DIC is about chronic pain

[PunkTheFunk 123,820]

Before you hit 'excuse me no', I just want to say that this is not an attempt to troll or be disrespectful. Listening to Dancin' in Circles with the knowledge that Gaga suffers from fibromyalgia has given the song a whole new meaning for me and I thought I'd share my observations.

Sex can be a painful thing for people with fibromylagia. A blog post from countingmyspoons.com sheds some light on this struggle:

"When I talk to friends with Fibromyalgia, the topic of sex rarely comes up, but when it does it’s always in a negative light. 'He wants it but I just can’t'

The biggest reason that our sex lives are affected by Fibromyalgia is simply pain. Often it hurts even to be touched. This affects not just our sex lives, but our overall intimacy. When you can’t even be touched by the person you love it’s really hard to have any sort of physical intimacy. [...] The worst part is that we are in a state where we need that the most, but we can’t have it. Even if we can handle basic touch, our muscles are often so sore that the positions required for sex are difficult and often painful."

DIC, in my opinion, seems to describe this very experience: the pain -- physical and emotional -- of not being able to be touched by the person you love.

"He wants it, and I want it, but I just can't."

Through further research on the topic -- both online and first-hand  -- I found that masturbation can be used as a way to (temporarily) reduce chronic pain. The hormones released during an orgasm (dopamine, endorphins, etc.) are all natural pain relievers 

The pre-chorus and bridge sum it up perfectly: 

In the fire I call your name out
Up all night tryin' to rub the pain out

[My body] Hurts inside, but not this time
All the things that are on my mind
Vanish as I touch myself

People with fibromyalgia have described the pain as an "intense burning", which could be what Gaga's talking about here (i.e. feeling like she's in a fire). Suffering from chronic pain also leads to trouble sleeping (up all night), and so "dancing in circles" is a way of relieving her pain. She is desperately rubbing the pain out of her body while calling out to her lover.

I'm singin'
Baby don't cry
Baby don't cry
Dancin' in circles, feels good to be lonely

This could be taken in two ways; Gaga is consoling herself by telling herself not to cry and that being lonely isn't so bad -- even though she knows very well that it is. We learned from the 5F2 teaser just how much Gaga fears being alone.

 "I'm alone, every night. And all these people will leave, right? They will leave, and then I'll be alone. And I go from everyone touching me all day and talking at me all day to total silence."

Or, she's consoling her lover who has to see her experience such intense pain.

I fool myself
Swirl around as if I'm someone else
Your hands are mine
I do a trick
Pretend that I am you until it clicks
I come alive

She cannot be touched by her lover because it'll cause her physical pain, and she feels incredibly lonely. So what does she do? She pretends that her hands are her lover's ("pretend that I am you"), and that her lover's hands are hers as he presumably dances in circles too ("your hands are mine"). In her imagination she and her lover are able to touch, and this is where she draws her strength ("I come alive.")

With all this in mind, it now seems a little misguided to ask why Gaga put a song about masturbation on an album dedicated to her dead aunt.

DIC, while presented in the form of a ditzy little bop, gives us an insight into the isolation that Gaga experiences as a result of her physical illness. And on album that touches on themes of pain and healing, I think it fits in perfectly.

[n0ne 13,105]

A concept

[whore 11,447]

I read the title and thought  but then I clicked and saw the op and it all came together 

[27monster27 11,692]

Now that I think about it, this actually makes a lot of sense. Nice analysis.

[Ashley 8,723]

Your interpretations are amazing 

[not asher613 661]

 

[babs 5,093]

There will never be a more iconic forum member.

[Edonis 28,798]

I mean, masturbating is a way of reducing stress/pain, even if for a little bit. But the added details in OP is nice too. I like your Interpretation sis! 

[Guest ARTPOPSlays]

Honestly at first thought this was a reach or a joke but it makes a lot of sense

[aaron l 11,999]

Me coming into this thread vs me leaving

 

[Joshie S 5,894]

This is actually so interesting to think about... when I first heard DIC, and she sings "to rub the pain out", I had always thought it was a double reference to her hip pain (before we know about her fibromyalgia), but since the entire fanbase just assumed it was about masterbation, I never thought about it further.. 

[PunkTheFunk 123,820]

3 minutes ago, Edonis said:

I mean, masturbating is a way of reducing stress/pain, even if for a little bit. But the added details in OP is nice too. I like your Interpretation sis! 

Even if it's a reach

[DawnNutella 2,805]

I'll never hear this song the same way again. It makes sense, you could be right. 

Someone has to ask her this now!

[Gohan 16,172]

Makes sense, when I had a kidney stone, I used to dance up and down 6 times a day because it reduced the pain for hours

[FunBuns 596]

Also, when she screams DANCING IN CIRCLES when the bridge ends maybe it's the pain she's feeling after she decides to "call out loud for" her lover.

Interesting!

I think we know what the original song is about, the exact opposite of what it is.

I don't know but maybe Driving in Circles is a way to express her losing her mind over pain, any type of it that she feels...

I think, overall, this inspired her to write the first version and there are hints about it all over the song.

Pretty sure it's not only about physical pain but also emotional one and probably a few different things she's feeling.

Maybe the "good" side of being alone is that the pain that she suffers from some acts is not there.

Yes, there are other things that can be harmful to her but it's like, at least this isn't causing pain.

It could also be that the fact she can't physically enjoy something that hurts so bad hurts her emotionally.

I see some of your points and it's very interesting. I think, maybe if that's not what the song is about, you sure gave Gaga an idea and new level of depth to her already amazing one.

The screams in the chorus! WOW you really made a good point on another ****ing level

 

But hey gurl, you could at least wait with it after I post my full version of Dancin' in Circles and while you're at it, rub your pain out with this