text: butterfly fly away " butterfly fly away " is an acoustic pop duet performed by american actors and recording artists miley cyrus and billy ray cyrus . the song was first heard in the 2009 film hannah montana : the movie , in which both cyruses star , and was subsequently released on the film 's soundtrack . an extended version is featured on billy ray 's eleventh studio album , back to tennessee . the song is a soft country ballad with lyrics that describe a child 's transition to adulthood . the song received generally favorable reviews and , though not released as a single , achieved notable commercial outcomes in australia , canada , ireland , the united kingdom , and the united states . it reached its highest international peak in the irish singles chart , at number forty - six . the cyruses performed the song live at several venues ; a performance in an english apple store was recorded and eventually released on an extended play . background as with miley and ray cyrus 's last duet , " ready , set , don 't go " ( 2007 ) , " butterfly fly away " describes a child 's transition to adulthood . the song was written and produced by glen ballard and alan silvestri for the 2009 film hannah montana : the movie . according to the film , when main character miley stewart ( played by miley cyrus ) was young , her father robby ray stewart ( played by billy ray cyrus ) , would often tell her that while a caterpillar may not be able to move much , it can still dream about the butterfly it will one day be . this comment became a recurring motif in the film and provided the basis for the lyrics to " butterfly fly away " , which use a caterpillar 's metamorphosis as a metaphor for a child 's coming of age . in hannah montana : the movie , the cyruses perform the song as their characters in " a tender movie scene under a gazebo in the rain " . billy ray said filming the scene was " a pretty special moment . the song itself was written by glen ballard , a masterful songwriter who wrote ' man in the mirror ' for michael jackson . i knew it was a pretty special song [ ... ] and it certainly comes at a nice spot in the movie . " the contemporary country duet is set in common time with a gentle tempo of 69 beats per minute . the song 's vocals range one octave , from c ♯ 3 to b4 . the song is written in a key of b major and features the chord progression , — b — c ♯ 7 . critical reception reviewers gave the song moderately positive reviews . warren of about.com found it " sentimental " while scott mervis of the pittsburgh post - gazette called it " a sweet duet " . allmusic reviewer heather phares said the song was " a treacly duet " . stephen thomas erlewine , also of allmusic , was more negative , calling it a " syrupy , icky " song on which billy ray never sounds quite right . leah greenblatt of entertainment weekly wrote , " [ miley 's ] delicate duet with dad billy ray , ' butterfly fly away , ' is quietly lovely . " billboard reviewer ken tucker stated that it " is an airy and flowing song about family on which father and daughter 's voices blend nicely " . michael rechtshaffen of the hollywood reporter called " butterfly fly away " a " tender glen ballard / alan silvestri ballad " . the song was included on the short list for best original song at the 82nd academy awards , but did not achieve a nomination . chart performance " butterfly fly away " debuted at number seventy - two on the billboard hot 100 the week ending april 25 , 2009 . the following week , may 2 , 2009 , the song reached its peak on the hot 100 at number fifty - six . the song spent a total of three consecutive weeks on the chart . on the week ending april 25 , 2009 , " butterfly fly away " debuted at number seventy - six in the canadian hot 100 . the following week the song reached its peak at number - fifty on the chart . the song charted for a longer amount of time in canada than its home country , with four weeks on the chart . the song encountered similar commercial outcomes in various nations . in the united kingdom , the song debuted and peaked at number seventy - eight for the week ending may 16 , 2009 . " butterfly fly away " reached its highest international peak in the irish singles chart . it debuted at number forty - seven on the week ending may 7 , 2009 . the song ultimately peaked at number forty - six on the chart . it also peaked at number fifty - six in the australian singles chart . live performances the cyruses performed the song on good morning america on april 8 , 2009 , along with performances of " full circle " , " hoedown throwdown " and " the climb " . they included the song in their set for the aol sessions , recorded on april 13 , 2009 . they also performed the song in london in an apple store , along with a duet version of billy ray 's " " and several of their own singles . the set , along with some songs by cyrus 's father , was sold exclusively by the united kingdom itunes store as an extended play titled itunes live from london . charts