February 11, 2011

* Lady Gaga *

Today, Lady Gaga releases her highly-anticipated new single,
"Born This Way"


I've listened to it a few times, and I am in love with it! And no other pop star - with the massive platform and ear of the world like Gaga has - has put pen to paper to celebrate diversity and acceptance in such a blatant and daring way.
And I do believe, this will be another #1 single for Gaga - and the first pop song in history with the words GAY, STRAIGHT, BI, LESBIAN, TRANSGENDERED in its lyrics. And think of the millions of people - and kids - hearing that!

** Update 2/17/11 **

"Born This Way" went #1 in 23 countries,
debuted at #1 on the US Billboard Pop Chart,
became Billboard's 1000th #1 Single, and broke the record
(previously held by Britney Spears),
for first-week digital sales for a female artist,
tallying 448,000 downloads in just 5 days!

You just gotta say WOW!
Here's the "Country Road" version as a slideshow with pix from the blog :)


The "Born This Way" Blog is in 100% solidarity
with Lady Gaga's powerful message!


LADY GAGA, "BORN THIS WAY"

It doesn’t matter if you love him, or capital H-I-M
Just put your paws up
’Cause you were Born This Way, Baby

VERSE:
MY MAMA TOLD ME WHEN I WAS YOUNG
WE ARE ALL BORN SUPERSTARS

SHE ROLLED MY HAIR AND PUT MY LIPSTICK ON
IN THE GLASS OF HER BOUDOIR

“THERE’S NOTHIN WRONG WITH LOVIN WHO YOU ARE”
SHE SAID, “‘CAUSE HE MADE YOU PERFECT, BABE”

“SO HOLD YOUR HEAD UP GIRL AND YOU’LL GO FAR,
LISTEN TO ME WHEN I SAY”

CHORUS:
I’M BEAUTIFUL IN MY WAY
‘CAUSE GOD MAKES NO MISTAKES
I’M ON THE RIGHT TRACK BABY
I WAS BORN THIS WAY

DON’T HIDE YOURSELF IN REGRET
JUST LOVE YOURSELF AND YOU’RE SET
I’M ON THE RIGHT TRACK BABY
I WAS BORN THIS WAY

POST-CHORUS:
OOO THERE AIN’T NO OTHER WAY
BABY I WAS BORN THIS WAY
BABY I WAS BORN THIS WAY
OOO THERE AIN’T NO OTHER WAY
BABY I WAS BORN-
I’M ON THE RIGHT TRACK BABY
I WAS BORN THIS WAY

DON’T BE A DRAG - JUST BE A QUEEN
DON’T BE A DRAG - JUST BE A QUEEN
DON’T BE A DRAG - JUST BE A QUEEN
DON’T BE!

VERSE:
GIVE YOURSELF PRUDENCE
AND LOVE YOUR FRIENDS
SUBWAY KID, REJOICE YOUR TRUTH

IN THE RELIGION OF THE INSECURE
I MUST BE MYSELF, RESPECT MY YOUTH

A DIFFERENT LOVER IS NOT A SIN
BELIEVE CAPITAL H-I-M (HEY HEY HEY)
I LOVE MY LIFE I LOVE THIS RECORD AND
MI AMORE VOLE FE YAH (LOVE NEEDS FAITH)

REPEAT CHORUS + POST-CHORUS

BRIDGE:
DON’T BE A DRAG, JUST BE A QUEEN
WHETHER YOU’RE BROKE OR EVERGREEN
YOU’RE BLACK, WHITE, BEIGE, CHOLA DESCENT
YOU’RE LEBANESE, YOU’RE ORIENT
WHETHER LIFE’S DISABILITIES
LEFT YOU OUTCAST, BULLIED, OR TEASED
REJOICE AND LOVE YOURSELF TODAY
‘CAUSE BABY YOU WERE BORN THIS WAY

NO MATTER GAY, STRAIGHT, OR BI,
LESBIAN, TRANSGENDERED LIFE
I’M ON THE RIGHT TRACK BABY
I WAS BORN TO SURVIVE
NO MATTER BLACK, WHITE OR BEIGE
CHOLA OR ORIENT MADE
I’M ON THE RIGHT TRACK BABY
I WAS BORN TO BE BRAVE

REPEAT CHORUS

OUTRO/REFRAIN:

I WAS BORN THIS WAY HEY!
I WAS BORN THIS WAY HEY!
I’M ON THE RIGHT TRACK BABY
I WAS BORN THIS WAY HEY!

I WAS BORN THIS WAY HEY!
I WAS BORN THIS WAY HEY!
I’M ON THE RIGHT TRACK BABY
I WAS BORN THIS WAY HEY!
_____________________________________________________

18 comments:

Phunk Factor said...

I agree!

She's done a brilliant job on it...however I do hope that this doesn't garner her more hate from the conservatives blokes!

www.gophunkyourself.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Amazing! Thanks for this---

Unknown said...

The new anthem. Lady Gaga did it again. She's a legend and this is the song of the decade

Les Contalles d'Alba said...

THANK YOU GAGA .... YOU ARE BIG!!!

T-Dogg said...

Affirming: Gay, straight, lesbian, transgendered.

Not affirming: Chola, orient

Let's inject some uniformity in her lyrics, shall we?

"DON’T BE A DRAG, JUST BE A QUEEN
WHETHER YOU’RE BROKE OR EVERGREEN
YOU’RE COLORED, REDNECK, BEIGE, CHOLA DESCENT
YOU’RE LEBBO, YOU’RE ORIENT
WHETHER LIFE’S DISABILITIES
LEFT YOU OUTCAST, BULLIED, OR TEASED
REJOICE AND LOVE YOURSELF TODAY
‘CAUSE BABY YOU WERE BORN THIS WAY

NO MATTER HOMO, BREEDER, OR SLUT,
DYKE, TRANNY LIFE
I’M ON THE RIGHT TRACK BABY
I WAS BORN TO SURVIVE
NO MATTER NEGRO, REDNECK OR BEIGE
CHOLA OR ORIENT MADE (No edits necessary there)
I’M ON THE RIGHT TRACK BABY
I WAS BORN TO BE BRAVE

I never thought the latest gay anthem to affirm me for being gay would be one that uses an offensive term when talking about Asians like me or Latinos.

For someone who wrote this song in 10 minutes to be about diversity and tolerance, she couldn't give it one more pass to rework it without offensive and outdated racial terms for certain groups? Guess I'll have to hear it every time I walk into a gay bar now. Another classic case of how someone can say something racist without being intentionally so.

One step forward, one step back.

I'll just wait until someone makes an explicit gay anthem without the racial epithets.

Doctor of Record said...

Since I'm a white (yes, white and not Caucasian as I am the whitest man on earth) heterosexual male, take what I'm about to say with a grain of salt T-Dogg. I think that by throwing all those terms around, Lady Gaga is reclaiming them. Eleanor Roosevelt said: "No one can make you feel inferior without your consent." By reclaiming these words, she is eliminating consent. You can't change the way I feel about myself based on these words because they are mine now. "Love yourself today/ 'Cause baby you were born this way."

By the way, whenever I ask my 2-year-old daughter what she wants to listen to, she invariably says "Lady Gaga."

mortalityandfriends.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

I'm not sure I'd want someone who appears drunk in public frequently and (according to her own account) still uses cocaine singing my LGBT anthem. If she publicly implodes like Brittney after making herself the poster girl for LGBT rights is that going to be a big step forward for the cause?

Lucious said...

I love your blog for its concept and content. But this post comes as a shock, does this Gaga product needs more free publicity?

Laura said...

I'm gonna start off with...I like Lady Gaga. I like most of her songs. I do not like this one.

I'm with T-Dogg - sure, her mention of LGBT people is affirming, but it's not affirming, and quite frankly, backwards, to use racial pejoratives.

As a counterpoint to Doc of Record's idea of Gaga "reclaiming" these terms - no. Just no. Do straight people get to reclaim fag, dyke, or queer? No. Do cisgendered individuals get to reclaim the T word? No.

It is not okay for a majority to reclaim words that have been used by people in their group to repress and insult a minority.

It is not okay for a white person to reclaim racial slurs, even if she is the "oh so holy and legendary" Lady Gaga.

Also, if you want to make new "LGBT anthem"...let's take more than 10 minutes to write the lyrics, mmmkay?

Furthermore, it's somewhat hypocritical to say that a song is going to be or just plain is an anthem for ALL LGBT people, when it's really about cis gay men. Besides listing us off, the only other LGBT reference is the line that's basically "Whether you love him or capital Him." I don't have a problem with songs being aimed at gay men, but don't pretend like it's inclusive to the queer community when it's not.

Emma said...

T-Dogg and others, I love this song and can't stop listening to it, but you are right.
This might be of interest to you:
http://feministing.com/2011/02/09/an-open-letter-to-lady-gaga-from-a-fan-and-fellow-feminist/#more-29905

Kansas City News said...

Great song - perfect message. Thanks for posting!

EamonnEdmond said...

Thank God for this! I dream of the day when songs of gay love are written and sung just as commonly as hetero songs. I can't help but feel a certain emptiness every time I hear an artist sing of his/her desire for someone of the opposite-sex. It hurts that I can't apply that kind of music to my own life. Gaga's song is a revolutionary step in a human direction!

Dirham said...

Copied Madonna's Express Yourself from 1989.

BUt you already know that.

What you DIDNT KNOW is that she even copied KYLIE MINOGUE'S ALBUM POSTER 2007 "2 HEARTS"

POSE. MAKE-UP. LETTERING FONT. THE ENTIRE ENCHILADA!

EWWW.

Rachel Dora-Ann said...

I am so inspired everyday through lady gaga, i am visually impaired and disabled, i create art even though i cant see and many of my friends and models are bi,tran, gay and they are beautiful! this is why i make them mymodels so ppl can see there beauty, with or without vision! thank you gaga for creating your own amazing art that see no color or disability and sharing it the world :)http://twitpic.com/3ynqwz

Anonymous said...

This song was not as good as it was hyped up to be. At times it feels like she's using/manipulating the gay community for her own self promotion. Not to mention nearly every bit of the song and the album cover was scrapped from other artists. Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Valentino, the list goes on

kimberly said...

Hey, those of you who have a problem with the lyrics, the fact that she wrote this is ten minutes, or the "stealing" from other artists, just stop. Oh Bo, why don't you pick another song the be the LGBT anthem? That's right, there are no other ones. I'm sorry this song isn't EXACTLY what you wanted, but why don't you just write your own instead? Lady GaGa has people listening, and that's an extremely important step. Also, you're mad she wrote it in ten minutes. Maybe it didn't take her long to write it because she's passionate about this and didn't need any more time. Regardless, the song is what it is, and you need to stop complaining about someone who's making a name for you.

daichichi said...

I think it 's been only about one week since this song released and this little girl covered it on youtube 2 days ago which made Lady Gaga herself cry.
This is so beautiful.
Please check this out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xG0wi1m-89o

Erik said...

What's the problem with so many here?! Going all against LG.

Well, maybe the fact that she uses some "racist" words (which I didn't notice at ALL cos' i live in a "not so racist country" and I can't see how they're racist) can be, "quite fairly", debated, but people putting out HERE she "copied other artists.. blahblah" is just... STUPID... just shows you're just looking for something to make LG look bad, because some wars between pop-stars and fanaticism!

As some other said, you should appreciate what she's trying to do and that she uses her influence for something more... Maybe this isn't the perfect "gay anthem" but PERSONALLY, i don't care, i didn't request for one SO I appreciate it.

And for the defense of Gaga, this is not the only thing she has made to help gay community or any other cause... just try to remember that before you attack her (or any other person) just because it's not your kind of music... Spread LOVE not hate, as gays we should really apply that if we want a better place for us

PEACE! :)