It’s hard to believe, but it’s been 16 years since Lady Gaga appeared on the scene, fusing infectious beats with a pop sensibility and outrageous antics that drew comparisons to a young Madonna.
Since then, the singer born Stephanie Germanotta has meandered in all manner of musical and artistic directions, from pop to folk to country to jazz to movies and now … right back to her musical roots.
“Disease,” the lead single from Gaga’s forthcoming seventh album, LG7*, comes cloaked in a synth-driven, dance-pop sheen—thoroughly up to date, yet recalling early hits from the singer such as “Just Dance,” “Poker Face” and “Bad Romance.”
Like those songs, there’s an infectious, club-ready vibe paired with lyrics that weave between suggestive sexuality and spiritual references that perhaps allude to Lady Gaga’s Catholic upbringing.
At the core of the song’s narrative, Lady Gaga believes that she has the ability to rescue and heal an emotionally broken lover. “There are no more tears to cry/I heard you beggin’ for your life/ … Poison on the inside/ … Like you’re gonna die.” But, she claims, “I can cure your disease.”
Gaga repeatedly appropriates spiritual language but then twists it in a sensual, suggestive direction as she seems to think she can give this person something like salvation: “Bring me your desire, I can cure your disease/If you were a sinner, I could make you believe/ … I could be your antidote tonight.”
It’s pretty clear what her medicine would consist of: “Lay you down like one, two, three/Eyes roll back in ecstasy.”
Gaga employs spiritual language again when she talks about this guy’s relational isolation: “You reach out, and there’s no one there/Like a god without a prayer.”
I’m not even 100% sure that that last line makes much sense, but perhaps she’s hinting at a spiritual hunger she believes she can quench through carnal means: “Screamin’ for me, baby/Like you’re gonna die/Poison on the inside/I could be your antidote tonight.”
There’s a lot going on in this track, as it blurs the lines between sex and spirituality. On the most basic, obvious level, I think this song is mostly about the singer’s confidence that her sexual prowess can save this guy and somehow be an “antidote” to his inner turmoil and isolation.
If we want to dive deeper, though—maybe even deeper than Lady Gaga herself intended with these lyrics—she’s rightly identifying a couple of things, namely brokenness and the need for salvation from outside herself.
She arguably has the diagnosis right: This guy seems pretty desperate and in need of a rescue. But Lady Gaga styles herself as a sexual savior here, instead of recognizing that it takes more than a steamy night to piece back together what life and sin have broken.
After serving as an associate editor at NavPress’ Discipleship Journal and consulting editor for Current Thoughts and Trends, Adam now oversees the editing and publishing of Plugged In’s reviews as the site’s director. He and his wife, Jennifer, have three children. In their free time, the Holzes enjoy playing games, a variety of musical instruments, swimming and … watching movies.
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