Used to Be Young

The harmony is intentionally unadorned — four diatonic chords in E major, no modulations, no chromatic tension. That restraint is the point: the song's emotional force lives in the vocal and the lyric, not in harmonic surprise. Michael Pollack's layered keyboard textures (celeste, organ, piano, synthesizer) give the static progression warmth and depth, while the slow harmonic rhythm lets Cyrus phrase freely across barlines. It is a deliberate choice to present something plain and undefended — exactly what the lyrics argue for.

Cyrus wrote 'Used to Be Young' in 2021 during the earliest stages of developing Endless Summer Vacation, at a moment she described to Billboard as feeling misunderstood. She worked alongside Gregory Aldae Hein (credited as Aldae) and Michael Pollack. Cyrus said she could have kept refining it indefinitely, and chose to release it precisely because its unfinished quality felt true to her life — 'unfinished yet complete.' She posted the full lyrics to social media on August 22, 2023, three days before release.

'Used to Be Young' is a slow, reflective pop ballad released August 25, 2023 — timed deliberately to mark ten years since Cyrus's 2013 MTV VMAs performance and 'Wrecking Ball.' Written in 2021 with Aldae and Michael Pollack, it debuted at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming her 12th top-ten single and her second from Endless Summer Vacation after 'Flowers.' The track's quiet piano arrangement and unguarded vocal put self-acceptance ahead of self-defense.