The Real Meaning Behind Miley Cyrus' 'Prisoner'

The music video for Miley Cyrus' single, "Prisoner," features Cyrus and song collaborator Dua Lipa having a two-person party filled with scantily-clad debauchery. Mid-video, we see Lipa licking what appears to be cherry juice off Cyrus' face. The song's opening lyrics offer clues about what bought on the two women's Wild Things moment. "Prisoner, prisoner/Locked up, can't get you off my mind, off my mind / Oh-whoa, why can't you, Why can't you just let me go?" As Cyrus told Zane Lowe for Apple's "New Music Daily Radio" (via StyleCaster) the lyrics indicate a desire to break free from pent-up angst caused by a former paramour. "Anything that you've tried to suppress or compartmentalize at that point, it's coming up. It's yours to own, to own it or release it," Cyrus said. Sure enough, the song continues with Cyrus declaring, "I'll never escape it, I need the high."

Cyrus also told Lowe that the single, released in November 2020, was, by happy happenstance, a suitable metaphor for the cabin fever many are feeling during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. "I mean, in a way... we're just trapped in our emotions right now," Cyrus observed.

Although the song dances around any specific references to Cyrus's past relationships, the music video did not opt for such subtlety. A title card appears toward the end, reading, "In loving memory of all my exes. Eat s**t." We think they got the message loud and clear!

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