What is Miley Cyrus' 'River' About? Fans Think They've Decoded the Meaning of Her New Song & Music Video
Miley Cyrus‘ Endless Summer Vacation is here, and fans are already dissecting several songs on the tracklist to find out who and what they’re about.
One prime example is the 30-year-old star’s single “River,” which arrived alongside a new music video on Friday (March 10).
“You’re just like a river / You go on forever,” Miley sings on the track. “You’re never running dry.”
Miley said that the song was written at “a time in my life where I was going through just a lot emotionally and personally,” noting that it had evolved in meaning during an interview segment for her Disney+ Backyard Sessions special.
“They can start as something that was a trouble, like, it just feels like it’s an April shower. It never stops raining. And then it started raining down like love,” she said of the track.
But who and what is “River” about? Miley offered a bit more insight, and fans have some thoughts of their own.
Read more about the meaning of Miley Cyrus’ new song “River”…
“‘River’ – sometimes we just need a dance floor banger,” Miley teased about the track. “AKA, they don’t want me to talk about the fact the song is about [censored].”
She continued, joking that “it’s nasty.”
Based on that, fans believe that there is a sexual connotation to the track. More than that, it’s apparently about a serious relationship as the singer toys with giving her partner “the honor of my babies.”
Some believe that the song was written at a point during Miley‘s relationship with ex Liam Hemsworth, who is also believed to have inspired the album’s lead single “Flowers.”
One fan on Twitter hypothesized that it was inspired by a trip Miley and Liam took. Photos emerged of them swimming in a river while in Costa Rica back in 2013.
“Allegedly, they went with friends to celebrate his birthday and there was some drama happening between them,” they added.
Other fans have set their sites on the song’s black-and-white video, in which Miley dances in front of a group of men.
A theory that’s doing rounds on Twitter suggests that the number of men is a reference to infidelity in the relationship that inspired the song. Another fan pointed to the track “Muddy Feet” as evidence that someone cheated on the singer.
Of course, this is all speculation by fans and nothing has been confirmed by the singer. We’ll let you know if anything changes.
Did you see a theory that Liam‘s current girlfriend used to dance for Miley?
Watch the “River” music video and read the song’s lyrics in full below…