Wrecking Ball.

Poor Miley. And I really mean that. But before you disagree... you should probably watch this.

Miley Cyrus- Wrecking Ball (Director's Cut)

We clawed, we chained our hearts in vain

We jumped never asking why

We kissed, I feel under your spell

A love no one could deny

Don't you ever say I just walked away

I will always want you

I can't live a lie, running for my life

I will  always want you

I came in like a wrecking ball

I never hit so hard in love

All I wanted was to break your walls

All you ever did was wreck me

Yeah you, you wreck me

I put you high up in the sky

and now you're not coming down

It slowly turned, you let me burn

and now we're ashes on the ground

Don't you ever say I just walked away

I will always want you

I can't live a lie, running for my life

I will  always want you

I came in like a wrecking ball

I never hit so hard in love

All I wanted was to break your walls

All you ever did was wreck me

I came in like a wrecking ball

Yeah I just closed my eyes and swung

Left me crashing in a blazing fall

All you ever did was wreck me

Yeah you, you wreck me

I never meant to start a war

I just wanted you to let me in

And instead of using force

I guess I should've let you win

I never meant to start a war

I just wanted you to let me in

I guess I should've let you win

Don't you ever say I just walked away

I will always want you

I came in like a wrecking ball

I never hit so hard in love

All I wanted was to break your walls

All you ever did was wreck me

I came in like a wrecking ball

Yeah I just closed my eyes and swung

Left me crashing in a blazing fall

All you ever did was wreck me

Yeah you, you wreck me

Yeah you, you wreck me

Wow. I really wasn't planning on covering "Wrecking Ball" this week; actually, not at all. But a friend of mine told me about the director's cut video and after I saw it, I just had to. This song is utter heartbreak. The lyrics.. the video.. Miley, period. I'm so glad they decided to publish the director's cut. I actually like it so much more than the original. And that says a lot for a video that's nearly four minutes of the same close-up shot. But it tells a story, even if she's just crying and singing her heart out to the camera. That's all I ever really need.

As you may or may not know, Miley and her now ex-fiance Liam Hensworth, announced their split last month. There had been a million and one rumors about a break-up between them for months, but let's be real... that's typical Hollywood gossip. Or so I thought. Turns out it wasn't just gossip. Don't you just hate when that happens? Sources say Miley is the one who broke off their engagement and relationship, and I would say that this song definitely backs up those sources. But we don't know for sure.

Now I know Miley is a little out of control these days with her infamous and rather inappropriate VMA performance, her "We Can't Stop" and "23" videos, and her risque outfits and rebelious attitude, but a huge part of me thinks she does it to stir up the media, simply because she can. Literally everyone has some idea of what they want Miley to act, dress, sing, talk and walk like. It's been like this since her Hannah Montana days... but back then she was actually a child. For some reason I think a lot of people are struggling to accept that that is just not the case anymore. 1) She's grown, 2) Hannah Montana was a character. A fictional character, and 3) It's Miley's life. In all honesty, she could tone it down a little. But whether she does or not most definitely isn't going to affect my life in any way besides being entertained by her next crazy move and even more entertained by the responses from my peers and the world of social media. But that's not even what I'm here to talk about. I'm here to talk about a wrecking ball.

Reitz Union, University of Florida. 2013

I took this picture a couple of weeks ago not even thinking that I would use it for this blog post. Funny how things work out. Now I know there is no wrecking ball in this picture, but this is most definitely the aftermath of one. This building (Reitz Union) is completely destroyed. I guess you could say Miley's heart is the Reitz Union, or what's left of it. This comparison is pretty bad. I mean look at the picture. I wouldn't want any parts of it. But the thing is...yes, the Reitz Union was torn down.... but only to be built back up; to be bigger, and better, and stronger than it ever was before. And that too is Miley's heart, although it might not seem like it right now. It will heal, and find itself again, and fall in love again. But this song doesn't focus on that. This song is everything in between. The worst of it all. But can you really blame her? I'm going to focus on the repeated verse that comes before the chorus and the chorus itself. And just a warning, this is going to be my longest blog post, simply because that's what this song deserves.

.... before the chorus:

"Don't you ever say I just walked away

I will always want you

I can't live a lie, running for my life

I will always want you"

This song has unique angle in the fact that the one who was damaged from the relationship seemed to be the one who actually ended the relationship. I think it's easy for us assume that a person definitely got dumped if they are as heartbroken as this song reveals. But every love story is different in its own way. I think that's why she takes the time to say "don't you ever say I just walked away," because that's the conclusion we naturally come to. That the person who ended the relationship gave up, moved on, changed, etc. That's not the case here. She makes it more than clear that she will never truly move on, saying "I will always want you." Not once, but twice in verse before the chorus. It's obvious this girl just did not want to end this relationship, but it was more like she had to for some reason. A reason she credits to the fact that she "can't live a lie." That's some serious stuff. If there's anything that will eat a reasonable person alive, it's living a lie. The next line, "running for my life," gave me a pretty good understanding of the entire situation. I've come up with this: 

This girl is in a major conflict, both with herself and her partner. She loves him more than I can really properly put into words. And about the only thing more important to her than him is her own self preservation- her values, her happiness, her peace of mind -and that was being threatned on a large scale. She was fighting to keep them... the things that made her who she was. She was putting in so much more in the relationship than she was getting out- love, committment, support, communication, attention (the very things you need for a relationship to grow) -for whatever reason that may be. Honestly, I'm not even sure if she fully knew, and that made the relationship all the more detrimental. And at some point, she had to decide what mattered most. And she chose herself. I mean if you lose yourself... what else really matters at all?

...... and then comes the chorus:

"I came in like a wrecking ball

I never hit so hard in love

All I wanted was to break your walls

All you ever did was wreck me

The chorus recounts all of the passion that was put into the relationship. The simple fact that she is compared to a wrecking ball says it all. Wrecking balls come in strong, with no hesistation, ready to produce an outcome. That's a quality that I can say I truly look up to. People that allow themselves to be vulnerable enough to fall in love like this song explains... that's crazy to me. There are so many possibilities for heartbreak, which unfortunately exactly how this ended. I think the saddest part is that she tried so desperately to get him to open his heart and mind up like she had, but it all backfired on her. In the end, she just couldn't manage put the pieces back together on her own. Sometimes you just can't.

"Wrecking Ball" is that one little savior that reminds me that sometimes letting go is really the only way to truly save yourself. And that letting go doesn't mean you don't love someone with everything you have, that you wanted to walk away, that walking away wasn't the hardest thing you've ever done, that you aren't left utterly broken in the end. Because you are. The only difference is that when you let go, you've released the last little shred of hope for your own self-preservation and you re-gain control over something, anything within you after feeling like you've lost it all to the one you love. Sometimes I think being the one to walk away from the one you love is even harder. You should ask Miley.