Handstand by Miley Cyrus Lyrics Meaning – The Gravity-Defying Feat of Emotional Balance
Lyrics
Past the manta rays and palm trees
Glowing creatures beamed down from great heights
Electric eels and red venom
In the sky, we could see the riders on horseback, on comets
Coming toward us, kicking up with laughter
My friend Big Twitchy rode the boat into the light
Surfed the north break
We danced until there was nothing left
Just me and Twitchy ’cause that’s all we knew
You’re questioning the science ’cause you don’t understand
How I’m doing what I’m doing in a fuckin’ handstand
You found it so impressive that I do it again
My other one is busy, so I use my left hand
We took it kinda fast but you put it in slow
I see your mother’s calling and you’re hitting ignore
It’s like you saw a unicorn, you don’t understand
How I’m doing what I’m doing in a fuckin’ handstand
I wish I could crawl inside your heart
Take you captive and then sail away
I wish I could know that it’s forever
Take me captive and then sail away
You’re questioning the science ’cause you don’t understand
How I’m doing what I’m doing in a fuckin’ handstand
You found it so impressive that I do it again
My other one is busy, so I use my left hand
We took it kinda fast but you put it in slow
I see your mother’s calling and you’re hitting ignore
It’s like you saw a unicorn, you don’t understand
How I’m doing what I’m doing in a fuckin’ handstand
Miley Cyrus has made a career out of shifting paradigms and challenging norms, both in her personal life and through her music. Her latest offering, ‘Handstand,’ continues this trend, diving into the depths of both bewilderment and awe that surrounds the human connection and the perseverance of self amidst chaos.
Beneath the surface of its seemingly upbeat tempo and deceptively playful lyrics lies a profound exploration of control, resilience, and the marvel of maintaining equilibrium in the unpredictable acrobatics of relationships and self-identity.
An Underwater Dance of Electric Emotions
The first verses of ‘Handstand’ whisk the listeners away to a neon-drenched dreamscape where the natural and the supernatural collide. Cyrus immerses us into a world past ‘manta rays and palm trees’—an aquatic metaphor for the serenity that comes before the storm of thrilling, yet potentially dangerous emotions.
Visualizing her feelings as ‘glowing creatures’ and comparing the influx of emotions to that of riders cascading from the comets is Cyrus’s poetic way of illustrating both the allure and the anxiety of vulnerability. Big Twitchy represents companionship that is unafraid to ‘ride into the light,’ daring to embrace the joys of the unknown.
Defying Gravity: The Handstand Metaphor
The chorus of ‘Handstand’ seemingly plays with the idea of a physical handstand, but it’s truly about the upside-down nature of a world where nothing seems to make conventional sense. Cyrus evokes the feeling of performing the impossible, of achieving feats no one understands—potentially in love, in career, or her own personal life.
Using the handstand as a vivid metaphor, Cyrus communicates her adeptness at maintaining balance, even with one hand metaphorically tied behind her back. It’s an assertion of strength and independence; she needs no one’s help to stand tall, even if it means doing so on her own terms, in what appears to outsiders as a precarious position.
The Push and Pull of Intimacy’s Rhythm
In her lyric ‘We took it kinda fast but you put it in slow,’ Cyrus could be playing with the tempo of an intimate relationship, signifying the intense and often conflicting paces at which two people approach union and closeness.
The reluctance to respond to a ‘mother’s calling’ might suggest a deliberate choice to disconnect from external judgment—a familiar theme for Cyrus—and immerse fully in the present connection, even if it is as mysterious and unfathomable as a ‘unicorn.’
Yearning for Heartfelt Captivity
A shift in tone comes with the line ‘I wish I could crawl inside your heart,’ where Cyrus expresses a raw longing to be a central, immutable part of someone’s life. The duality of wanting to be both captive and set sail suggests a desire for a grounding love that is also a source of freedom and uncharted adventure.
In a world full of fleeting shadows, Cyrus’s wish to ‘know that it’s forever’ underlines the human need for certainty and constancy within the often ephemeral nature of romantic endeavours.
The Poignancy of Miley’s Unicorns and Handstands
Through vivid imagery and poignant metaphors, Miley Cyrus has managed to craft a song that’s a riddle wrapped in a mystery, tied with a bow of enchantment. The line ‘It’s like you saw a unicorn, you don’t understand’ speaks directly to the heart of the song’s hidden meaning—a display of the rare, the unique, and the misunderstood.
In ‘Handstand,’ Cyrus invites listeners to look beyond the spectacle, to find the message of defiance, of embracing the unorthodox, and to celebrate the awe-inspiring capacity to keep balanced in the inverted reality of life.
