Now 15 years after releasing her debut, The Fame, Lady Gaga has dominated pop with her book of hits, along with many collaborations, including her dual-album moonlighting through standards with Tony Bennett.
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Credited by her real name, Stefani Germanotta, before she made The Fame, Gaga was working as a songwriter with Sony/ATV Music Publishing, where she wrote songs for New Kids on the Block, Britney Spears, and the Pussycat Dolls. She continued penning songs for other artists, along with her longtime collaborator RedOne (Nadir Khayat).
Gaga has also penned the bulk of her own catalog, including hits “Just Dance,” “Poker Face,” “Paparazzi,” “Bad Romance,” and her Ariana Grande duet “Rain on Me,” among others. She also wrote her Academy Award-winning A Star is Born hit “Shallow,” and Oscar-nominated “Hold My Hand,” featured in Top Gun: Maverick in 2022.
In honor of her abundant book of songs, so far, here’s a look at seven of the most spellbinding lyrics penned by Gaga.
1. “Bad Romance” (2009)
I want your ugly, I want your disease
I want your everything as long as it’s free
I want your love
Love, love, love
I want your love
I want your drama, the touch of your hand
I want your leather-studded kiss in the sand
I want your love
Love, love, love, I want your love
Released on Gaga’s The Fame Monster, a reissue of her debut, The Fame, “Bad Romance” peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won a Grammy for Best Music Video. “Bad Romance” also topped the list in a 2016 study by the American Psychological Association of the most persistent earworms. Gaga’s “Alejandro” and “Poker Face” also made the list.
2. “Alejandro” (2010)
She’s not broken
She’s just a baby
But her boyfriend’s like her dad
Just like a dad
And all those flames that
Burned before him
Now he’s gotta firefight
Gotta cool the bad
Also released on The Fame Monster, “Alejandro” is the story about averting three lovers. It features a violin melody pulled from “Csárdás,” written in 1904 by Italian composer Vittorio Monti. The song hit No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.
3. “Born This Way” (2011)
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
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
The lead single off Gaga’s 2011 album of the same name, “Born This Way” is centered around equality and love and has remained an anthem within the LGBTQ+ community.
“It’s very literal,” said Gaga. “I said, ‘I want to write my freedom record. I want to write my this-is-who-the-fuck-I-am anthem,’ but I don’t want it to be hidden in poetic wizardry and metaphors. I want it to be an attack, an assault on the issue because I think, especially in today’s music, everything gets kind of washy sometimes and the message gets hidden in the lyrical play.”
4. “Million Reasons” (2016)
I bow down to pray
I try to make the worst seem better
Lord, show me the way
To cut through all his worn out leather
I’ve got a hundred million reasons to walk away
But baby, I just need one good one to stay
Written with Hillary Lindsey for Gaga’s 2016 album, Joanne, which was named after her late aunt, “Million Reasons” is a breakup song, but one not necessarily centered around one person.
“It’s never just about the guy,” said Gaga. “It’s always about that guy, the guy before him.”
5. “Till It Happens to You” (2016)
You tell me hold your head up
Hold your head up and be strong
‘Cause when you fall, you gotta get up
You gotta get up and move on
Tell me, how the hell could you talk
How could you talk?
‘Cause until you walk where I walk
It’s just all talk
‘Til it happens to you, you don’t know
How it feels
How it feels
‘Til it happens to you, you won’t know
Written by Gaga and Diane Warren for the 2015 Kirby Dick-helmed documentary, The Hunting Ground, which explores the lives of young people impacted by rape on college campuses around the United States, “Till It Happens to You” was featured in two scenes, highlighting victims of sexual assault.
The song also earned Gaga another Oscar nomination for Best Original Song.
“Shallow” (2018)
Tell me something, boy
Aren’t you tired trying to fill that void?
Or do you need more?
Ain’t it hard keeping it so hardcore?
I’m falling
In all the good times, I find myself longing for change
And in the bad times, I fear myself
I’m off the deep end, watch as I dive in
I’ll never meet the ground
Crash through the surface, where they can’t hurt us
We’re far from the shallow now
Written by Mark Ronson, Andrew Wyatt, Anthony Rossomando, and Lady Gaga and featured in the 2018 musical romantic drama film A Star Is Born (2018), starring Gaga and Bradley Cooper, “Shallow” topped the charts in over 20 countries and won an Academy Award for Best Original Song, two Grammys, and the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.
“Hold My Hand” (2022)
Hold my hand, everything will be okay
I heard from the heavens that clouds have been grey
Pull me close, wrap me in your aching arms
I see that you’re hurtin’, why’d you take so long
To tell me you need me? I see that you’re bleeding
You don’t need to show me again
But if you decide to, I’ll ride in this life with you
I won’t let go ’til the end
So cry tonight
But don’t you let go of my hand
You can cry every last tear
I won’t leave ’til I understand
Promise me, just hold my hand
Produced by Gaga and BloodPop, with additional production by Benjamin Rice, “Hold My Hand” was written especially for the 2022 action film Top Gun: Maverick with additional production and score by Harold Faltermeyer and Hans Zimmer.
“This song is a love letter to the world during and after a very hard time,” said Gaga in a tweet. “I’ve wanted you to hear it for so long.” She added, “I’m so grateful to Tom and Hans and Joe for this opportunity—and it’s been a beautiful experience working with them. Me, BloodPop, Ben Rice and everyone else who worked on it with us are so excited to share it with you.”
Photo: Rich Fury/Getty Images for The Recording Academy
