“Party in the U.S.A.” was originally written to capture the feeling of being an immigrant in the United States.
A New Immigrant Song or a National Party Anthem?
This song can take on drastically different meanings depending on who’s listening.
To some, it might sound like an American anthem of national pride that makes you think of barbecues, football games and tailgating. Plenty of Americans hear the pop hit and can instantly imagine patriotic-themed holidays or events with stars and stripes on everything from shorts to tank tops to beach towels.
But as it was originally written this is a song about what it means for there to be a party in the U.S.A. to an immigrant, which the co-writer of the song was at the time.
While the chords and beat mixed with Miley’s happy-go-lucky delivery combine to make everything seem light and fun, upon closer inspection, the narrator in the song is clearly afraid. The notion of being alienated has certainly already crossed her mind. She expresses that she misses her home, which indicates that she’s somewhere new and unfamiliar.
Many American listeners might take that to mean that the singer has just traveled to the big city for the first time, maybe for a life-changing, eye-opening trip or a big audition, or maybe they’ve taken the leap and they’re here to stay.
But the original intent makes more sense when you remove Miley from the equation.
It’s hard not to imagine her as the narrator as such an iconic pop figure and an equally iconic song. The song even makes a reference to Nashville, Miley’s own hometown, where the character in the song leaves to make it big in Los Angeles.
However, Jessie J, the English singer who co-wrote the hit and originally intended to sing it herself, wrote these lyrics about her experience of moving to the United States. Although she isn’t the first name associated with her work on this project, Jessie said the royalties paid for her rent for the following three years, so it can’t be said that she got a bad deal out of the arrangement.
The song was handed over to Miley Cyrus for her to make it her own, and the hit wouldn’t have been what it was without her performance. But due to the original intent, the meaning of the lyrics still remains if you look for it. There’s the feeling of being a stranger in a strange land that is completely foreign to you. Also highly present in the lyrics is the willingness to be blindly optimistic that’s sometimes necessary to make it when you immigrate to the United States.
When You With the Party Would End
“I got my hands up, they’re playing my song / I know I’m gonna be okay”
To many immigrants, things seem completely out of their control – because they are in many ways. Immigrants to the United States face a broken immigration system that often operates at random and not in people’s best interests. This is the lens through which countless individuals hear these lyrics, and original inspiration is certainly not lost on them despite the change in performer.
Lyrics
[Verse 1]
I hopped off the plane at LAX
With a dream and my cardigan
Welcome to the land of fame excess (Woah)
Am I gonna fit in?
Jumped in the cab, here I am for the first time
Look to my right, and I see the Hollywood sign
This is all so crazy
Everybody seems so famous
[Pre-Chorus]
My tummy’s turnin’ and I’m feelin’ kinda 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 a JAY-Z song was on
And a JAY-Z song was on
[Chorus]
So I put my hands up
They’re playin’ my song, the butterflies fly away
I’m 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 okay
Yeah, it’s a party in the U.S.A.
Yeah, it’s a party in the U.S.A.
[Verse 2]
Get to the club in my taxi cab
Everybody’s lookin’ at me now
Like, “Who’s that chick that’s rockin’ kicks?
She gotta be from out of town”
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
[Pre-Chorus]
My tummy’s turnin’ and I’m feelin’ kinda homesick
Too much pressure and I’m nervous
That’s when the DJ dropped my favorite tune
And a Britney song was on
And a Britney song was on
And a Britney song was on
[Chorus]
So I put my hands up
They’re playin’ my song, the butterflies fly away
I’m 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 okay
Yeah, it’s a party in the U.S.A.
Yeah, it’s a party in the U.S.A.
[Bridge]
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 alright (Hey, hey)
[Chorus]
So I put my hands up
They’re playin’ my song, the butterflies fly away
I’m noddin’ my head like, “Yeah” (N-n-n-noddin’ my head)
Movin’ my hips like, “Yeah” (Ooh, yeah)
I got my hands up, they’re playin’ my song
I know I’m gonna be okay (Gonna be okay)
Yeah (Na-na, na-na), it’s a party in the U.S.A.
Yeah, it’s a party in the U.S.A.
So I put my hands up
They’re playin’ my song, the butterflies fly away (Flying away)
I’m noddin’ my head like, “Yeah” (Noddin’ my head like, “Yeah”)
Movin’ my hips like, “Yeah” (Movin’ my hips like, “Yeah”)
I got my hands up, they’re playin’ my song
I know I’m gonna be okay (I’m gonna be okay)
Yeah (Yeah), it’s a party in the U.S.A.
Yeah (Ha-ha-ha-ha), it’s a party in the U.S.A.
