NBC Insider Exclusive

Create a free profile to get unlimited access to exclusive show news, updates, and more!

Sign Up For Free to View
NBC Insider The Voice

Miley Cyrus' Gritty, Soulful Version of "Zombie" Will Give You Goosebumps

The former Voice Coach is the Queen of rock covers.

By Elizabeth Logan

That belt! That growl! That mullet! Has Miley Cyrus ever rocked harder than when she sang The Cranberries' hit song "Zombie"? 

How to Watch

Watch The Voice Mondays and Tuesdays at 8/7c on NBC and next day on Peacock. 

The singer, who was a Coach on The Voice for Season 11 and 13 after appearing as a Key Advisor in Season 10, delivered the song with her trademark scratchy, powerful vocals and on-stage intensity at L.A.'s Whiskey a Go Go in 2020. The performance was part of #SOSFEST, or the Save Our Stages festival, a string of performances to fundraise for live music venues hit hard by the pandemic. And once you see Cyrus' cover, you'll know she gave it her all.

What to know about "Zombie" by The Cranberries

The grunge anthem was written by Cranberries lead singer Dolores O'Riordan in response to the deaths of two young boys in an IRA bombing in 1993. The song is more broadly about The Troubles, a period of violence and political conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted from the 1960s to 1998 and resulted in many civilian deaths. O'Riordan has stated that the point of the song is not a political agenda but to denounce violence, especially against children. Released in September 1994, "Zombie" was an immediate sensation and catapulted the Cranberries to international fame. O'Riordan died in 1998.

RELATED: From Teen Queen to Pop Icon, Check Out Miley Cyrus' Trailblazing Career

In her recording, O'Riordan utilized the yodeling technique of switching between her upper and lower registers, producing the a dramatic effect that adds to the anger of the song. Cyrus ably adapts this style to her own voice.

The lyrics to "Zombie" by the Cranberries

Another head hangs lowly
Child is slowly taken
And the violence caused such silence
Who are we mistaken?

But you see, it's not me
It's not my family
In your head, in your head, they are fighting
With their tanks and their bombs
And their bombs and their guns
In your head, in your head, they are crying

A split of Miley Cyrus and The Cranberries

In your head, in your head
Zombie, zombie, zombie-ie-ie
What's in your head, in your head?
Zombie, zombie, zombie-ie-ie-ie, oh

Do, do, do, do
Do, do, do, do
Do, do, do, do
Do, do, do, do

Another mother's breaking
Heart is taking over
When the violence causes silence
We must be mistaken

It's the same old theme
Since nineteen-sixteen
In your head, in your head, they're still fighting
With their tanks and their bombs
And their bombs and their guns
In your head, in your head, they are dying

In your head, in your head
Zombie, zombie, zombie-ie-ie
What's in your head, in your head?
Zombie, zombie, zombie-ie-ie-ie
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, eh-eh oh, ya-ya