Miley Cyrus’ new album Endless Summer Vacation is full of summer vibes and sunny lyrics perfect for your Instagram captions. However, an enormous amount of depth lies within the album, which closes with “Wonder Woman,” one of the most heart-wrenching songs she’s ever written. On the piano ballad, 30-year-old Cyrus tells the story of how a hard-working woman in her life holds back her fears and sadness in order to put on a happy face for her loved ones.
“She’s a million moments, lived a thousand lives,” she sings. “Never know she’s hopeless, only when she cries.” When she gets to the chorus as her hero breaks down, Cyrus lets out her true rasp, almost sounding as if she’s holding back tears. “She can’t stop her eyes from welling up, up,” she yelps. She sings the entire song in the third-person, meaning she could be referring to herself, one of her close family members, or another powerful woman in her life.
It turns out that she’s singing to all of the above. Cyrus explained to Spotify that “Wonder Woman” was inspired by the death of her grandmother, who longtime fans affectionately know as her Mami, and how the legacy she left behind impacted her mother Tish and herself. “I wrote this song after my mom had lost her mom,” she said. “Me and my Mami were really close and she ran my fan club. It’s about generational strength and the wisdom that my grandma gave to my mom. It’s embedded in my DNA so we almost all feel like one woman in a way. One Wonder Woman.”
Cyrus’ grandmother died in August 2020, just days before the rollout of her last album Plastic Hearts began. At the time, the Grammy nominee paid tribute to her Mami on Instagram, sharing a slideshow that included her Mami walking the red carpet at the Hannah Montana movie premiere and sitting in her judging chair on The Voice.
“Even though you are gone…. NOTHING has or ever will change,” she wrote. “You will FOREVER be my inspiration and fashion icon. Even more than that, the ultimate model of being a true LIGHT in a dark world. You are sunshine. Everyday I wake and see that fiery ball in the sky I will see your face. Then say a prayer thanking heaven above for giving me the best grandmother a girl could ever be gifted. I will miss you for the rest of my life.”
If you need a good cry, read the lyrics to “Wonder Woman,” as transcribed by Genius:
