Billy Ray Cyrus (born William Ray Cyrus; August 25, 1961) is a Grammy Award… Read Full Bio ↴Billy Ray Cyrus (born William Ray Cyrus; August 25, 1961) is a Grammy Award-nominated American country music singer, songwriter and actor from Flatwoods, Kentucky, best known for his Number One single "Achy Breaky Heart". Cyrus, a multi-platinum selling recording artist, has scored a total of eight top-ten singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. His most successful album to date is the debut of Some Gave All, which has been certified 9× Multi-Platinum in the United States. The album also has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide. In his career, he has released 29 charted singles, of which 15 charted in the Top 40.
From the year 2001 to 2004, Cyrus starred in the television show Doc. The show was about a country doctor who moved from Montana to New York City. In late 2005, he also began to co-star in the Disney Channel series, Hannah Montana, with daughter Miley Cyrus. The show has been on the air for three seasons.
The I'm American Songfacts reports that Billy Ray Cyrus’ twelfth studio album, I'm American is a collection of patriotic songs. It was initially scheduled to be released in November 2010, but after being pushed back numerous times, it finally came out on June 28, 2011.

Tell Me
Billy Ray Cyrus Lyrics

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In violation of a thought a long long time ago
Impressive reasons fill the caverns of my mind
No celebration for the people that I didn't know
Connected even though there's nothing left to find

There's more than I can see and there's a deeper part of me
Won't you be my inspiration help me end my desperation now

Tell me what it is I'm meant to do
I've fallen to my knees
I've shed away my tears
And lost my destiny
I sit beneath the sun
My hands held to the sky
I cannot ask a question
But still I wonder why

Poetic justice never seems to make the world feel right
Chaotic voices in the darkness call your name
You turn away from me whenever I remind you
Of the day the sun saw through the lies exposing all the pain

There's more than I can see and there's a deeper part of me
Won't you be my inspiration help me end my desperation now

Tell me what it is I'm meant to do
I've fallen to my knees
I've shed away my tears
And lost my destiny
I sit beneath the sun
My hands held to the sky
I cannot ask a question
But still I wonder why

There's so much pain
There's so much war
There's so much hurt
I can't take no more
Won't you come and take me to another day
Take me far away

Tell me what it is I'm meant to do
I've fallen to my knees
I've shed away my tears
And lost my destiny
I sit beneath the sun
My hands held to the sky

I cannot ask a question
But still I wonder why

Overall Meaning

In this song, "Tell Me," Billy Ray Cyrus expresses his inner struggles with deep and meaningful thoughts. He refers to a thought from a long time ago, which he violated. This could mean that he failed to act on something he believed in or did something that went against his values. He admits that his mind is filled with impressive reasons, but there is nothing left to celebrate because he feels disconnected from the people around him. Despite this, he believes that there is more to life than what he can see and he asks for inspiration to help him out of his desperation.

Cyrus then poses the question that is at the heart of the song, "Tell me what it is I'm meant to do." He has fallen to his knees, shed tears and feels like he has lost his way in life. He is under the sun, with his hands held high, trying to find a spiritual connection. He acknowledges that there is chaos and darkness in the world, and poetic justice never seems to prevail. The world is full of pain, hurt, and war, which he cannot take anymore. He wonders why all of this happens, and even though he cannot ask a question, he still wonders.

Overall, "Tell Me" is about inner turmoil and the search for purpose and inspiration when everything around us seems to be going wrong. It is beyond the material world and delves into the depths of the human soul.

Line by Line Meaning

In violation of a thought a long long time ago
Going against something I believed in, a very long time ago.

Impressive reasons fill the caverns of my mind
My mind is filled with compelling reasons and ideas.

No celebration for the people that I didn't know
I don't feel any joy for people who are strangers to me.

Connected even though there's nothing left to find
Even though there seems to be nothing left to discover, I still feel a connection with someone or something.

There's more than I can see and there's a deeper part of me
There's more to me than what I can see on the surface, and there's a deeper part of me that needs to be explored.

Won't you be my inspiration help me end my desperation now
Can you please inspire me to end my feeling of hopelessness and despair?

Tell me what it is I'm meant to do
Please tell me what my purpose is.

I've fallen to my knees
I'm on my knees, feeling defeated.

I've shed away my tears
I've cried all my tears.

And lost my destiny
I feel like I've lost my path in life.

I sit beneath the sun
I'm sitting under the sun.

My hands held to the sky
I'm holding my hands up to the sky.

I cannot ask a question
I'm unable to ask a question.

But still I wonder why
But I still wonder why things are the way they are.

Poetic justice never seems to make the world feel right
Even when things seem like they're being made right in a poetic or symbolic way, the world doesn't feel any better.

Chaotic voices in the darkness call your name
When things are chaotic and dark, voices are calling out to you.

You turn away from me whenever I remind you
Whenever I remind you of something, you turn away from me.

Of the day the sun saw through the lies exposing all the pain
I'm reminding you of the day when the truth was revealed, and it exposed all the pain.

There's so much pain
There is a lot of pain in the world.

There's so much war
There is a lot of war in the world.

There's so much hurt
There is a lot of hurt in the world.

I can't take no more
I can't take it anymore.

Won't you come and take me to another day
Can you come and take me to a different time or place?

Tell me what it is I'm meant to do
Please tell me what my purpose is.

I've fallen to my knees
I'm on my knees, feeling defeated.

I've shed away my tears
I've cried all my tears.

And lost my destiny
I feel like I've lost my path in life.