Old vs new Gaga lyrics

[Smother Em Eh 6,824]

I actually kinda agree. Her lyrics back then were quite clever. I do feel like she down graded in terms of writing quality on Joanne. TFM, BTW & even ARTPOP has such creative & complex lyrics whereas I feel like Joanne’s are too repetitive and basic. 

(And someone said above, Joanne’s lyrics are supposed to be basic and simple) 

But why would they be simple if it’s such a personal album? 

[AlexanderMagno 10,746]

You said everything.

Old Gaga lyrics had multiple interpretations, and yet it was not an ARTPOP "it could be anything" deal. They were smart.

I find new Gaga lyrics much more straightforward. Even her more ambiguous lyrics are not that subtle. I still consider it a downgrade because she still tries every once in a while to make her music smarter and more "enigma" than it actually is. If she went full Joanne, or a Joni Mitchell style, then I would understand the evolution.

 

What I don't agree is about who writes with her. If you believe in Gaga, she has a lot more artistic freedom nowadays than she had during The Fame. In fact, her team letting her do everything in her own way is a matter of discussion between fans. Therefore, you would guess that she has now more control over her lyrics than she had before. So, whether most lyrics she wrote back then had a big input from co-writers and that is what make them great, or she simply lost some of her lyrical ability.

[Regina George 59,387]

2 hours ago, AlexanderMagno said:

What I don't agree is about who writes with her. If you believe in Gaga, she has a lot more artistic freedom nowadays than she had during The Fame. In fact, her team letting her do everything in her own way is a matter of discussion between fans. Therefore, you would guess that she has now more control over her lyrics than she had before. So, whether most lyrics she wrote back then had a big input from co-writers and that is what make them great, or she simply lost some of her lyrical ability.

This part is really interesting! I know this is controversial topic here but I noticed her music before fame sounds a lot like something Lina Morgana would write. Her song “Trigger” sounds exactly like something Lina would write. Maybe she did have someone who helped her with lyrics before considering she worked with same guy who worked with Lina. 

[A Hybrid 10,959]

Gaga’s never consistently good or bad with her lyrics. 

The Fame has Paparazzi, then it has “Boys boys boys, we like boys in cars, boys boys boys, buy us drinks in bars”

The Fame Monster has So Happy I Could Die, and then it has Telephone (although TFM is her most consistent work)

The difference widens in Born This Way where she has choruses like “I won’t cry for you, I won’t crucify the things you do” and then “I wish I could be strong without the sh!t yeah, oh oh oh oh oh, without the sh!t yeah”

But it’s the clearest in ARTPOP, it has Gaga’s best lyrical work (ARTPOP the song) and her absolute worst (Donatella)

Joanne drops most of the metaphors and that leaves lazy humanist attempts like Come To Mama, though it still has lyrical gems like A-YO and Angel Down

I don’t think it’s right to call an era “the one with the better lyrics” but for me most of The Fame’s lyrics are trying too hard but are empty in reality. Paparazzi is really good but that’s about it, meanwhile every other album she’s put out has at least 2 songs with lyrics at least as good as Paparazzi

[AlexanderMagno 10,746]

4 minutes ago, ReginaGeorge said:

This part is really interesting! I know this is controversial topic here but I noticed her music before fame sounds a lot like something Lina Morgana would write. Her song “Trigger” sounds exactly like something Lina would write. Maybe she did have someone who helped her with lyrics before considering she worked with same guy who worked with Lina. 

 

Well, it's also general knowledge that most of Gaga's biggest artistic/creative achievements happened with her old creative team. Again, maybe they helped her with her lyrics more than we know? I don't know, Gaga herself has changed, maybe she did lose a bit of her subtlety.

[2School4Cool 5,348]

I honestly prefer her more recent lyrics. But that’s just a preference, it really depends on the song. I think Joanne had some of her strongest lyrical content yet. I feel like sometimes straightforward lyrics cut deeper. Like in Angel Down, no metaphoric content is necessary, “shots were fired on the street by the church where we used to meet. Angel down, angel down, but the people just stood around” is profound enough to leave a deep impact on the listener. But songs like Aura aren’t meant to be straightforward, the lyrics are meant to be complex and unique. I personally don’t think it’s a matter of one style being better than another, it’s just if the lyrical style matches the message or sound of the song, which in Gaga’s case it always does.

[AshIey 7,880]

I think her writing style has simply changed since then, it’s not necessarily worse. Regarding her having more co-writers now, Redone did say that she’s very generous when it comes to giving writing credits to co-writers/producers. (Not talking about songs that were written by others like Come To Mama).

[2School4Cool 5,348]

5 minutes ago, modern ecstasy said:

I think her writing style has simply changed since then, it’s not necessarily worse. Regarding her having more co-writers now, Redone did say that she’s very generous when it comes to giving writing credits to co-writers/producers. (Not talking about songs that were written by others like Come To Mama).

I’ve often wondered that. I feel like Gaga is such a visionary artist and wants to be in control of her art, I’m sure she does most of her writing. I mean someone could write two words of the song and receive a songwriting credit, but we don’t get to see the song being written so we genuinely don’t know who wrote what parts of the song. It’s possible that there are 5 people in the room when the song is written and Gaga wrote every lyric, but they all get a songwriting credit for coming up with a guitar lick or some beat. We’ll never know for sure, it’s just interesting to think about.

[McYves 1,612]

Also, I remember her saying in an interview that she wanted to be so honest with the Joanne album so she wrote exactly what she was feeling/doing/experiencing without complex/agressive metaphors and stuff. Like "I bow down to pray I try to make the worst seem better" it's exactly what she does when she's feeling sad.

[AJRocketMan 2,684]

1 hour ago, A Hybrid said:

But it’s the clearest in ARTPOP, it has Gaga’s best lyrical work (ARTPOP the song) and her absolute worst (Donatella)

Donatella is a double entendre. It’s both an ode to her muse, Donatella Versace, and a satirical take on the upper class society. Is it immature? Yeah, but that was the idea. People seem to have forgotten that. 🤔 

[Fiendman 206]

12 minutes ago, AJRocketMan said:

Donatella is a double entendre. It’s both an ode to her muse, Donatella Versace, and a satirical take on the upper class society. Is it immature? Yeah, but that was the idea. People seem to have forgotten that. 🤔 

I think the issue is just that it's, compared to the majority of Gaga songs, quite badly written. The theme is clear, but the lyrics are hardly groundbreaking.