In fact, it is not a love song at all! “Midnight Sky” leans closer to a break-up song but instead focuses on the freedom that Miley has gained since becoming single.

With her new release and her new pixie mullet, it seems as if Miley is living her best single life. Let’s break down the lyrics of “Midnight Sky” and see if we can do the same!

VERSE 1:

Yeah, it's been a long night and the mirror's telling me to go home

But it's been a long time since I felt this good on my own (Uh)

Lotta years went by with my hands tied up in your ropes (Your ropes)

Forever and ever, no more (No more)

In the first verse, Miley sings about getting out of a long-term relationship and finally being able to feel good on her own. She also sings “forever and ever, no more”, which she discusses in an interview with Sirius XM is a stigma that she wants to get rid of. Making a promise to be with someone forever is not always successful, and unfortunately, not every relationship works out the way that we hoped it would. As Miley says, “You never know who you're going to evolve to be and who they're going to evolve to be. So I think that we, especially as women in relationships, a lot of the time we can get villainized when 'forever' doesn't happen.” So instead of feeling like the villain and completely shutting down post-breakup, we should channel our inner Miley by making ourselves the main priority in our lives and doing what we want to do!

This idea of freedom continues as we skip ahead to the chorus:

PRE-CHORUS:

The midnight sky is the road I'm takin'

Head high up in the clouds (Oh, oh)

CHORUS:

I was born to run, I don't belong to anyone, oh no

I don't need to be loved by you (By you)

Fire in my lungs, can't bite the devil on my tongue, oh no

I don't need to be loved by you

See my lips on her mouth, everybody's talkin' now, baby

Ooh, you know it's true (Yeah, yeah)

That I was born to run, I don't belong to anyone, oh no

I don't need to be loved by you (Loved by you)

As Miley sings “I was born to run, I don’t belong to anyone,” she is reiterating what was hinted at in the first verse -- that she is reclaiming her independence. Especially the lyrics “I don’t belong to anyone” and “I don’t need to be loved by you” show the strength that Miley has. She sees the value in herself, she loves herself, and she empowers us to feel the same way about ourselves. We should not look for validation or recognition from others, and we should not allow our relationship with anyone define us! Instead, like Miley sings in “Midnight Sky”, we should keep our “head high up in the clouds” and create the ideal environments for ourselves to live in and thrive.

VERSE 2:

She got her hair pulled back 'cause the sweat's drippin' off of her face (Her face)

Said, "It ain't so bad if I wanna make a couple mistakes"

You should know right now that I never stay put in one place

Forever and ever, no more (No more)

As we sing along with Verse 2, we should all take a moment to remember this lyric: “It ain’t so bad if I wanna make a couple mistakes.” Just like Hannah Montana sang, nobody’s perfect, and we do not always have to make the decisions that people expect us to. So, whether you are in a relationship, single, or maybe it is a little complicated at the moment, I think we can all learn something from Miley’s “Midnight Sky”. Throughout our lives, people are going to walk in and out and we are going to make mistakes here and there, but this should always remain constant; we should never lose our identity or the love that we have for ourselves.