PunkTheFunk 124,210 Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 We all know DH is about Gaga's life before the fame, go-go dancing in clubs and what-not But after a bit of research I was able to find out some interesting contextual details about the song that you might miss from just a listen Let's dive in shall we ... I've been able to conclude that this song probably takes place on a night in January/early February 2007, at St. Jerome's Bar in New York City. Young, wild, American Lookin' to be somethin'Out of school go-go'n For a hundred or twoSome asshole broke me in Wrecked all my innocence I'll just keep go-go'n And this dance is on you These lines tell us Gaga has to be at least older than 19 when the song takes place. She drops out of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts "in the second semester of her sophomore year" (early 2005) to focus on her music career. She moves into an apartment on Rivington Street that summer and founds the Stefani Germanotta Band. She also told us that she was raped when she was 19 ("some asshole broke me in; wrecked all my innocence"). If my research is correct, Gaga didn't start go-go dancing until after she was dropped from Def Jam; remember, she was signed in September 2006 and was then dropped about three months later (early 2007 basically.) According to Wikipedia: "She became increasingly experimental: fascinating herself with emerging neo-burlesque shows, go-go dancing at bars dressed in little more than a bikini, in addition to experimenting with drugs." Basically, this song gives us a glimpse into her life immediately after she was dropped by her record label. A very devastated and depressed Gaga tells us about the hardships she's been through over the past year, but puts on a brave face and keeps the show going ("life sucks, but I'll just keep go-go'n"). Now for the chorus: Young, wild, American C'mon baby, do you have a girlfriend? The 'baby' in the chorus is Luc Carl, her young, wild, Cool-Nebraska GUY, who happened to be the manager of St. Jerome's Bar on Rivington Street at the time (which was one of the bars Gaga frequented to go-go dance and also where she met Lady Starlight). Gaga apparently "broke up" with her record producer Rob Fusari in January 2007 (and I imagine the loss of the record deal had a lot to do with it). And just after that relationship ends, she starts dating Luc. So basically, she's trying to initiate a relationship with Luc by asking him if he has a girlfriend Spoiler There are plenty of conflicting stories online about how/when the two met. Luc says Gaga was 20 when she walked into his bar for the first time and they "instantly fell in love", and there are other stories where they apparently met in 2005 while Gaga was still in school Either way it doesn't matter because we know for sure that they start dating (again or for the first time) in early 2007. (This is Gaga and Luc in April 2007, about 2-3 months after the events of Diamond Heart if my theory is correct) The bridge just ties everything together:Good thing I know what I'm worth Want a good thing, put the money down first The pain from being dropped from her record label is still fresh. "Those record producers might have tossed me aside but I know that I'm worth something." I found the second line really interesting too, because I learned (from this very detailed article from 2010 in NY Magazine called "Growing Up Gaga") that she chose to decline part of her $850,000 advance from Def Jam so she could retain ownership of the master tapes she already produced. Basically "if you want me, you better be ready to pay every last dollar " Better get a good look baby 'Cause soon I'm breaking out of here This is Gagz lowkey telling Luc (and us) that he better enjoy this fling while it lasts because one day she's going to escape this sh*t-hole bar and become a superstar. (And that's exactly what happened According to that NY Mag article I referenced earlier, "The day that [Gaga] shot the video for “Just Dance” was the same day that she finally left Carl. Her heart may have been broken, but this was her new life.") I guess you could say this whole song is Gaga consoling herself after experiencing plenty of personal hardship, by telling herself that no, she's not perfect, but she's got a heart that's as precious and rare as a diamond and no one can tell her otherwise. ... The End Time to shamelessly promo my other I Figured Out thread I plan on doing threads like this for as many songs on Joanne as I can so stay tuned Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
VOLANTIS 16,373 Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 Dedication. And very well done in every way. I'll lift you 3 inches off the ground and drag you to a meter and a half Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeehawKylie 7,817 Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 No offense, but the lyrics are cut and dry. If you didn't put together the dots after the first listen...well... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PunkTheFunk 124,210 Posted December 11, 2016 Author Share Posted December 11, 2016 1 minute ago, koonsisme said: No offense, but the lyrics are cut and dry. If you didn't put together the dots after the first listen...well... Did you read the first two sentences of the thread Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropicOfCANCER 6,292 Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 3 minutes ago, koonsisme said: No offense, but the lyrics are cut and dry. If you didn't put together the dots after the first listen...well... tbh, i don't think this is so much a "figuring out" as it is a further fleshing out. yes, we mostly knew all this but its still interesting to see the thorough, contextual details. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PunkTheFunk 124,210 Posted December 11, 2016 Author Share Posted December 11, 2016 1 minute ago, TropicOfCANCER said: tbh, i don't think this is so much a "figuring out" as it is a further fleshing out. yes, we mostly knew all this but its still interesting to see the thorough, contextual details. "I Fleshed Out Diamond Heart" just doesn't have a good ring to it Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
He8MyHeart 9,664 Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 All very interesting Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antoni 5,332 Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 Thank you so so so so much for this! My name isn't Timmers Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furrrealzjuan 137 Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 1 hour ago, PunkTheFunk said: She also told us that she was raped when she was 19 ("some asshole broke me in; wrecked all my innocence"). I think the lyrics could look or be understood as "asshole broke me in; rectal my innocence"... a play on words like in Venus: " Your a-nus? Don't you know my ass is famous?!" Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToxicHot 6,444 Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 Wow, this is honestly amazing. Very well done. Gaga needs to read this, just imagine her reaction! dOnT sAd ReAcT mE 2 bE sHaDy i WiLL RePoRt U!!1! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
PunkTheFunk 124,210 Posted December 11, 2016 Author Share Posted December 11, 2016 Just now, ToxicHot said: Gaga needs to read this, just imagine her reaction! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
malazam 15,710 Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 Little Detectives never fail to impress. Amazing. The song always gave the vibe you explained above but now you know in which facts she based herself to write it. but where is... Spoiler Lina Morgana? another shot before we kiss the other side Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
FATCAT 59,856 Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 4 minutes ago, Furrrealzjuan said: I think the lyrics should look more like this "asshole broke me in; rectal my innocence"... a play on words like in Venus: " Your a-nus? Don't you know my ass is famous?!" She clearly says "wrecked ALL MY innocence." ****? Really? Jesus people. This kitten over here (meow) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
FATCAT 59,856 Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 1 minute ago, malazam said: Little Detectives never fail to impress. Amazing. The song always gave the vibe you explained above but now you know in which facts she based herself to write it. but where is... Reveal hidden contents Lina Morgana? ~Please refer to page 1 of ARTPOP, in section "Highway 10" This kitten over here (meow) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
malazam 15,710 Posted December 11, 2016 Share Posted December 11, 2016 1 minute ago, FATCAT said: She clearly says "wrecked ALL MY innocence." ****? Really? Jesus people. This... another shot before we kiss the other side Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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