Miley Cyrus’ Song “Secrets” Is About Her Relationship With Her Country Star Father
“Music changes everything,” wrote country star Billy Ray Cyrus on social media on Sunday, October 5.
He posted this in response to his daughter, Miley Cyrus, 32, being interviewed on CBS Sunday Morning that day.
There, she spoke about her ninth album, Something Beautiful, as well as her personal evolution from someone who was trying to escape her child star image to who she is today: a sober and confident artist.
During this conversation, Miley spoke about the song she used to mend her estrangement from her father, and said it conjured up an emotional response from the “Achy Breaky Heart” singer.
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Miley’s New Song “Secrets”
“Is it about your relationship with your dad?” asked Tracy Smith, of CBS Sunday Morning.
Miley replied, “It is.”
In 2022, Billy Ray Cyrus filed for divorce from Tish Cyrus, the mother to Miley and Noah Cyrus. From out of that parental divide, Miley became estranged from her father.
Now, with her song “Secrets,” which was released on September 19 as a bonus track on the deluxe version of Something Beautiful, she is waving the white flag of surrender… almost literally in the music video, which finds Miley wearing an avant-garde white satin garment.
On Billy Ray Cyrus’ birthday, on August 25, Miley presented Billy with her song “Secrets” as a reconciliatory gift.
The song features the talents of Mick Fleetwood and Lindsey Buckingham, both of Fleetwood Mac fame.
Lyrically, the song is an ode to heroes, asking, “Can I be your hero?”
Then, she sings, “Call off all your forces, a white flag in the war.”
Later, Miley goes on to sing, “Anywhere you run, you know I’ll follow.”
Asked how Billy Ray responded, Miley said, “My dad cried, which, you know, you don’t see your dad cry a lot, but with me and my dad, we just have always communicated better through music with each other.”
More than just receiving an emotional response, Miley was able to affirm that she and Billy are now at peace with one another.
Billy Ray even posted about the CBS Sunday Morning interview with Miley on his Facebook page, echoing the bond they have over music while sharing a picture of them together from two decades ago.
In her extended interview with CBS Sunday Morning, Miley said she initially wrote the song with the image of a white flag of surrender in mind. As she wrote the song, in a manner she compared to that of “a diary entry,” she noted that it was difficult to share this song with her usual go-to family members.
“When it came to our family and our dynamic, I do think we were meant to be unified,” she said. “We’re not a family that thrives in a divide.”
Presently, Billy Ray Cyrus is dating Elizabeth Hurley.
Miley added, “You know, I think my dad is in a better space than I’ve seen him in a really long time. Like me, I don’t know how much of his life he remembers before becoming famous.”
Audiences were largely first introduced to Miley Cyrus through the Disney series Hannah Montana, which will be celebrating the 20th anniversary of its 2006 debut episode next year, in 2026.
There, Miley starred as a version of herself, named Miley Stewart. On the show, her real life father played her character’s father, a successful musician named Robby Ray Stewart.
Since then, the show allowed for Miley to go on to have a successful career of her own, and she’s quick to acknowledge the power her Disney series had in giving her the platform in entertainment that she enjoys today.
“I love [Hannah Montana], she’s everything,” said Miley. “I would have nothing, none of this. I mean, maybe I could’ve figured it out, maybe I could’ve gotten myself from Nashville, Tennessee, to Los Angeles. I don’t know, but she did it a lot faster and better, and set me up for the life I have now.”
Watch the CBS Sunday Morning interview, here:
See the music video for Miley Cyrus’ “Secrets,” here:
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