Madonna didn’t earn the nickname “Madge” for nothing. For those of you that don’t know, “Madge” is short for “Your Majesty.” She was given that title because of her Queenliness in the music industry. Any female pop singer creating today who dares to have a sexual flare to their music has Madonna to thank for paving the way. The term “trailblazer” has seldom been more apt than when it’s used to describe Madonna.
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Obscured by the major, name-making tracks though are several deep cuts that failed to make a splash. Even someone of Madonna’s caliber is not immune to a lukewarm release every now and then. Find five of those deep cuts tracks—all of which deserve more credit—below.
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1. “Sky Fits Heaven”
Madonna made use of a few lines from British poet, Max Blagg, in “Sky Fits Heaven.” Clearly, Madonna was so moved by the work that she was urged to create her own piece of art. The end result is something worthy of Madonna’s Queen of Pop prestige. The song’s odd-time signature sets it apart from other pop offerings from the ’90s.
Traveling down this road
Watching the signs as I go
I think I’ll follow the sun
Isn’t everyone just
Traveling down their own road
Watching the signs as they go?
I think I’ll follow my heart
It’s a very good place to start
2. “Thief of Hearts”
Few songs in Madonna’s catalog kick off with a bigger bang than “Thief of Hearts.” Prior to Madonna coming in for the verses, the listener can hear a smash of glass and Madge screaming the word “Bitch!” It’s punchy and polarizing—everything that is great about Madonna.
You’re a thief of hearts and now you’ll have to pay
How many licks does it take?
You’re a thief of hearts and now you’ll have to pay
Which leg do you want me to break?
3. “Till Death Do Us Part”
Madonna meditates on a loveless marriage in “Till Death Do Us Part.” She sings about a fracturing couple from a third-person view, watching as they scream, fight, and break up over and over again. In the end, despite their differences, the couple resigns to stay together. After all, it’s stated plainly in their vows: ‘Til death do us part.
She’s had enough, she says, “The end”
But she’ll come back, she knows it then
A chance to start it all again
‘Til death do us part
4. “Impressive Instant”
“Impressive Instant” puts the listener right in the middle of a euphoric high. Madonna describes the feeling with acute detail: Astral bodies drip like wine / All of nature ebbs and flows. Despite the song feeling deliciously hedonistic, Madonna explained in 2000, “We all have that side to us. I’d like to go out, too, and draw up some E and stay out for two days—but I can’t. Can I? Because I have to think about the repercussions.”
I don’t want nobody else, ‘body else
All the others look the same, the same
Galaxies are sliding into view
I don’t even know your name
5. “Secret Garden”
Like many of the songs on Erotica, “Secret Garden” features a double entendre. While those expressions come in the sexual persuasion on most of the album, this track has a tamer message behind it. Madonna sings about motherhood in “Secret Garden,” using it as a metaphor for growing life.
There’s a petal that isn’t torn
A heart that will not harden
A place that I can be born
In my secret garden
A rose without a thorn
A lover without scorn
Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/Getty Images
