The real breakdown of all the hidden meanings in Miley Cyrus’s “Flowers.”
The Lyrics
It’s no secret that the comparison between “Flowers” and Bruno Mars’ “When I Was Your Man” is obvious, but not many people know just why this song was written. Liam Hemsworth dedicated the song to Miley for their engagement. It is an odd choice considering the fact that it is a breakup song, but in hindsight, it might have been foreshadowing. For readers who don’t know the messy details, he cheated on her. He cheated on her not once, not twice, but fourteen times (yikes). The lyrics that compare the two songs are found in the chorus. The lyrics in bold are Miley’s, and the lyrics in italics are Bruno’s. Let’s just say Miley’s pen is incredible.
“I can buy myself flowers”--> “I should have bought you flowers…”
“Write my name in the sand” (no counterpart)
“Talk to myself for hours” –> “Should’ve gave you all my hours, when I had the chance”
“Say things you don’t understand” (no counterpart)
“I can take myself dancing” –> “Take you to every party because all you wanted to do was dance”
“I can hold my own hand” –> “…and held your hand”
“I can love me better than you can”–> “dancin’ with another man”
This is the part of the “Flowers” storyline that almost everyone knows, but there are so many more details hidden in the video that are even juicer.
The Video
Let’s start with the filming location itself because that house wasn’t picked because it’s pretty. It is actually the house that Liam cheated on Miley with all those women in. Crazy right? She’s a cinematographer and lyrical genius. The sample track in the back of the song is actually Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive,” which is why it feels so familiar. This song was chosen for its obvious empowerment-inducing beat because the song is about thriving after a breakup. Another dig Miley put in her video was toward Jennifer Lawrence. She was one of the alleged women that Liam cheated with and wore a very similar gold dress. This dress appeared on a red carpet at an event she had attended WITH LIAM! She also has a movie scene in Passengers that eerily mimics Miley’s dive at the beginning of her video.
Bruno’s Involvement
You may be wondering, how does Bruno feel about this clap back to one of his most famous songs? Well, he’s all. for. it. Miley actually contacted Bruno about the idea for the song, he loved the concept, and allegedly even wanted to help her out!
listen now
Not only is the song amazing, but it also feels incredibly familiar because the backing track is sampled from Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive.” This makes it so much better because it’s a song about empowerment sampled from one of the most iconic (and empowering) songs of all time. Fair warning, once you listen, you might just love it! Also, your heart might shatter when you hear we have to wait two months for the album.