I saw this on Tumblr and thought it was interesting and thought it would also get some interesting responses. Lets hope I'm not wrong, lol.
First, they posted some Lady Gaga lyrics from her song Alejandro.
I don't listen to Lady Gaga, I don't know the song and I don't know the video. She's not my cup of tea so I don't pay a damn bit of attention to her. Anyway, here are the lyrics to her song and if they're wrong at all, my bad I just copied them off the website:
"Don't call my name
Don't call my name, Alejandro
I'm not your babe
I'm not your babe, Fernando
Don't wanna kiss, don't wanna touch
Just smoke one cigarette and run
Don't call my name
Don't call my name, Roberto
(Alejandro
Alejandro
Ale-ale-jandro
Ale-ale-jandro) x2
Just stop
Please, Just let me go Alejandro, Just let me go"
Then the person went on to add this:
Alejandro means man’s defender and protector (God.)
Fernando means ardent for peace (Jesus.)
Roberto means bright or shining fame (Holy Spirit.)
Babe is the same as Child.
Then, they edited the lyrics to Lady Gaga's song:
Don’t call my name, don't call my name, GOD.
I’m not your child, I’m not your child, Jesus
Don’t call my name, don't call my name, holy spirit.
God, just let me go.
Now, don't assume the person who blogged this on Tumblr is an extremely religious person or someone out to get Lady Gaga because you would be wrong in both assumptions.
I also know people are always looking for hidden meanings in songs. Trust me, I listen to a lot of hard rock/metal/death metal and all kinds of really heavy shit. I get that people are always trying to find things that are sometimes not there. I also get that if you look hard enough for something, more often than not, you're going to find it if you twist enough around. But... it's still an interesting thought.
So, what do y'all think?
Happy Wednesday!
13 comments:
That is very interesting. I love the song Alejandro. It's one of my favs but I just thought it was about a bunch of mexican men. If the translation is correct then where does the other lyrics 'don't wanna kiss, don't wanna touch" fit in? I'll def pay more attention now when I hear the song.
The music video that goes with Alejandro is fabulous! Of course there are people who belive it is pornograhic, but I think they're disturbed by the inabiilty for them to figure out who is gay, straight or bi, in the video.
I like Lady GaGa's music and her performances are art. She's also a bit crazy which is what most artists are described as being when they are doing their art vs. 50 years later.
What they really need to do is get it cut on vinyl and then play it backwards. {*grin*}
Some song lyrics are worth considering and others aren't. I suspect the reaction is determined more by the listener than the writer - after all, isn't the point of emo writing like song lyrics to evoke an emotion?
That's a highly religious person grasping at straws.
In the video, Lady Gaga is dressed up as a nun, swallows a rosary on a bed w/ a dude
i agree that any lyrics can be twisted to look for those 'hidden meanings'. though i'm not as into the heavy music as you, my son is obsessed with it. we've watched so many documentaries and whatnot about metal bands. my son absorbs all of it, and i explain the parts he doesn't fully understand. even he knows that people do that all the time.
definitely and interesting topic. Lady GaGa has a few tunes i enjoy, but overall i find her a bit showy for my taste. hmmm...you never really know with someone like her. she's a clever one who is learning how to make money. contraversy is money in that business. something to ponder.
btw, i agree on leaving religion out of most conversations because it is very touchy. i do enjoy speaking to individuals about their religion if ever the topic does come up, but i'm a "to each your own" kind of person.
phairhead,
"In the video, Lady Gaga is dressed up as a nun, swallows a rosary on a bed w/ a dude"
Whats ur point? That can be taken a lot of ways. Given the context of this post that shows a less than religious context, her doing that (especially being a person who isn't religious) can be more of a slap or stab at religion and not her supporting it.
I think it's a very interesting theory. It isn't worth much thought. She's just trying to make money by being showey, controversial and talking about touchy sometimes taboo subjects. She's a clever marketer.
Julia: the point is, the Bible Belters have gotten their knickers in a twist over the video for "Alejandro". Very similar to Madonna's "Like a Prayer"
I could take or leave Lady Gaga, personally. Doesn't matter much to me.
Wow, how weird, I just now did a post on faith on my blog too. And this is a topic that I just don't blog about. But I digress.
I tend to think, like you, that most musicians who write music layer in lots of meaning through symbolism and metaphor that may not be readily apparent from the outset.
Not sure about this individual's suggestions, only because I would place Lady Gaga in the genre where she's making social commentary, not merely riddles. But, you never know.
Like they say, any publicity is good publicity.
Deciphering meanings in songs is just as popular now as it was to do Backward Masking in the 70's and 80's.. Hell, I think there was some in the 60's too!
If folks believe in something enough, they'll be able to come up with some kind of "proof" that things are how they percieve it to be. Then their biggest challenge is to "prove" that finding to everyone else...
The question is.. How many guppies really believe that she's some kind of anti-christ who's tempting souls away because of her subversive lyrics, and how many think that she's just a talented (if bizarre) entertainer?
I really know nothing about Lady GaGa. Like you, she's not someone I'd listen to.
If you are fanatical enough about God/Jesus you will find meaning in anything and everything.
Just my opinion but I don't think anyone who thinks that "someone can steal their creativity through their vagina", is going to get all da Vinci Code in a pop song.
Beast saw her on tv discussing this song and video and what she had said was it was made rebel against the new military bill re: "don't ask, don't tell"...
I always thought it was about a bunch of mexican dudes too...
Lady Gaga is Catholic and I get the impression that she is spiritual or at least respectfully of religion from her integration of religious symbols into her work (examples being the t in Mother Monster is a cross and there's a lot Catholic imagery in the music video for Alejandro). However if the "revealed" nature of the song is intentional I don't think I have a problem with that per se. Relationships with God are a lot more complex then many people make them out to be. Some feel God is always judging them, other feel he's lovingly watching, some feel he's apathetic or distant, others feel God's abandoned them. Whether the "revealed" meaning is true or not I'd say judging from the hard-knock life Lady Gaga led before becoming famous that she has a good reason for however she may view God.
I haven't commented in forever but you know how I feel about Lady Gaga so here's my take on the song, which you shouldn't question since I'm one of her biggest fans and know everything about her :)
Alejandro means man’s defender and protector (so obviously she's talking about the Terminator)
Fernando means ardent for peace (duh, Mother Teresa)
Roberto means bright or shining fame (what Britney Spears used to have before Lady Gaga came along and stole it from her)
Babe is a really hot girl.
People need to stop reading too heavily into the lyrics. It's annoying.
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