Back to Tennessee (song)
"Back to Tennessee" is a country rock song by American singer-songwriter and actor Billy Ray Cyrus.
Cyrus drafted the song after learning that Hannah Montana: The Movie, a film he would star in, would be set in Tennessee.
The song, developed with the aid of co-songwriters Tamara Dunn and Matthew Wilder, includes country rock elements while describing Cyrus' longing to return to the South, where he grew up, after spending several years in Los Angeles.
The song's music video was directed by Declan Whitebloom and features scenes of Cyrus at a beach inter cut with clips of Hannah Montana: The Movie.
Cyrus moved to Los Angeles to star on the Disney Channel television series Hannah Montana in 2006.
The television series became a worldwide hit and the basis for Hannah Montana: The Movie, a feature film released in 2009.
The film's plot features the Stewarts leaving Hollywood for a summer and returning to Tennessee, their home state, to reconnect with their southern roots.
[3] Cyrus recorded "Back to Tennessee" for the film Hannah Montana: The Movie, in which his character performs the song at a fundraiser to save the meadows near his hometown from development.
[7] Cyrus said of the lyrics, "If you download "Back to Tennessee" and listen to the whole song, you'll hear exactly how I felt after four years of Hannah Montana, and living in Los Angeles and giving up my previous life and existence and who I am and where I come from.
"[5] Jon Caramanica of The New York Times interpreted the song as an apology "both to [Cyrus's] teenage self and, by extension, to the daughter under his wing.
"[1] While reviewing the Hannah Montana: The Movie soundtrack, Heather Phares of Allmusic said the song "fits in smoothly with an acoustic version of Rascal Flatts' witty 'Backwards'".
"[8] Allison Stewart of The Washington Post described "Back to Tennessee" as a "fusillade of strident twang rock track".
In the week ending March 7, 2009, "Back to Tennessee" debuted at number fifty-nine on Billboard's Hot Country Songs.
[3] The video prominently features clips of Hannah Montana: The Movie, particularly the scene in which Cyrus performs "Back to Tennessee".
The woman is portrayed by Melora Hardin, who plays Lorelai, Robby Ray's love interest in Hannah Montana: The Movie.
