Why Shallow Is So Special

[JustinLovesGaga 883]

Shallow is quite possibly the greatest song Gaga has ever written, and is totally deserving of Song of the Year Grammy at the 2019 ceremony, and I’m going to explain why, piece by piece, as these two characters have a discussion and learn about each other all within these lyrics.

Jackson’s verse - In the context of the movie, Jackson wrote his verse after hearing Ally sing hers the night before… “tell me something girl, are you happy in this modern world? Or do you need more? Is there something else you’re searching for?” 

Modern world meaning the way Ally is currently living her life - a talented songwriter with an amazing voice who is currently working at a restaurant who only occasionally showcases her talent at late night niche drag bars. But it also means more. 

The night before, Ally explained she had pursued her dreams before but was rejected by label executives because they didn’t believe she was beautiful enough, specifically her nose was too big. This isn’t uncommon, and both Jackson and Ally know it. Jackson knows Ally isn’t happy about it, but she did give up pursuing her dream, so Jackson is essentially saying "are you happy with how things are? Because if not, change them. Pursue your dream with me, right here and now" 

Ally's verse -  "tell me something boy, aren’t you tired tryin’ to fill that void? Or do you need more? Ain’t it hard keeping it so hardcore?“ Ally wrote this on the spot after listening and observing Jackson the night they met. She notices Jackson was sort of uncomfortable talking about his past, specifically mentioning his youth and home life and the premature death of his mother and the absence of a real father.  She realizes that he’s empty in a lot of places, and tries to fill that emptiness with alcohol and other distractions. (Side note - I believe Ally wasn’t going to pursue that relationship after the night they met because she felt deep down that she was only a distraction in his life, but that’s a discussion for another blog post) 

"I’m falling. In all the good times, I find myself longing for change. And in the bad times, I fear myself” On the surface, this could be interpreted as Ally falling in love with Jack, but as many other lines of this song, it could mean more. It could mean that Ally slowly feels herself descending in her life. She hasn’t achieved her desired career after multiple failed attempts. She’s always wanted change, but never could really achieve it. I believe Ally was clinically depressed in the beginning of the film with her job, her home life, and romance. The reason she may fear herself in the bad times is because maybe she has contemplated self harm before.  

Chorus - “I’m off the deep end, watch as I dive in, I never meet the ground.” There comes a point in the process of pursuing happiness that you have to just try and take a big risk. That’s the deep end that Ally is singing about. What makes her so brave is that she takes this risk in front of thousands of people live on stage. They all watch as she ‘dives in’. Even though this moment only lasted for a couple of minutes, it feels almost endless in the moment. Seconds feel like hours. Ally will never come back from this moment, no matter the outcome. 

“Crash through the surface, where they can’t hurt us. We’re far from the shallow now.” Ally and Jackson have already established mutual attraction. Ally knows Jackson has pain from the past, despite his efforts to hide and distract himself. Break down the wall, crash through the surface with me, nothing can stop you, the people behind us don’t matter at this point. They can’t hurt us. They don’t have that power. We’re far from that now.

Bridge - There are no real words sung here, but I think deserves to be mentioned because it still says a lot. This is the point in the performance where Ally has already dove into the deep. She’s in front of thousands of people alongside Jackson singing her song and the crowd is applauding. The bridge is the point where Ally finally gains a bit of confidence. She’s releasing all of these pint up emotions she has been suppressing for so long, this is her climaxing emotionally. She’s giving, she’s releasing, she’s howling, she’s yelling, and she’s crying all at the same time. She has decided this is her moment, and it may be her last. She’s giving it one last shot. 

There you go. This song is so beautiful because it says so much with so little. Shallow deserves to be recognized for the songwriting, I hope The Academy will agree.

NOTE: this post is about Shallow written in the context of the film 

[KatieJudasGaga4 67,907]

I already read the first sentence and loved it

[CannaeDrive 3,412]

Thank you 

[Guest Anisko]

I don't think shallow is the greatest song gaga has ever written because simply there's better songs in her discography ..and tbh i'm still surprised by the success of the song because i still believe it lacked something .. Lyrically still a great song .

I'm sure if the song released without the movie it would be faded into oblivion by now.  

Don't get me wrong please cause i just shared my opinion with respect