"The Queen" is a song by Lady Gaga on the first disc of the special edition of her third album, Born This Way. The song title was revealed by Gaga when she released the tracklisting of the album. During The Monster Ball at Antwerp on November 23, 2010, Gaga revealed a line from the song - ("Tonight I will return all the fame and riches earned, with you I’d watch them all be burned"). The song was registered on her BMI on June 3, 2011.
Background
Lady Gaga revealed on Twitter that the song was about bravery and wanting to be unafraid.[1]
Before performing "The Queen" during The Born This Way Ball Lady Gaga gave small explanations, from which it was clear that this song is dedicated to members of the LGBT community, especially men.
"You know, when I first wrote this song everybody want me to play it every night because they said, "Oh, Gaga, sing it, sing it Gaga because you, you are queen." I don't wanna be a queen. I wanna be a friend. There's only one thing that I think when I hear "queen", I think of all my gay boys [laughs]. So this one is for you tonight you fucking queens!" - Lady Gaga during The Born This Way Ball at Tacoma Dome, Tacoma, WA, USA (January 14, 2013).
"You know, when I first wrote this song everybody thought that I wrote it about me. But you must know me very well. 'Cause I don't wanna be queen. I wanna be me. I wanna be you. And how could I be queen when all my friends and all my fans are the butch of the biggest one's?" - Lady Gaga during The Born This Way Ball at Toyota Center, Houston, TX, USA (January 31, 2013). Performing "The Queen" on this date she said: "Where's all my queens? Be proud! 'Cause you... you don't have to be afraid to win that proud anymore." and "[this song is] for all the friends that you have lost."
"The Queen" is also dedicated to Jamey Rodemeyer, an American teenager who was known for his activism against homophobia and his videos on YouTube to help victims of homophobic. He was open about his sexuality, and faced severe bullying as a result of it. He committed suicide on September 18, 2011. During The Born This Way Ball at Toyota Center, Houston, TX, USA (January 31, 2013) Lady Gaga said "[sing it] for Jamey." Also Lady Gaga sang an acapella version of the bridge of "The Queen" performing "Born This Way" (Acoustic) during ArtRAVE: The ARTPOP Ball at First Niagara Center, Buffalo, NY, USA on July 7, 2014 as a tribute to Jamey Rodemeyer. She performed this song at the piano in his native town Buffalo with his sister and friend of his, and Jamey's parents was in the audience just to her right.
Performances
- NOTES
- On May 20, 2014 at Xcel Energy Center, Lady Gaga performed an acapella version of chorus of "The Queen" after performing "Aura" and reading a fan's (Jose) letter.
- On July 7, 2014 at First Niagara Center, Lady Gaga performed an acapella version of the bridge of "The Queen" during "Born This Way" (Acoustic) as a tribute to bullying and suicide victim Jamie Rodemeyer.
Lyrics
Oh, tonight I'm gonna show
Them what I'm made of, oh
The killer queen inside me's coming to say hello
Oh, tonight I will return
The fame and riches earned
With you I'd watch them all be burned
Woah, woah
Whenever I start feeling strong
I'm called a bitch in the night
But I don't need these 14 karat guns to win
I am a woman, I insist, it's my life
I can be, the queen that's inside of me
This is my chance to release
And be brave for you, you'll see
I can be, the queen you need me to be
This is my chance to be the dance
I've dreamed is happening
I can be the queen
I am wind and hurricane
The stormy sky and rain
When you run dry I'll flood your pain
Woah, woah
In between the moments of
The lady I've become
A voice speaks through the noise like drums
Rum pum pum pum
Whenever I start feeling strong
I'm called a bitch in the night
But I don't need these 14 karat guns to win
I am a woman, I insist, it's my life
I can be, the queen that's inside of me
This is my chance to release
And be brave for you
you'll see
I can be, the queen you need me to be
This is my chance to be the dance
I've dreamed is happening
I can be the queen
The que ee- ee -ee-ee ee- ee-eeen
The queen queeen queeeen
Queen queeen queeeen
Queen queeen queeeen
Starry night come inside me like never before
Don't forget me when I come crying to Heaven's door
I will fly on a challenger across the sky
Like a phoenix so you can remind them of the dream I bore
Woah oh, woah oh, woah oh
Woah oh, woah oh, woah oh
Credits
Personnel
- Programming — Fernando Garibay
- Keyboard — Lady Gaga, Fernando Garibay
- Guitars — Kareem "Jesus" Devlin Byrne
- Recording — Dave Russell at The Living Room Studios (October 16, 2010 in Oslo
) - Assistant at The Living Room Studios — George Tanderø, Ken Knapstad
- Mixing — Dave Russell at The Mix Room (Burbank
) - Assistant — Paul Pavao
- Mastering — Gene Grimaldi at Oasis Mastering (Burbank )
Publishing
- Sony/ATV Songs LLC / House of Gaga Publishing LLC (BMI)
- Sony/ATV Songs LLC / Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp./ Garibay Music Publishing (BMI)
All rights on behalf of itself and Garibay Music Publishing administered by WB Music Corp.
References
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