Released: 2023
With a vibrant and effervescent energy, “Rose Colored Lenses” by Miley Cyrus conjures up billets-doux of youthful amor, perpetuated by a yearning for an endless summer. In its essence, the song captures the desire to stay in a blissful, idealized moment clad in rose-colored glasses, unwilling to face the harsh realities of a world beyond.
Opening with “Sunrise got us up early/So we put on our shades” paints a picture of youthful energy and a beckoning day of possibilities. Miley then uses syntax and semantics of subtle disarray “Somehow, the bed sheets are dirty/Like sticky sweet lemonade” to refer to the whirlwind of romantic escapades, further deepening the analogy of an airy, carefree morning after.
The repeated phrase “If I had control over you/We could stay like this forever” denotes a fantasy of eternal bliss, amplified with the metaphor “Lost in wonderland/ With our head above the clouds”. The wonderland here isn’t a mere geographical location but a state of being, a world curated meticulously with love and enchantment.
The concept of wearing “Rose colored lenses” is an idiom for taking on an optimistic and rosy perspective, ignoring the harsher realities. The lines “Fallin’ stupid like we’re kids”, “Let’s just play pretend” further reinforces Cyrus’ longing to regress to a simpler, childlike euphoria, uninhibited by the adult complexities.
The second verse digs deeper into intimacy: “Naked in conversation/ Drown me in your delight/ Endless summer vacation/ Make it last ’til we die”. The vivid imagery here underlines deep emotional bonding, passionate rendezvous, and an insatiable desire to extend the love-fest.
The chorus sweeps back repeatedly with a triumphant affirmation of the overarching theme: eternal love colored with the hues of a youthful utopia. The repetition emphasizes the insistence of staying in this perpetual state of joyous bubble, which is a testament to Cyrus’s strong lyricism.
The song wraps with an unyielding chant, “Let’s stay like this forever”, a cathartic end expressing a feverish desire to remain in a state of endless play and young-at-heart love, thus cementing the song’s overall theme of longing for a dreamlike eternal summer of love.
