Miley Cyrus Says Father Billy Ray Cried at Peace Offering Song

Miley Cyrus "Secrets" actually brought her closer to her father ... no, not the ones she's keeping close to her chest -- the song she says brought her dad to tears!

The singer-songwriter opened up about the emotional track she wrote for Billy Ray Cyrus during an interview with "CBS Sunday Mornings."

During the interview, Cyrus talked about how she didn't see herself physically giving the song to her dad at first ... though the entire time she was working on it she had the image of a white flag waving in the wind in mind -- a peace offering sticking in her head.

Miley says her dad wasn't the first person to hear the song -- she went to her godmother Dolly Parton and her mom Tish with it first -- but, when he did hear it, she says he couldn't hold it together.

Cyrus says she gave him the song for his birthday ... and, he started blubbering -- adding it might be the first time he's cried since his own father's funeral.

Billy Ray and Miley simply moved on from some of their old issues without addressing them, Miley adds ... with the song acting as their idea of family counseling -- or, as she puts it, studio sessions work for them instead of therapy sessions!

As you know ... there's been some distance between BRC and MC since Billy and Tish Cyrus abruptly separated back in April 2022.

Cyrus previously opened up about her past estrangement in an interview with the New York Times ... admitting she took a lot of her mom's pain on over the years caused by her relationship with Billy Ray.