Miley Cyrus' Song Slide Away's Lyrics Address Her And Liam Hemsworth's Split

Taylor Swift isn't the only pop star who released new music at midnight. Miley Cyrus dropped her own new song, 'Slide Away,' which seems to address the end of her and Liam Hemsworth's relationship for now.

Cyrus and Hemsworth announced their separation on Saturday, but she hinted she was already in the studio recording music on her Twitter this week.

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Sources made it clear to outlets that while they just announced their separation publicly, they had actually privately been taking a break for months.

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Here, the lyrics annotated with the likely references to her and Hemsworth.

Wooh, wooh, wooh

Wooh, wooh, wooh

Once upon a time, it was paradise

One upon a time, I was paralysed

Think I’m gonna miss these harbour lights

But it’s time to let it go

Hemsworth and Cyrus were on and off for 10 years. Cyrus wrote on her first Instagram after their separation was announced that you can't fight change. 'Don’t fight evolution, because you will never win,' she wrote. 'Like the mountain I am standing on top of , which was once under water , connected with Africa , change is inevitable. The Dolomites were not created over night, it was over millions of years that this magnificent beauty was formed. My dad always told me "Nature never hurries but it is always on time".... it fills my heart with peace and hope KNOWING that is true. I was taught to respect the planet and its process and I am committed to doing the same with my own .... 💙'

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Once upon a time, it was made for us

Woke up one day, and it turned to dust

Hemsworth spoke in his interview with GQ Australia earlier this year about how he knew early on he wanted to marry Cyrus someday. 'I was 18 when I met Miley,' he started. 'We really fell in love quickly and had a really strong connection from the beginning, and I think in the back of my head I knew it was on the cards, but we weren’t planning to have a wedding anytime soon. Then just going through something this emotional with someone [losing our Malibu home in the Woolsey Fire], it brings you closer and we felt like we’d lost a big part of our lives, so we wanted to make a new part of our lives. It was something really good coming out of a horrible situation. It was going to happen eventually, but I think this just sped it up a little bit.'

E! was told immediately after their separation was announced that Hemsworth and Cyrus had grown apart. Hemsworth is 'focused on a more simplified lifestyle while Miley has been preparing for a new wave of her music career,' its source said. 'She has been ready to put out music and be back in the game touring and performing. They really grew apart.'

Baby, we were found, but now we’re lost

So it’s time to let it go

I want my house in the hills

Cyrus and Hemsworth lost their Malibu home in the Woolsey Fire last fall. They're rebuilding it, and Cyrus is reportedly living in the second house they bought next door to it. She spoke to Vanity Fair in February about how she felt the night the fire happened. 'I got the journal that was next to me and just started writing out what I was feeling. Some of the feelings did not add up with the others,' she recounted. 'Some of them were super-angry; some of them were relieved in a way, which feels really fucking weird. It feels like there were weights tied to my ankles and I was in the ocean, and someone just cut those ties, and I was able to float and be free ‘cause I didn’t have all this shit attached to me. Anger, relief, sadness. A feeling of: I’m never going to get over it, this is never going to end. But, we heal up and our brain gets used to imagining a worst-case scenario happening over and over again.'

Don’t want the whiskey and pills

A source told People this week that Cyrus struggled with Hemsworth's partying and dark moods. 'Everyone always thinks Miley is problematic and immature and a hardcore partier while he’s this chill surfer dude, but that’s actually [not accurate],' a friend of the couple said. 'Liam parties with his friends, and Miley thinks he should’ve grown out of that by now.'

I don’t give up easily

But I don’t think I’m down

E! reported earlier this evening that Cyrus really fought for the marriage and doesn't want to give up on it. 'Miley has not been talking to an attorney or thinking about divorce,' the outlet's source said. 'She wanted the marriage to work and is still willing to give it time. But going through this in the public eye has made things a lot messier and a lot more difficult. She doesn’t really know what to do or what will happen next.'

So won’t you slide away

Back to the ocean, I’ll go back to the city lights

Hemsworth is a big surfer. He has been photographed literally out surfing in Australia before and after the separation was announced. Cyrus was in Italy but returned to Los Angeles earlier this week.

So won’t you slide away

Back to the ocean, nah nah nah you’ll slide away

So won’t you slide away

Back to the ocean, I’ll go back to the city lights

So won’t you slide away

Back to the ocean, nah nah nah you’ll slide away

Once upon a time, it was paradise

One upon a time, I was paralysed

Think I’m gonna miss these harbour lights

But it’s time to let it go

Once upon a time, it was made for us

Woke up one day, and it turned to dust

Baby, we were found, but now we’re lost

So it’s time to let it go

Move on, we’re not seventeen

I’m not who I used to be

Cyrus and Hemsworth's romance began when she was just a teenager and they were shooting The Last Song. They've both grown a lot in that decade.

You say that everything’s changed

You’re right, we’re grown now

So won’t you slide away

Back to the ocean, I’ll go back to the city lights

So won’t you slide away

Back to the ocean, nah nah nah you’ll slide away

So won’t you slide away

Back to the ocean, I’ll go back to the city lights

So won’t you slide away

Back to the ocean, nah nah nah you’ll slide away

Move on, we’re not seventeen

I’m not who I used to be

You say that everything's changed

You’re right, we’re grown now

Alyssa Bailey

Senior News and Strategy Editor

Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she's not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.