“Jumped in the cab, here I am for the first time”

Which is more likely: that Ms. Cyrus has never been in a cab before, or that she is recapitulating Hesse’s observation in “Siddhartha” that “one cannot step in the same river twice”? Given Ms. Cyrus’s personal credo (rejection of materialism and embrace of the ethereality of the moment) the latter is more parsimonious. This continues her prior themes of living in the “now”.

“Look to my right and I see the Hollywood sign”

In the Celtic calendar, holly stood for the eighth month, represented in the modern zodiac by the sign Leo (♌). Therefore, a sign made from wood-of-the-holly would be a lion. “Look to my right” evokes the god Thoth, who is ever rightward facing, looking into the past (Fig. 1). A proper substitution of the lyric is “When I regard my past, I see the lion.” This is an obvious nod to “The Will to Power” by Nietzsche:

“Of the three metamorphoses of the spirit I tell you: how the spirit becomes a camel; and the camel, a lion; and the lion, finally, a child.”

If in the past she was a lion, then she must now be a child. This is corroborated by her legal age (Fig. 2). What significance is there to being a child? Again, Nietzsche clarifies:

“What this child is, is a God! The Child is not a great carrier, nor a struggler. [s]he has surpassed toil, a God does not struggle.”

Of course! Ms. Cyrus is a god!1 This final line is a promise to the careful listeners – follow her path, and divinity is assured. I pray this review has been helpful, and I look forward to your imminent holy ascension. Now, if you’ll excuse me, a Jay-Z song is on, so I need to put my hands up.

1. I hope it’s Thor. [↩]