“Prisoner” is the fourth track on Miley Cyrus’s 2020 album ‘Plastic Hearts.’ The song features vocals by Dua Lipa, marking their first collaboration together. Miley first posted a picture with Dua Lipa on August 5th, sparking rumors about collaboration and she confirmed it later on. The song is about being stuck in the wrong relationship and not being able to escape it.
‘Plastic Hearts‘ is Miley Cyrus’s seventh studio album after scrapping off her ‘She Is Miley Cyrus’ album. The first single off the album was released in August titled “Midnight Sky.”
In the music video for “Prisoner,” Miley Cyrus and Dua Lipa put on an extremely hot and sexy choreograph, filled with a lot of grinding, eating cherries, biting each other, and licking each other!
Watch “Prisoner” Video by Miley Cyrus Ft. Dua Lipa
“Prisoner” Lyrics Meaning and Song Review
Intro/Chorus
Introducing the song, Miley Cyrus sings about the metaphorical feeling of being stuck in the wrong relationship. Why can’t you escape? There could be a million reasons. Maybe the significant other has done nothing wrong in the relationship. But when it doesn’t feel right, it just doesn’t feel right. And it cannot be easily reversed. On the other hand, the guy could be having significant control over Miley that she cannot get out of the relationship. This ‘control’ could manifest in many ways out of which mental and physical abuse could be the worst forms.
Verse 1
Dua Lipa joins the track right away to perform the first verse of the song. She sings that there still are some relics of what used to be strong feelings for each other. But they are just relics now–only a memory of what used to be. Dua Lipa tries to forget these old feelings and tries to forget his face and move on. But something does not let her.
Pre-chorus
Miley Cyrus back on vocals to explain that their relationship is only a shadow of what used to be. Each day gets more and more difficult to tolerate, and there isn’t a hint of love left anymore. Hanging on to burning wires, only hurts that much more.
Verse 2
Miley Cyrus continues on the second verse of “Prisoner.” She reaches far into her memory and recalls the heavenly feeling once it used to be. But now she only has a bitter taste left inside. It is hard to explain what happened or where that spark went. She has no control over resolving this relationship anymore and her significant other only seems to make things worse. There really is no salvaging this relationship now.
“Prisoner” comes several months after Miley Cyrus finalized her divorce from Liam Hemsworth in January 2020. However, their divorce rumors surfaced as far as 2019. So, there may or may not be some inspiration drawn from Miley’s mindset during these uncertain times.
Let us hear what you think about this song in the comments below. Check out the complete lyrics and further meaning breakdown on Genius.
So Fast! Love!