The Deeper Meaning Behind Miley Cyrus' 'Thousand Miles': 'It Just Makes Me Emotional'

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Content Warning: This post contains mentions of suicide and death.

Grief and happiness take center stage in Miley Cyrus' "Endless Summer Vacation." Since the album's March 10 release, tracks like "Jaded," "Muddy Feet" and "Rose Colored Lenses" have given insight into the "Flowers" singer's past relationships. Amid bruised lyrics and playful refrains, Cyrus' "Thousand Miles" featuring Brandi Carlile stands out as more than a song about scorned lovers. During his "Endless Summer Vacation (Backyard Sessions)" special on Disney+, Cyrus revealed that the country-pop ballad was actually a tribute to his younger sister, Noah Cyrus.

"I just couldn't imagine not having my little sister in my life."

"When I wrote 'Thousand Miles', it started out as a very different song than what's on the album," Cyrus explained in the doc. "I wrote it in 2016 or 2017, and it was after a very close friend of mine lost her sister to suicide. I just couldn't imagine not having my little sister in my life. I wrote this song for her. It was originally called "Happy Girl", and it was "I just want to see you happy and all I really want is for you to be happy, my girl."

During his backyard sessions, Cyrus shared a snippet of the original lyrics. "There was a friend of mine. Her name was Darlene, but we all called her Becky. I don't know why," she sang. "I knew she was in pain. But I never thought I would wake up to that call. Never at all. I remember that day, I promised you the world. But I soon realized that the world isn't what you need. Now all I just want you to be happy, girl. Even if it's a world without me."

While the main message is true, the ending song moves away from the feelings of sadness that originally inspired it and focuses more on Cyrus' appreciation for her relationship with Noah through good times and bad . "I thought I closed that door, but I'm back here," she sings in the official version of "Thousand Miles." "I know half of what I say doesn't make sense, so don't ask me where I've been. I'm not always right. But I still don't have time for what happened. I don't care where I end up standing. I'm crazy. But I'm hanging on like a rolling stone, a thousand miles from anywhere."

While the tribute to brotherly love was originally inspired by heartbreak, Cyrus is happy that the finished product embodies the beauty of her relationship with Noah. "It was about happiness and brotherhood, and it just makes me emotional, because now the song is filled with so much joy in the music and it's become something so far removed from the sadness that inspired the song,” she said.

Talking about the album as a whole, Cyrus added, "If you're close to me and you listen to this album, it feels like a conversation with me. There's a subtle undertone. There's, you know, honesty and truth, and the...