Miley Cyrus has done it again.
On the morning of Friday, March 10, Cyrus had Twitter abuzz when she released the music video to her new song "River" and dropped the entirety of her eighth studio album "Endless Summer Vacation."
Unlike her breakup tune "Flowers," which just happened to drop on her ex-husband Liam Hemsworth's birthday, Cyrus' next single "River" is more upbeat.
Or, as Cyrus put it in a clip for her Disney+ special, it's "nasty."
In the undeniably sexually charged song, she sings, "I feel you everywhere / Your face is all in my hair / Covered up in your sweat / It turns me on that you care, baby / Your love, it flows just like a river."
Cyrus explained the song's meaning — and her frame of mind when she wrote it — in a clip from her Disney+ concert special, shared on Instagram. “It was a time in my life where I was going through just a lot emotionally and personally, and I guess all my songs kind of evolve. 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.
The song is about "love," yes — but what about the video? Fans think the imagery, which features Cyrus striking poses and dancing alongside various men, has a hidden meaning.
As they did with "Flowers," which fans believe had clues about her decade-long, on again, off again relationship with Hemsworth, people mined "River" for biographical detail. Some posit that Cyrus made subtle jabs at Hemsworth and cheating allegations in the video.
Cyrus confirmed the song was about someone — but didn't say who — in the clip for her Disney+ special. She described River as a "dance floor banger," then said, "A.K.A., they don’t want me to talk about the fact that the song is about (redacted)."
Her fans concluded the song was the "dance floor banger" she promised: "She's going to be all over the radio this summer," one tweeted.
Read the lyrics to 'River'
I got a new dress just to meet you downtown
Can you walk me through the park just to show it off?
I can pull my hair back in that tight way that you like
If you wrap me in your arms and never stop
Heart beats so loud that it’s drownin’ me out
Livin’ in an April shower
You’re pourin’ down, baby, drown me out (Ooh, ooh, ooh)
You’re just like a river (Ooh, ooh, ooh)
You’re just like a river (Ooh, ooh, ooh)
You go on forever
You’re just like a river
Blowing bubbles in the bath, I can’t stop from thinking lately
You could be the one, have the honor of my babies
Hope they have your eyes and that crooked smile
Was a desеrt ‘fore I met you, I was in a drought
Heart bеats so loud that it’s drownin’ me out
Livin’ in an April shower
You’re pourin’ down, baby, drown me out (Ooh, ooh, ooh)
You’re just like a river (Ooh, ooh, ooh)
You’re just like a river (Ooh, ooh, ooh)
You go on forever
You’re just like a river
You’re never runnin’ dry (Oh)
I feel you everywhere
Your face is all in my hair (Hair)
Covered up in your sweat
It turns me on that you care, baby
Your love, it flows just like a river
You’re just like a river (That’s what you are)
You’re just like a river (That’s what you are)
You’re just like a river (That’s what you are)
You’re just like a river
You’re just like a river (Heart beats so loud that it’s drownin’ me out)
You’re just like a river (Livin’ in an April shower)
You go on forever (You’re pourin’ down, baby, drown me out)
You’re just like a river