 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 . You 'll hear a guy who 's immersed in music , and my love and desire and need to go back home . " 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 . " Both Caramanica and Alison Stewart of The Washington Post took interest in the lines , " Great big town / So full of users " . Caramanica said the line recognized that " fame is <unk> " and " talk [ ed ] about some of his daughter ’ s famous friends " , while Stewart interpreted the line as a description of Hollywood life in general . 
