Is Gaga a Mediocre Songwriter?

[Sneaky Oliver 22,985]

She definitely has a few misses here and there but cmon she’s the woman who wrote Bad Romance we should never question her songwriting 

[dynamite 66,658]

She's very good. She writes a lot of songs, they're not all going to be lyrical masterpieces, and they don't need to be.

Edited yesterday at 09:06 AM by dynamite

[Ivy 13,723]

No  how is this even a question 

Sure there are some songs which are not her best lyrically but they are minority in her discography

[Helxig 45,366]

I'm gonna say something vulnerable and controversial.. I think she was a better lyricist when she was in her 'crazy' era. And I know she was less mentally stable back then which makes it kinda sad in hindsight. But I just don't think she's ever touched lyrics like this again since:

"another shot before we kiss the other side, I'm on the edge of something final we call life tonight, put on your shades 'cause I'll be dancing in the flames, it isn't hell if everybody knows my name"

"a hybrid can withstand these things, my heart can beat with bricks and strings, my ARTPOP could mean anything"

"we are not just art for Michaelangelo to carve, he could not rewrite the agro of my furied heart, I'll wait on mountaintops in Paris cold, j'veux pas mourir toute seule"

 

Like those songs contain beautiful, evocative, poetry. Hearing some of the lyrics now like Plastic Doll, Hold My Hand, Dead Dance, How Bad Do U Want Me.. they are just so literal and don't really make you feel or imagine anything

It's just kinda sad that unfortunately it seems (for a lot of artists) the really deep, poetic, best stuff comes from their suffering. And don't get me wrong.. Mayhem has some GREAT moments and I am NOT doubting her immense and diverse talents. I'm glad she's in a better place. I'd rather her lyrics be somewhat mid, or hit-and-miss, and her to be happy, than have her suffer as a tortured artist forever. I know she's learned that that just isn't sustainable and is doing what's better for herself

 

Edited 9 hours ago by Helxig

[Sneaky Oliver 22,985]

17 minutes ago, Helxig said:

I'm gonna say something vulnerable and controversial.. I think she was a better lyricist when she was in her 'crazy' era. And I know she was less mentally stable back then which makes it kinda sad in hindsight.

I wouldn’t say it is because she was less mentally stable, but I agree with what you’re saying. All her best lyrics come from the first half of her career. I think she tried to make her lyrics more palatable/ accessible to wider audiences especially during Joanne/ASIB and she had to compromise the more abstract quality of her songwriting 

I think the gaga-isms from her first records are still present in some songs like Babylon, Enigma, Replay, Vanish Into You, Disease, they have this “absurd poetry”  quality to them 

I have this probably unpopular opinion that as much as ASIB gave her a lot of prestige and credibility, it also damaged her artistry and that’s why I don’t like it very much I never listen to ASIB songs nowadays 

Edited yesterday at 09:34 AM by Sneaky Oliver

[princedeeblebleble 3,648]

On 7/31/2026 at 1:23 PM, SavetheEarthNow said:

Anyone who says she's a "mediocre songwriter", one question: who and what do you consider superior to her songwriting?

I'd consider Florence Welch to be THE songwriter of the current generation. The way she combines the personal with mythology, the serious dark **** with a hint of dry british humour, the way she takes the most mundane **** and makes it sound right out of a greek mythological story. 

In a way  I'd also add people like Bjork, Tori,  Aurora, Bowie, Nerina Pallot 90s and early 2000s Maronna(and also her on C2).. Nick Cave, Hurts are also reall great.. the and Lana as being brilliant writers as well.

Gaga  does have a lot of gr8 lyrics, brilliant hooks and melodies and choses really cool concepts and themes as well, but she brings her average down with certian songs 

[Juanlittlem 49,440]

On 7/31/2026 at 7:24 AM, MaybeKermit said:

Hows your bond with your dad changed?

Do you expect her to write "My father's MAGA he wants no GAGA cause I love faggats"? 

[AVeryGagaHolyDick 32,018]

Why do y’all say DCT is about her dad? Like what indicates that? Is she addicted to her father’s lies or something?

[Juanlittlem 49,440]

19 minutes ago, AVeryGagaHolyDick said:

Why do y’all say DCT is about her dad? Like what indicates that? Is she addicted to her father’s lies or something?

"Dont call tonight, unless you wanna hurt me" because her father called her when Trump won the election

[AVeryGagaHolyDick 32,018]

3 minutes ago, Juanlittlem said:

"Dont call tonight, unless you wanna hurt me" because her father called her when Trump won the election

How do we know that?

I always thought the song was about her depression 

[Juanlittlem 49,440]

7 minutes ago, AVeryGagaHolyDick said:

How do we know that?

I always thought the song was about her depression 

I was joking  Ive seen people say it because of the "and in the mirror I get weak I get weak at the girl staring back at me theyre your eyes" but I dont see why

[Controversiaga 16,105]

8 hours ago, Ladle Ghoulash said:

I mean, she’s never had huge writing camps and generally writes with like…2-3 people tops, so not really sure what this is referring to. All of MAYHEM is basically her, Watt, and Cirkut.

Referring to Joanne and Chromatica mostly

[Ladle Ghoulash 53,154]

1 hour ago, AVeryGagaHolyDick said:

Why do y’all say DCT is about her dad? Like what indicates that? Is she addicted to her father’s lies or something?

“And in the mirror, I get weak at the girl staring back at me, they’re your eyes” is the lyric people mostly circle back to. 

[gagzus 23,142]

23 hours ago, LM said:

gurl, nobody here is rude. We're allowed to discuss both Gaga's strengths and weaknesses and yet you are here preaching about other people being bored and having too much time to waste while having 31,899 posts under your account 

That last line is a nasty read 

[dracomalfoy 997]

I agree with what others said here. I like most of the writing on her first albums, Chromatica is the one where it gets bad to me, but after that interview where she mentioned having nothing but literality I kinda understand her.

I dont put too much on songs like Runway, TDD because they where written for projects and not necessarily reflect her artistry.

I think on Mayhem there was an improvement in comparison to Chromatica, but like others mentioned HBDYM is a pretty silly song for an artist of her caliber, sounds very teenagey, but in the end it is inspired on her own insecurities and it’s not her fault that she has them despite being mature and experient and, well, THE Lady Gaga.

We can say all we want about her songwriting but she did write Yoü and I all by herself, thats a beautiful song to me. I think Marry the Night can be a bit obvious initially but the vocals, production and music video all improve the song.