Sunday, April 17, 2011

Lady Gaga "Judas" - Song Meaning?

It kind of says something about Lady Gaga when I write two blogs about her. She's cool and all, but after the last one I thought that would be the last you heard of Lady Gaga from me. Then, on April 15th, 2011, she released the song "Judas".
The single is off of her upcoming album Born This Way. If you haven't been keeping track of the pre-production, production, and promotion, here's all you need to know:
The first single released was the title track, "Born This Way"
The second single is this song, "Judas"
She has described it as, (parental advisory) "something so much deeper than a wig or lipstick or a fucking meat dress"

A little crucial background info on Lady Gaga: She is absolutely a performance artist, 110% of her body is composed of creativity, she is unafraid of criticism, she loves her fans, and even her most mainstream, pop-ish songs have an often startling underlying layer of raw realness. So raw and real in fact, that the Catholic church has condemned her.

Okay so here's the classic Sam DeCross, Mixed In The Music artist/music breakdown. Ready? Go.

Lady Gaga, after repeatedly causing controversy and shocking the press by her repeated wild costumes, rumors, truths, etc; announces an album called Born This Way.
Lady Gaga releases the single conveniently named "Born This Way." Here it is below.



Now, the thing about Lady Gaga's lyrical content and presentation through her music usually seems like she's throwing it in your face as if she's saying "THIS IS ME, DEAL WITH IT." I've always perceived it as if she was just in that awkward situation where someone puts you on the spot and you freeze, but as soon as you walk away your head starts whirling in that "I'll tell you what I think, I'm on top of the world and I'm not afraid to tell anyone what's what in my book" kind of thing. I think this is why her followers find something to relate to in the meat-dress wearing pop star. For the 3 minutes of a Lady Gaga song, you don't even have to vent. She'll do it for you. I think the song "Born This Way" was the peak of that mindset. Let out everything that you are too afraid to show publicly because of what others might think.
In a more literal sense as I interpreted from the lyrics, she's saying "There is nothing wrong with who I am. I am what I am, God made me this way. If God decided I was the kind of person he would allow on Earth then who are you to challenge that?"
This obviously hit a nerve with a lot of people. Once that happened, all it did was prove the point that just because you make a point doesn't mean that you are forgiven. Even after she pointed out that, "Hey, I was born this way" she was still attacked and criticized for the same old things and more.

Cue the song "Judas". Here it is below.



The first time I heard it, I was like "Wow." I immediately thought of the scenes in Get Him To The Greek where Jackie O is singing those raunchy songs full of sexual innuendos that were so offensive it came out comical. So, I listened again and payed closer attention to the lyrics. It was then that I realized, "Wait... I know who Judas is!" Obviously she can't LITERALLY be saying she's in love with the biblical figure Judas, the man who turned Jesus over to be crucified.
Her "Judas" ties right into "Born This Way." Now this isn't going to keep the Catholic church away, but if God created her the way she is, why is it the people that criticize her the most are those who claim to represent God? Her Judas is the very way that God made her. Her Judas is her passion, her free spirit, her open support for the LGBT community, her standing up for the outcasts, her open raw reality that she shares with whoever listens.







I wonder what the next chapter in the Lady Gaga Born This Way tell-all will be...


Special thanks to Melissa for suggesting this topic. Good call.

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