Nothing Breaks Like A Heart
by Mark Ronson (featuring Miley Cyrus)

Album: Late Night Feelings (2018)
Charted: 2 43
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Mark Ronson has famously had a who's who of big-voiced female muses ranging from Amy Winehouse on her Back to Black album to Dua Lipa on Silk City's "Electricity." This country-disco banger finds him hooking up with Miley Cyrus.
  • The collaboration was prompted by Cyrus' appearance on the November 4, 2017 Saturday Night Live show in which the former Hannah Montana starlet sung two songs from her Younger Now album. That record saw Cyrus returning to her country roots, and her performance grabbed Ronson's attention. "I heard the drawl in her voice and the twang when I saw her live on SNL," he told the BBC. "My jaw dropped and I became super-fixated about being able to work with her."
  • Cyrus reported on social media that she'd got together with Ronson to write some "heartbreaking" tunes. This song, described by Ronson as a "sad banger," was one of the cuts that came from their session in May 2018. It was likely prompted by his divorce from French actress and singer Joséphine de La Baume.
  • The Malibu residence that Cyrus shared with Liam Hemsworth was burnt down on November 11, 2018 by a devastating wildfire. Spookily, this song features lyrics about a burning home.

    This burning house, there's nothing left
    It's smoking, we both know it


    Cyrus wrote the song with Ronson six months before the tragic event. Speaking to Billboard, she refers to the lyrical content as "this strange premonition."
  • The song's music video was filmed in Kiev, Ukraine, with scenes taking place on the New Darnytskyi Bridge. The clip shows Cyrus being chased by police through the city streets as fans hold "We Are Miley" signs and football players take a knee. Even nuns show up demonstrating they're part of Team Miley. Speaking on BBC 1's Graham Norton Show, Cyrus explained that Ronson just let her run with her concept.

    "Mark was very trusting about my ideas. It's all about what is heartbreaking to us in society every single day - waking up to the news of violence, judgment and hypocrisy," the songstress said. "It's about a deeper heartbreak than losing love in a romance or relationship."
  • Mark Ronson originally wrote the chorus with:

    American session musician Tommy Brenneck, who has played guitar for Amy Winehouse.

    Californian singer-songwriter Ilsey Juber, who also contributed to the writing of Shawn Mendes' "Mercy" and Martin Garrix (feat Bebe Rexha)'s "In The Name Of Love ."
  • It was Ilsey Juber who came up with the line "nothing breaks like a heart," Ronson recalled to Billboard. He asked the two songwriters, "That can't be that no one's ever said that in the history of songs, right?" The pair quickly looked it up before telling him it's not been used before. "It's like what you're searching for your whole life," he said.
  • Ronson told The Independent that "Nothing Breaks Like a Heart" is his take on Norwegian DJ Todd Terje's remix of Dolly Parton's "Jolene" - a "really beautiful and subtle" version that he used to always play. Miley Cyrus is the country queen's goddaughter.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Tanita Tikaram

Tanita TikaramSongwriter Interviews

When she released her first album in 1988, Tanita became a UK singing sensation at age 19. She talks about her darkly sensual voice and quirky songwriting style.

Jon Foreman of Switchfoot

Jon Foreman of SwitchfootSongwriter Interviews

Switchfoot's frontman and main songwriter on what inspires the songs and how he got the freedom to say exactly what he means.

Kiss

KissFact or Fiction

Kiss is the subject of many outlandish rumors - some of which happen to be true. See if you can spot the fakes.

Steve Cropper (Booker T & the MG's, Blues Brothers)

Steve Cropper (Booker T & the MG's, Blues Brothers)Songwriter Interviews

Steve Cropper on the making of "In the Midnight Hour," the chicken-wire scene in The Blues Brothers, and his 2021 album, Fire It Up.

"Private Eyes" - The Story Behind the Song

"Private Eyes" - The Story Behind the SongSong Writing

How a goofy detective movie, a disenchanted director and an unlikely songwriter led to one of the biggest hits in pop history.

Dick Wagner (Alice Cooper/Lou Reed)

Dick Wagner (Alice Cooper/Lou Reed)Songwriter Interviews

The co-writer/guitarist on many Alice Cooper hits, Dick was also Lou Reed's axeman on the Rock n' Roll Animal album.