Miley Cyrus is remembering her wild days in her new song, “Used To Be Young.” The 30-year-old star released the track on midnight on Aug. 25 and sings about the times she was “crazy” and “fun.” “The truth is bulletproof/ There’s no foolin’ you/ I don’t dress the same/ Me and who you say/I was yesterday/Have gone our separate ways,” she croons in her distinctively breathy voice. “I know I used to be crazy/ I know I used to be fun/ You say I used to be wild/ I say I used to be young/ You tell me time has done changed me/ That’s fine, I’vе had a good run.”
In the strikingly simple video, Miley wore a Mickey t-shirt underneath a sparkling red mini-dress — seemingly symbolic of both her younger and adult years as an artist. She appeared to be emotionally charged as she belted out the gorgeous tune, the lighting around her fading in and out, as her image was alternately visible and obscured by shadows.
Miley teased the release of her first song since her album Endless Summer Vacation with posters that were placed across the country in August. The posters included lyrics from her hit songs “Party In The USA,” “Wrecking Ball”, and “Flowers,” with a lyric from “Used To Be Young.” The visual on some of the posters featured Miley seemingly recreating her look from the 2013 MTV Video Music Awards, when she infamously twerked on Robin Thicke on stage.
Miley previously teased “Used To Be Young” in her interview with British Vogue in May. The former Disney Channel star explained that a songwriter approached her with the idea for a club track, which inspired her to write a song about her past partying days.
“It was like, you know, the standard f***** up in the club track. And I was like, ‘I’m two years sober. That’s not where I spend my time, you know. You’re more likely to catch me and my friends literally walking through rose gardens or going to a museum,’ ” she said. “It’s not about being self-serious. I’m just evolved,” Miley added.
Miley’s latest album, Endless Summer Vacation, came out on March 10 and was an instant hit. The album featured the singles “Flowers” and “River” that were both deeply personal to the singer. “Flowers” was speculated to be about Miley’s ex-husband Liam Hemsworth, while “River” features lyrics about Miley’s future, including finding someone to have “babies” with.