Miley Cyrus’ “More to Lose” Is Her Nod to Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You”

After the trifecta of visuals that arrived in the form of “Prelude,” “Something Beautiful” and “End of the World” at the end of March/beginning of April, Miley Cyrus is back with another taste of what’s to come on Something Beautiful, her ninth studio album, to be released on May 30th. Getting back to her ballad-y roots, “More to Lose” is certain to join the ranks of “Wrecking Ball” when it comes to Cyrus’ most iconic slow jams. Or, more specifically, breakup anthems (that still connote regret over the loss of the relationship). And that’s exactly what “More to Lose” is, with Cyrus getting right down to business when says, “The more I stay, the less I go/We’re toe to toe, but I’m hanging on the wire/Stumbled down the same road before/Say I’m leaving, but I’m only playing liar/‘Cause when you’re looking like/A movie star in a worn-out coat/Yeah, throw away my mind/It happens all the time.” But historically, it mostly happens with Liam Hemsworth. 

And this is exactly why the fan speculation is that “More to Lose” could be yet another rumination on that failed relationship/marriage (much as Ariana Grande has kept ruminating on her own failed marriage to Dalton Gomez via Eternal Sunshine and its deluxe edition). After all, men can provide years of musical inspiration to a woman done wrong (or a woman who can’t “let go”). Case in point, Selena Gomez and her many songs about Justin Bieber (who undoubtedly still served as the muse for certain tracks on I Said I Love You First). It is, in fact, the video for Gomez’s 2019 single, “Lose You to Love Me” that bears a certain aesthetic similarity to “More to Lose,” co-directed once again by Cyrus, Jacob Bixenman and Brendan Walter. And not just because Gomez’s Sophie Muller-directed video is also in black and white with little dynamism to it beyond the emotional expressions of the face, but because each chanteuse is pouring their heart out to an unseen presence. That presence being the constant memory of the person they loved so deeply (only for that love to curdle in some fashion or another). Which is, in part, why they could get so burned by that person. 

And, speaking of burned, during a Spotify-sponsored Q&A to promote the film and record, Cyrus once again talked about the house she lost to the 2018 Woolsey Fire. More to the point, the house she shared with then-husband Hemsworth. As she told the audience, further reflection on that loss made her realize, “When my house burned down, a lot of my relationships also burned down, and that just led me to such magic and to have so much gratitude. I would’ve told my younger self to appreciate those darker times because, like I said, they are only leading you into the light.” Even if “More to Lose” isn’t a song that’s exactly filled with “levity,” so much as longing and regret. Accordingly, Cyrus wanted the vocals to sound as raw as possible, explaining, “On a song like ‘More to Lose,’ I tried to keep it a singular take. I added my harmonies or adlibs at the end, but it’s really a song that’s more of a story, and I never want that to be interrupted, or overthought, or chasing perfection. I never wanted ‘More to Lose’ to feel perfect—I wanted it to sound meaningful and emotional.”

As does another song that Cyrus was inspired by in creating such an epic ballad: “I Will Always Love You.” Not the Whitney one, but the original Dolly one. As Cyrus remarked, “I’ve always thought of this song as my ‘I Will Always Love You.’ This is my song for Aunt Dolly.” And whoever she’s actually singing about and to on it (again, Hemsworth as the inspiration is mere conjecture, and perhaps wishful thinking from those who were riveted by their on-again, off-again love story), they would be hard-pressed not to shed a tear while listening to the emotional delivery. 

To give the listener an immediate indication that this is going to be a song that pulls at the heartstrings, co-producers Cyrus, Jonathan Rado, Michael Pollack and Shawn Everett open the track with, what else, strings. Faint and subtle at first, they lead into the piano notes that will accompany Cyrus’ anthem for heartbreak (and heartache). The soft-focus lens blurs her at first before she comes in crystal clear to display her outfit in all of its glory. The same one she sports on her album cover and wore during the “Prelude” visual. Here, too, Cyrus is back in her archival couture from Thierry Mugler’s 1997 “Les Chimères” collection (with “Les Chimères” translating to “Mythical Creatures,” which is precisely what Cyrus is aiming to look like in this ensemble).  

At the one-minute, forty-four-second mark, the “beat drops” (as much as it can for a ballad) with a drum addition worthy of a costume change. So it is that, in this moment, Cyrus appears in a strapless sequined black floor-length ball gown with a sweetheart neckline, her hairstyle fashioned into an elegant updo and her eyeliner decidedly “1960s-ified” to lend Old Hollywood glamor to her aesthetic (in keeping with the lyric, “…you’re lookin’ like a movie star”). The camera then goes in for a mid-range close-up of Cyrus, who continues singing her song in the spotlight while not looking directly at the audience (in this sense, “More to Lose” deviates from Selena Gomez’s approach in “Lose You to Love Me”).

The glistening of her tears (no doubt courtesy of some glycerin) reflects the line, “My tears are streaming like our favorite show tonight,” in addition to being something of a callback to what she did in the “Used to Be Young” video. And, like “Used to Be Young,” “More to Lose” is a rumination on an irreplaceable loss. In the former, it’s youth; in the latter, a true love. Thus, Cyrus laments, “Memories fade like denim jeans/I try to chase when you’re running through my mind.”

In the “final act” of the video, Cyrus has her “Lady Gaga moment,” fashion-wise, as she appears in an ensemble that includes a sheer facial covering (leaving only her lower face exposed), black gloves and a black trench coat. The attire of someone in deep mourning. As Cyrus—and those who have loved with her intensity—will always be in some form or another after losing the great love of their life. Whether to a breakup or otherwise.