Gaga Has Lost Her Lyrical Fire

[jprince99x 3,547]

2 hours ago, jprince99x said:

Gaga's strengths show when she is out to prove herself as an artist. In chromatica gaga is trying to achieve something different, the lyrics are coming from a different place that she's never fully explored before. She isn't trying to prove anything on this record, she is trying to make sense of her life, sobriety, and fame. When you listen to these songs in solitude, they don't seem impactful like songs from Born This Way do. After reading many replies in this thread I began to think of chromatica as a whole, and the album lyrically came to focus a bit for me. I still think there is room for improvement. The "fire" is still there lyrically - maybe not in the songs, but definitely in their intention.

Please read!

[oslo 195]

2 hours ago, jprince99x said:

Before everyone starts dragging me, please hear me out.

The lyric that everyone touts on chromatica is this:

"This is my dancefloor I fought for"

If you keep reading,

This is my dancefloor I fought for
A heart, that's what I'm livin' for
So light up my body and kiss me too hardly
We own the downtown, hear our sound

I say that I want it, want it (Be free)
Don't fight it, fight it
But if I'm gonna go for it
I'll remember that, that
I say that I want it, want it (Be free)
Don't fight it, fight it
But if I'm gonna go for it
I'll remember that, that

These lyrics just don't flow whatsoever when you read them. Personally I want lyrics to read like a sentence. Here is an excerpt of one of my favourite songs:

"The bridle bends in idle hands
and slows our canter to a trot.
We mean to stop, in increments, but can’t commit. We post and sit, in impotence:
the harder you hit, the deeper the dent.
We seek our name.
We seek our fame, and our credentials
(paned in glass, trained to master incidentals). Bleach our collar, leach our dollar from our cents: the longer you live, the higher the rent."

I understand that this is completely not pop style, but Gaga's lyrics on this album don't have an ounce of that flow that I desire from lyrics. It just feels like she wrote the lyrics in 10 minutes then completely forgot about them (and that's what she's known for doing)

I guess I'm just burdened because I literally don't listen to any modern pop music except for gaga. I listen to folk, classical, and oldies 24/7. 

I was playing Chromatica for my brother. He pointed out to me that all he hears when he listens is just "I me love etc.", when I listen back to the album she emphasizes these words too much. Like on Fun Tonight, the only words that pop out on the prechorus are "I" and "You" . It just feels like some aspects of her songwriting are being reduced to fit the genre/style.

Just look at lyrics from one of the b sides on BTW, heavy metal lover:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

I want your whiskey mouth all over my blonde south
Red wine, cheap perfume, and a filthy pout

Tonight bring all your friends, because a group does it better
Why river with a pair?
Let's have a full house of leather

Dirty pony, I can't wait to hose you down
You've got to earn your leather in this part of town

Dirty pearls and a patch for all the Rivington Rebels
Let's raise hell in the streets, drink beer and get into trouble

Whip me, slap me, punk funk
New York clubbers, bump drunk
Bud Lite, liquors, bar slam
Move it, this is your jam
Wash the night with St. Jame-son
Like a baptism, heavy metal lovers play
Baby, we were born this way

 

This has so much lyrical density, so much fire. And sadly I don't think that she wrote with that same fire on chromatica.

The only song that I feel that "fire" from is Babylon, and even that song is overtaken by lines that don't make sense to me

"Body's moving like a sculpture"

how does a body move like a sculpture? Sculptures are completely still, they don't move 

here are some lyrics that attack some of the same themes that gaga does in chromatica:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

"In martial wind, and in clarion rain,
we minced into battle, wincing in pain;
not meant for walking, backs bound in twine: not angel or devil,
but level, in time.

And I rose, to take my shape at last,
from the dreams that had dogged me, through every past, when, to my soul, the body would say
You may do what you like,
as long as you stay.

Now the towns and forests, highways and plains, fall back in circles like an emptying drain.
And I won’t come round this way again,
where the lonely wind abides,

and you will not take my heart, alive. You will not take my heart."

 

I think that the lyrics on Chromatica are okay. There are some lines that I actually quite enjoy, replay is fantastic. Overall, when I listen to the songs all I hear is lyrical "spice". I actually quite like some of the narratives she attacks in the songs, but I feel as if the final product isn't as on point as her earlier work. I really don't think that this dance pop is the type of music that Gaga is inspired to make. Joanne has so much more of that "fire". 

Maybe part of the issue is the production. I listened to 1000 doves 10+ times and hated it. The lyrics didn't touch me at all. After hearing them in the demo, I literally cried. (and not because of the music, I think that the piano is very weak. There are no dynamics whatsoever! I could actually hear what she was saying in the lyrics.) I defended Stupid Love's lyrics when many of you here trashed them. For some reason I hear the lyrics on this album and they feel inauthentic. I love this album, I love it. I adore it and have been listening NONSTOP since it came out. I understand that there is no "perfect" song out there. These are just some of my thoughts after a few days of listening.

EDIT:

Gaga's strengths show when she is out to prove herself as an artist. In chromatica gaga is trying to achieve something different, the lyrics are coming from a different place that she's never fully explored before. She isn't trying to prove anything on this record, she is trying to make sense of her life, sobriety, and fame. When you listen to these songs in solitude, they don't seem impactful like songs from Born This Way do. After reading many replies in this thread I began to think of chromatica as a whole, and the album lyrically came to focus a bit for me. I still think there is room for improvement. The "fire" is still there lyrically - maybe not in the songs, but definitely in their intention.

You should definitely check out for iamamiwhoami and ionnalee. Most is pop, and the lyrics are just poems, with so many layers, interpretations, filled with substance and sometimes even complex. The visuals are astonishingly beautiful and deep, yet very simple and minimalist, and the music is... everything 💜 the melodies, the voice of ionnalee, her way of pronouncing words, it’s brilliant and magical.

Do you know them already?

[damag 200]

Trust me, you didn’t expect 3 replies only. By putting that “Before everyone starts dragging me, please hear me out.” You know what you were aiming for, attention.

[chromaticainmyhead 5,494]

don‘t drag her, she needs time. 

[jprince99x 3,547]

1 minute ago, oslo said:

You should definitely check out for iamamiwhoami and ionnalee. Most is pop, and the lyrics are just poems, with so many layers, interpretations, filled with substance and sometimes even complex. The visuals are astonishingly beautiful and deep, yet very simple and minimalist, and the music is... everything 💜 the melodies, the voice of ionnalee, her way of pronouncing words, it’s brilliant and magical.

Do you know them already?

No-

this is fantastic wtf why have I never heard this. Gonna check out more right now

Someone else in this genre that i feel is on fire lyrically is Charlotte Gainsbourg

Damn
Can't even remember my name
You are my kingdom and my own shadow
You are my fuel and hurricane
Pictures that have gently left me holy
Somewhere a face that I can't find
You are my deadly valentine

With this ring I thee wed with all my body, could tie the end down
To love and to cherish, according to God's holy ordinance
You have declared your consent, may the Lord fill you both with blessings
(From this day forward until death do us part)
From this day forward, for better, for worse, until death do us part
(From this day forward until death do us part)

Her voice is like Billie Eilish but with soul. Her music reminds me of gaga so much. She actually works with house/edm producers instead of pop producers to make this style.

This song is actually very relevant to the riots today

The Queen is marching back to Paris tonight
The priests are praying and preparing the rites
Another animal gets drowned in the Seine
Enemies, enemies will never be friends

The city's artifacts are thrown into bags
The safe's been blown apart, the river's been dragged
Another diver's got a case of the bends
Enemies, enemies will never be friends

Bombs away
It's a pain but not a shock
Bombs away
Let that old Gomorrah rock
Bombs away
Let the fires light the road
Bombs away
The metropolis explodes

The Queen is marching back to London tonight
The new regime is hunkered down for a fight
Another animal gets drowned in the Thames
Enemies, enemies will never be friends

The city's quiet and awaiting the Blitz
A candle's lit where old Victoria sits
Babylon's burning  and a dynasty ends
Enemies, enemies will never be friends

Bombs away
It's a pain but not a shock
Bombs away
Let that old Gomorrah rock
Bombs away
Let the fires light the road
Bombs away
The metropolis explodes

[MonsterPaws 2,631]

I somewhat agree for some of the tracks but most of them have great lyrics. 911 and Sine From Above for example are fantastic. The latter especially has beautiful and powerful lyrics.

"I heard one sine from above
Then the signal split in two
The sound created stars like me and you
Before there was love, there was silence
I heard one sine
And it healed my heart, heard a sine"

^ See? Very minimal but powerful. Mixed with the production it's fire.

 

I believe Chromatica is a very strong release and feels like the BTW era for some reason. Just a lot more minimal lyrically and sonically. The lyrics on a lot of the BTW tracks can come across as a bit verbose imo. But it's part fo what makes BTW so unique and experimental (HML, Electric Chapel, Bloody Mary, and even GH all very unique songs but also verbose in parts).

Whereas on Chromatica it's more minimal (which can easily be seen as generic--to each their own). For example, Alice has some very generic themes with the whole Wonderland thing. And Plastic Doll is super generic pop and "plastic-y" actually but it works for what it is.

TL;DR: I think it's waaaaay too early to claim Gaga lost her lyrical fire. She clearly still has it, it's just different. We need to hear the next album first.

[ShayCristoforo 10,223]

Chromatica lyrics are just as good, if not better. Because they are still poetic with an added authenticity. She historically had cool obscure lyrics, but how do we relate to something when she’s speaking so cryptically and abstractly? Even in some of her cherished old material, I have absolutely no clue what she’s talking about. 

She shines and connects when she has poetic and accessible lyrics. Like in Chromatica. That’s my opinion with a degree in writing. 

[BuzzcutSeason 3,307]

it's ironic for a gaga stan to say this when these lyrics easily show growth, and easily the best aspect of the project. They aren't as overt and flimsy as the past (which is of course lovable) but she's finally writing from a place where it doesn't always need to be dressed up in dozens of metaphors. This is personal, but fun pop music. I can't imagine insulting it.

[jprince99x 3,547]

4 minutes ago, damag said:

Trust me, you didn’t expect 3 replies only. By putting that “Before everyone starts dragging me, please hear me out.” You know what you were aiming for, attention.

If some of you had an ounce of modesty you'd see that my post wasn't all that negative. Got any more tired insults to throw at me?

[KORG 4,756]

This album has some of her best lyrics and it wouldn't be gaga without a stinky line every now and then.

You just wanted to flex as superior. Bless.

[oslo 195]

13 minutes ago, jprince99x said:

 

Gaga's strengths show when she is out to prove herself as an artist. In chromatica gaga is trying to achieve something different, the lyrics are coming from a different place that she's never fully explored before. She isn't trying to prove anything on this record, she is trying to make sense of her life, sobriety, and fame. When you listen to these songs in solitude, they don't seem impactful like songs from Born This Way do. After reading many replies in this thread I began to think of chromatica as a whole, and the album lyrically came to focus a bit for me. I still think there is room for improvement. The "fire" is still there lyrically - maybe not in the songs, but definitely in their intention.

I totally agree with you, i had the same feeling while listening to the album. You take the exemple of BTW, and this record has so much impactful lyrics, with content, it’s more poetic and we can enter more deeply into the songs and their meanings. The BTW Ball solidified its legacy ✨

But Chromatica has a different aim, as you perfectly said, Gaga is trying to make sense of her life, mental health, fame, to transform her sadness into rain, to dance her way through the pain as she says. And it’s an amazing record, and we still have a lot to discover from this era I am sure, with more content, storyline, visuals, which will infuse some more poetry and take us to Chromatica and its secrets 💗

[Bounty 775]

Must be worms on the brain

[Mugiwara No Luffy 255]

Not when this is her BEST lyrically

[magicalgaga 780]

After reading through this thread from here and there I got the feeling that you're just not connecting to the lyrics on a personal level. That doesn't make the lyrics 'not good' by default, it just means that you don't like them. We have to be able to separate the objective quality of an artwork and the subjective opinion one may have of it.

[Born Brave 2,072]

The best album lyrically and sonically is titled C-H-R-O-M-A-T-I-C-A