“Rainbowland” by Miley Cyrus (ft. Dolly Parton)
As originally conceptualized, this song was meant to serve as an ode to “Rainbowland”, a literally colorful home studio that Miley Cyrus built in Malibu. But later on, it transformed into, as you probably presumed from the title, a song about inclusion.
In other words, the term “rainbow” is one that is commonly used in relation to the LGBT movement. And when you have A listers like Miley Cyrus and Dolly Parton dropping a song with such a title that idea, i.e. accepting people as they are, is likely to be amongst its themes.
But in actuality, this isn’t a pro-LGBT song per se. Rather, what the vocalists are asserting is that “we are rainbows, me and you, every color, every hue”. As explained by Cyrus, they’re also speaking to universality, i.e. focusing on our commonalities as opposed to differences as defined by, in Miley’s own words, “races and genders and religions”.
Or as she also went on to explain in defining the notion behind this track, “a rainbow not’s a rainbow without a different colors”. So it’s as if she and Parton are putting forth that our respective differences, along the lines mentioned above, is what makes the world a more exciting place to live in, so to speak.
Or put otherwise, as also implied in the chorus, people should not be ashamed to emit who they are. And likewise, others should adopt a peaceful and loving disposition towards accepting those who are different. And ultimately achieving this ideology is what the songstresses deem as being akin to ‘living in paradise’.
“Livin’ in a rainbowland
Where you and I go hand in hand
Oh, I’d be lyin’ (I’d be lyin’)
If I said this was fine (This is not fine)
All the hurt and the hate going on here (It needs to stop here)
We are rainbows, me and you
Every color, every hue
Let’s shine through (Through)
Together, we can
Start livin’ in a rainbowland”
When was “Rainbowland” released?
“Rainbowland” is the third song from Miley Cyrus’ sixth studio offering “Younger Now”. It was released on September 29 of 2017, along with the entirety of “Younger Now”.
“Younger Now” is a product of RCA Records. The project produced two singles, with the first being “Malibu“. This track dropped on May 11 of 2017. The second single, which is the title track of this album, was issued on August 18, the same year.
On the charts, “Younger Now” proved to be a big success for Cyrus. It peaked at number 5 and 8, respectively, on the major albums charts in the US and the UK.
In addition, this record was also a top-ten hit on various official albums charts across the globe. For instance, it reached the number-one spot in Spain and peaked at number two in both Australia and Canada.
The Collaboration
To note, this track marks the second collaboration between Miley Cyrus and legendary country music singer Dolly Parton. Prior to this, the pair recorded a rendition of Parton’s classic hit song “Jolene”.
Credits for “Rainbowland”
Miley co-wrote and produced the song alongside US songwriter and producer Oren Yoel, with Dolly Parton also credited as a songwriter.
