Miley Cyrus' Hit 'Flowers' Was Meant to Have VERY Different Lyrics

Miley Cyrus attends the Versace FW23 Show at Pacific Design Center on March 09, 2023 in West Hollywood, California

(Image credit: Photo by Arturo Holmes / Getty)

published 19 May 2023

Miley Cyrus' song "Flowers" pretty much instantly became a breakup and self-love anthem when it was released in January.

Packed with references to her ex-husband Liam Hemsworth, the record-breaking hit struck a chord with legions of listeners, but in a new cover interview for British Vogue, the singer revealed that "Flowers" could have been a VERY different song.

"I wrote it in a really different way," Cyrus told the magazine.

"The chorus was originally: 'I can buy myself flowers, write my name in the sand, but I can’t love me better than you can.' It used to be more, like, 1950s. The saddest song. Like: 'Sure, I can be my own lover, but you’re so much better.'"

Basically, "Flowers" could have been the anti-"Flowers," if the star hadn't ended up changing her mind.

"The song is a little fake it till you make it," she said. "Which I’m a big fan of."

In case you're somehow not familiar with the hit song, its chorus goes, "I can buy myself flowers, write my name in the sand, talk to myself for hours, say things you don't understand. I can take myself dancing, I can hold my own hand, Yeah I can love me better than you can."

So Cyrus simply turned that "can't" into a "can," and I think we can all learn a little something from that!

Alternative lyrics aside, the star admitted that she knew "Flowers" was successful almost immediately.

"I’m sober. I don’t drink, I don’t… you know, but I celebrate," she explained, referencing the night the song came out. "It’s like one o’clock in the morning and Lil Nas X walks into the club and he asks me the most interesting question. He said, 'Are you so anxious about how successful Flowers is?'"

She continued, "I was like, 'No. I might be No1 now, but No2 is on its way.' Everything is seasonal.

"A lot of headlines [recently] have said, 'This is Miley’s moment.' And I’m like, 'That’s exactly what it is. It’s a moment. And it will be over.'"

A down-to-earth queen.

Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Bustle and Shape. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.