Dissecting Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA"

By Jake

Miley Cyrus' smash hit "Party in the USA" is an undeniably catchy song, but what does it all mean? I'm here to guide you through these deep and cryptic lyrics. I have to admit, though, it was difficult. Watch the video to the song (click here).

I hopped off the plane at LAX
With the dream, my cardigan
Welcome to the land of fame excess
Am I gonna fit in?

Miley Cyrus, born in Nashville, TN, has moved to Los Angeles, CA, with the hopes of becoming a superstar. She is under the impression that it is often cold in California, so she wears a sweater. She is a teenager and, although her father is rich and formerly famous, wonders if she will fit in with the other children at school/salvia parties.

Jumped in the cab
Here I am for the first time
Looked to my right and I see the Hollywood sign
This is all so crazy
Everybody seems so famous

She has entered Hollywood, where a great number of movies are made and where most movie studios take residence. Many famous people live in Hollywood. Even OJ used to live there before he murdered his ex-wife and her lover and stole back his own shit, which ultimately led to his incarceration. Thankfully, Miley does not have to deal with OJ Simpson. Although, I’m sure Pauley Shore tries to fuck her. I don’t know which is worse, honestly.

My tummy's turnin' and I'm feelin' kind of homesick
Too much pressure and I'm nervous
That's when the taxi man turned on the radio
And a Jay-Z song was on
and the Jay-Z song was on(2x)

Miley is feeling homesick and nauseous, maybe she ate some airplane food. If I am to believe stand-up comedians, that stuff is not good. So the taxi driver, a man, turns on the radio and, wouldn’t you know it, they are playing Miley Cyrus’ favorite song, any song by Jay-Z.

So I put my hands up
They're playin' My song
The butterflies fly away
Noddin' my head like yeah
Movin' my hips like yeah
I got my hands up
They're playin' my song
I know I'm gonna be ok
Yeah It's a party in the USA
Yeah It's a party in the USA

Like an elixir, the Jay-Z song has restorative effects on Miley. She no longer feels sick, nervous and does not even miss her family. She starts nodding her head in agreement to whatever Jay-Z is saying, probably something about how he used to sell cocaine, which Miley can relate to somehow. Then she moves her hips and puts her hands in the air. She declares, in the song, but perhaps out loud in the cab, that “it’s a party in the USA.”

Get to the club in my taxi cab
Everybody's looking at me now
Like "who's that chick that rockin' kicks?
She gotta be from outta town."

The first place Miley heads to is a club. She presumably has no place to stay, but she is rich so she can afford a hotel room. Everybody is looking at her in the club because she is wearing “kicks,” which I think are shoes. In California nobody wears shoes, so they know she isn’t one of them. Her nightmare about feeling out of place has become a reality.

So hard with my girls not around me
It's definitely not a Nashville party
Cause all I see are stilettos
I guess I never got the memo

Miley now misses her friends because the club has a strict “No Jay-Z” policy. It’s not a Nashville party, because they are in California and in Nashville the clubs always play Jay-Z songs. She only sees stiletto shoes because, I guess, she has fainted and is lying on the floor, only to awaken to a see of shoes and nothing else. As a business woman, she never got a memo about fainting.

My tummy's turnin' and I'm feelin' kind of homesick
Too much pressure and I'm nervous
And the DJ dropped my favorite tune
And a Britney song was on
And the Britney song was on(x2)

So I put my hands up
They're playin' My Song
The butterflies fly away
Noddin' my head like yeah
Movin' my hips like yeah
I got my hands up
They're playing my song
I know I'm gonna be ok
Yeah It's a party in the USA
Yeah It's a party in the USA

This is the same chorus as before except this time the club plays a Brittney Spears song since the owner will not allow them to spin a Jay-Z record. Yet, as luck would have it, this is Miley’s favorite song. Now she’s off of the floor and dancing and having a party like she used to in Nashville.

Feel like hopping on a flight (on a flight)
Back to my hometown tonight (town tonight)
Something stops me every time(every time)
The DJ plays my song and I feel all right

Miley toys with the idea of catching a flight back to Nashville, but the DJ always plays the song she likes at that moment, whether it be Brittney Spears, Jay-Z or Beethoven.

So I put my hands up
They're Playin' my song
The butterflies fly away
Noddin' my head like yeah
Movin' my hips like yeah
I put my hands up
They're playin' my song
And I know I'm gonna be ok
Yeah It's a party in the USA
Yeah It's a party in the USA

It is the same chorus we all love and chant along with like brain-dead bobby soxers. When the DJ plays this song about playing other songs, it keeps me from flying to Nashville!