Posted by When I Was Your Man is a song released by Bruno Mars in 2012, from his album Unorthodox Jukebox. The song became popular again in 2023 after Miley Cyrus released her new song Flowers, with recalls the words in Bruno Mars’ lyrics. Both are breakup songs from different perspectives, and there is a reason why Miley Cyrus chose this song as an inspiration for the message she wanted to give to her ex Liam Hemsworth. Let’s discover everything in this article; you’ll also find the complete lyrics at the end.
You can watch the official video for When I Was Your Man below.
When I Was Your Man: the lyrics referenced by Miley Cyrus’ Flowers and their meaning
When I Was Your Man is a breakup song where Bruno Mars regrets the behaviors that led his girl to leave. In the lyrics, the singer expresses his melancholy, the feeling of loneliness, and wishes he could go back in time and behave differently, giving more attention to the girl he loves.
The reason why people rediscovered this song after Miley Cyrus Flowers is the similarity between the two choruses. Miley Cyrus sings about all the self-love she can give herself now that her man is gone, whereas Bruno Mars mentions all the things he should have done when his relationship was still present, to prevent the breakup. They are both talking about the same love gestures, as you can see in the comparison below.
From Miley Cyrus’ Flowers lyrics:
I can buy myself flowers
Write my name in sand
Talk to myself for hours, yeah
Say things you don’t understand
I can take myself dancing, yeah
I can hold my own hand
Yeah, I can love me better than you can
From Bruno Mars’ When I Was Your Man lyrics
I should’ve bought you flowers
And held your hand
Shoulda gave you all my hours
When I had the chance
Take you to every party
‘Cause all you wanted to do was dance
Now my baby’s dancin’
But she’s dancin’ with another man
A rumor was spreading on TikTok starting from this video, according to which Liam Hemsworth dedicated Bruno Mars’ Where I Was Your Man to Miley Cyrus when they were engaged, and for that reason, Miley wrote a song that sounded like that one, as an act of explicit revenge toward her ex. The rumor is unconfirmed, but if it’s true, it would be something remarkably similar to what Shakira did a few days before with her song in the Bzrp/Bizarrap music session, where she slightly samples Daft Punk’s Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger, allegedly one of Gerard Pique’s favorite songs.
Bruno Mars’s Where I Was Your Man is a deep descent into melancholy and regret: in the lyrics, he feels guilty and responsible for the breakup, blames his ego and his selfishness, and he sincerely admits he behaved wrong.
Uh, my pride, my ego, my needs, and my selfish ways
Caused a good, strong woman like you to walk out my life
Now I’ll never, never get to clean up the mess I made, oh
And that haunts me every time I close my eyes
Although it hurts
I’ll be the first to say that
I was wrong
Oh, I know I’m probably much too late
To try and apologize for my mistakes
But I just want you to know
That’s an apology that Miley Cyrus won’t get, and that’s why she prefers to rely on herself and be the one who loves herself and provide everything she needs. We can see them as specular ways to overcome the sadness of a breakup from opposite points of view: the man whose behavior caused the separation and the woman who felt neglected.
Read other popular song lyrics and their meaning on Auralcrave
The complete lyrics of Bruno Mars’s song
Below you can find the complete lyrics of Bruno Mars’s When I Was Your Man.
Same bed but it feels just a little bit bigger now
Our song on the radio but it don’t sound the same
When our friends talk about you, all it does is just tear me down
‘Cause my heart breaks a little when I hear your name
It all just sounds like (Ooh, ooh)
Mm, too young, too dumb to realize
That I should’ve bought you flowers
And held your hand
Shoulda gave you all my hours
When I had the chance
Take you to every party
‘Cause all you wanted to do was dance
Now my baby’s dancin’
But she’s dancin’ with another man
Uh, my pride, my ego, my needs, and my selfish ways
Caused a good, strong woman like you to walk out my life
Now I’ll never, never get to clean up the mess I made, oh
And that haunts me every time I close my eyes
It all just sounds like (Ooh, ooh)
Mm, too young, too dumb to realize
That I should’ve bought you flowers
And held your hand
Shoulda gave you all my hours
When I had the chance
Take you to every party
‘Cause all you wanted to do was dance
Now my baby’s dancin’
But she’s dancin’ with another man
Although it hurts
I’ll be the first to say that
I was wrong
Oh, I know I’m probably much too late
To try and apologize for my mistakes
But I just want you to know
I hope he buys you flowers
I hope he holds your hand
Give you all his hours
When he has the chance
Take you to every party
‘Cause I remember how much you love to dance
Do all the things I should’ve done
When I was your man
Do all the things I should’ve done
When I was your man
