Miley Cyrus' "Easy Lover" Lyrics Include A Nod To Beyoncé

Miley Cyrus will always have her shotgun rider’s back. On May 30, the singer released “Easy Lover,” the latest single from her upcoming new album, Something Beautiful, which will be accompanied by a film premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 6. Not only does it sound like a smash in the making, but it also includes a subtle but loving nod to Beyoncé.

“Easy Lover” takes the groovy element of her Grammy-winning hit “Flowers” and makes it funkier, adding bass, horns, and lots of background hoops and hollers. “You got the love I always needed,” she belts on the chorus. “Tie me to horses and I still wouldn't leave ya, but you're not an easy lover.”

The lyrics detail a lover whom Cyrus never wants to let go of, but she’s tired of dealing with them all the time. While it could be interpreted as a nod to her boyfriend, Maxx Morando, she actually started writing the song back in 2020, years before they began dating, as she told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe in a recent interview.

The song’s history also explains her ab-libbing “Tell ‘em, B!” during the bridge, which was first done as a shoutout to Beyoncé. Cyrus originally submitted “Easy Lover” to Bey when she was writing songs for Cowboy Carter, reworking it into a country tune.

“I had written that song around Plastic Hearts days and never got the production quite where I wanted it, but... I had always loved that chorus,” she recalled to Lowe. “When Beyoncé was looking for songs on her country record, I remembered that chorus and was like, ‘That would work really well for country,’ so I started working on that and she chose ‘Shotgun Rider’ [instead].”

“Shotgun Rider” ended up becoming “II MOST WANTED,” with Beyoncé turning the track into a duet with Cyrus. “She was like, ‘Two most wanted, that’s us,’” Cyrus recalled Bey telling her. “I was like, ‘That is so the perfect title.’”

As usual, Bey’s instincts were correct, as “II MOST WANTED” went on to win the Grammy for Best Country Duo/Group Performance, leaving “Easy Lover” to become Cyrus’ most radio-ready single from her new album.

Miley Cyrus’ “Easy Lover” Lyrics

Read the full lyrics to Cyrus’ new single below.

You're my baby, you're the only one

You drive me crazy, oh, but I still miss you when you're gone

Every second, every hour

It's in your nature, to light me up

I love to hate ya, uh, but I can't stand it when you're gone

So I call you once every hour

You got the love I always needed

Tie me to horses and I still wouldn't leave ya

But you're not an easy lover

You're a wildfire (mmm) and I'm in your path

I've decided I wanna keep on dancing in the ashes

And so I call out, “Let it burn”

You got thе love I always needed

Tie mе to horses and I still wouldn't leave ya

But you're not an easy lover

No, I just can't give you up, no, I just can't give you up

No, I just can't give you up, no, I just can't give you up

But you're not an easy lover (You're not an easy, you're not an easy)

Easy lover, hey

You got the love I always needed (Ah-ah)

Tie me to horses, I still wouldn't leave you (Tell ‘em, B)

But you're not an easy lover (You're not an easy, you're not an easy) (Lover)

You make it hard to touch another (You make it hard)

Anything goes when we're under cover (Covers)

But you're not an easy lover (You're not an easy, you're not an easy)

(Easy lover)

No, I just can't give you up, no, I just can't give you up (Can't give you up)

No, I just can't give you up, no, I just can't give you up

But you're not an easy lover (You're not an easy, you're not an easy)

No, I just can't give you up, no, I just can't give you up

No, I just can't give you up, no, I just can't give you up

But you're not an easy lover (You're not an easy, you're not an easy)