Lady Gaga’s Harlequin turns an album of mostly standards into modern pop for a new generation.
Videos by American Songwriter
She reprises her role as Harleen “Lee” Quinzel, aka Harley Quinn, in Joker: Folie à Deux, remaining in character to reimagine old songs connecting her work with Tony Bennett to her own art-pop oeuvre.
The New York singer, born Stefani Germanotta, is famous for shape-shifting from Old Hollywood to Bowie glam to a space-aged version of the Material Girl. She views Harlequin as a stopgap between her upcoming “full-on” Gaga album—due in February—and Chromatica (2020).
“The Joker”
Don’t confuse “The Joker” on Harlequin with the Steve Miller Band’s space-cowboy hit. It’s a show tune from The Roar of the Greasepaint – The Smell of the Crowd. In it, Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley detail the agony felt by someone whose failure provides entertainment for others.
There’s always a joker in the pack
There’s always a lonely clown
The poor laughing fool falls on his back
And everyone laughs when he’s down
Shirley Bassey made it famous on her 1968 album This Is My Life. But Gaga turns the show tune into a theatrical rock song—foreshadowing Arthur Fleck’s sadism in Joker: Folie à Deux.
“World on a String”
She also takes on “I’ve Got the World on a String,” the 1932 Cotton Club song by Harold Arlen and Ted Koehler. Gaga’s interpretation turns the hopeful standard into Harley Quinn’s dreamy ode.
I’ve got the world on a string
And I’m sitting on a rainbow
Got that string around my finger
Lucky me
However, when Gaga, or Quinn, sings, Can’t you see I’m in love? the question aims to convince herself that life’s as sunny as she claims.
“Happy Mistake”
Harlequin contains two originals. In “Happy Mistake,” Gaga navigates the comedy-and-tragedy reality of despair. She uses the Greek metaphor to push on, hiding behind the makeup, pretending everything’s all right even when it’s not.
I feel so crazy
My head is filled with broken mirrors
So many, I can’t look away
It’s the album’s most moving performance, showcasing Gaga’s extraordinary voice.
“Folie à Deux” is the other original where Gaga echoes Judy Garland in a sweeping orchestral waltz. The lyric distills the neurotic love between Quinn and the Joker and the mental instability they share.
In our minds, we’d be just fine
If it were only us two
They might say that we’re crazy
But I’m just in love with, you’re so in love with
Insane in love with you
The Many Sides of Gaga
Though Harlequin shows the many musical sides of Gaga, it was born from portraying Harley Quinn. Gaga told Rolling Stone, “And when I was done filming the movie, I wasn’t done with her.”
The album, like Gaga, isn’t confined to any one genre. She calls the album “a modern take on vintage pop.” Describing Harlequin as “LG 6.5,” she added, “It’s a Lady Gaga record, but it’s also inspired by my character and my vision of what a woman can be.”
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Photo by Nina Prommer/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock
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