Dolly Parton Wanted This Miley Cyrus Song for Herself

Miley Cyrus has reflected on growing up in the spotlight through her music, sharing personal anecdotes in her songs. However, Dolly Parton, Cyrus’ godmother, believes one of Cyrus’ more vulnerable tracks would have been better suited for her own voice.

Last year, the Grammy winner released a single called “Used to Be Young” that she co-wrote with Michael Pollack and Gregory Aldae Hein. In the track, Cyrus looks back on her youth and how the media described her as she was growing up.

“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,” she sings on the song’s chorus.

In an interview with Harper’s Bazaar published on Wednesday, November 20, the singer recalled Parton’s reaction to the song

“[Parton] goes, ‘I don’t know if I like that new “Used to Be Young” song because it’s not fair that you’re singing about not being young when you’re young and beautiful. And here I am—I’m like 80—and I’m like, That should have been my song!’” Cyrus said.

Cyrus herself admitted that while she is happy she shared the song with fans, she sometimes wishes she would’ve kept it in the vault.

“I actually listened to that song yesterday, and I was asking myself, ‘Did I really need to put this out?’ It was one of those things that maybe now that I’m a bit more private, I would’ve kept private, but I’m happy to have shared it,” the 32-year-old hitmaker said. “It just feels like a song that’s so personal that it’s hard for people to relate.”

Elsewhere in the interview, she revealed that she is releasing a new album next year. Though she kept details about the album rather mum, she shared that the project will have a “visual component driving the sound” and is largely inspired by Pink Floyd’s The Wall.

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