Dolly Parton wanted Miley Cyrus’ ‘Used to Be Young’ for herself.
The 78-year-old star thought her 32-year-old god daughter was too young to release the track, which reminisces on youth, and joked that she should have the song.
Miley told Harper’s Bazaar: “[Dolly] 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!’”
Miley admitted that she sometimes wonders if it was the right decision to release such a personal track, which dropped in August 2023 as part of the digital reissue of her eighth studio album ‘Endless Summer Vacation’.
She said: “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. It just feels like a song that’s so personal that it’s hard for people to relate.”
Meanwhile, Miley revealed that she takes inspiration from Dolly.
She explained: “She lets everyone in and no one in at the same time. Everyone feels like they know her, but they’re also okay with the fact that they don’t see her without makeup, without the full drag.”
And, she is currently working on her new album, which was inspired by Pink Floyd’s ‘The Wall’.
She said: “My idea was making ‘The Wall’, but with a better wardrobe and more glamorous and filled with pop culture.
“It’s a concept album that’s an attempt to medicate somewhat of a sick culture through music.
“I would like to be a human psychedelic for people. I don’t want anyone trying to be like me or imitate me or even be inspired by me. I want to impact frequencies in your body that make you vibrate at a different level.”