Whether you’re a Little Monster or a religious fanatic, you probably have your own thoughts on Lady Gaga’s song and video “Telephone.” Is it about making phone calls or about eating food? Actually, it’s about both.
If you’ve found yourself learning the dance moves to Gaga’s songs, did you ever realize that the dance moves mean something? Just like sign language, Gaga’s dance moves are communicating many messages to you, reflecting the song lyrics. Also, the song lyrics reflect you, and the world we live in.
First off, the song "Telephone" is a poppy song that makes you hum it no matter who you are, but there's a deeper meaning. The dance moves or choreography are clues that help you figure out what the lyrics mean. I'll break down the lyrics for you with corresponding pictures. Below, during a live performance of "Telephone," Lady Gaga wears futuristic glasses and a black coat like something out of The Matrix.
Next, her black coat symbolizes suffocation, so she takes it off. Now Gaga makes the sign for a telephone with her hand. The black glasses blocking her eyes and the top of her head symbolize numbness and losing touch with reality. Gaga is telling you that the media (television and movies, etc) make people less human. She's warning you that if you watch too much television, you'll become a machine, disconnected from reality. Just think of the concept from The Matrix. Then, she starts to sing the first verse of "Telephone" taking off her glasses in the process.
Next, she looks more like a human, like Madonna from her "Vogue" days.
"Hello, hello, baby you called, I can't hear a thing/I have got no service in the club you see, see/what, what, what did you say, are you breakin' up on me/Sorry I cannot hear you, I'm kinda busy"
Again, Gaga is talking about disconnection from herself and reality when she sings the above words. For instance, “Are you breaking up on me" means that she's breaking up from herself, separating from the media information stuck in her brain.
Shortly after, she sings:
Just a second, it's my favorite song they're gonna play.
Although the above lyrics seem direct, it's indirect. Gaga is not talking about hearing her favorite song to dance to in the club, but instead she's talking about the symbols in the media that advertise products that they want you to buy. Therefore, "they" is the media, "song" is the product, and "Play" is "advertise." Then Gaga sings:
I cannot text you with a drink in my hand.
Again, it seems like she is talking about the most simple thing, but she's not. She puts two clenched fists up, which symbolizes freedom and unity. She’s saying she can’t fight for freedom if she has products being shoved down her throat by the media. “Texting” is a metaphor for fighting.“Drink” is a metaphor for product “Hand” is a metaphor for “brain” or “psyche.” Below, you can see a picture of the dance move.
Next, Gaga sings:
“You should’ve made some plans with me, you knew that I was free”
Before the media altered her mind with its images and opinions, Gaga was a "free" bitch with pure, unadulterated thoughts. Below, the picture shows Gaga drawing attention to her head with her hands symbolizing that her brain has been taken over. Now the food metaphor is approaching. Above, you can see a picture of the Gaga drawing attention to her head with her hands.
Then Gaga sings “Now you won’t stop calling me, I’m kind of busy.” the media won’t stop feeding her, so then she’s choking. “calling” means feeding and “busy” means choking. Below is a picture.
Following that is the song's chorus. “Stop calling, stop calling, I don’t wanna think anymore”:
Here, she's telling the media to stop feeding her because she doesn’t want to choke anymore. “Think” means “choke.” She makes the “ok sign” with her fingers, which also signifies the “all-seeing eye." In addition, the all-seeing eye represents God watching over humankind. Therefore, Gaga wants to reach a more spiritual place closer to God. Also, the hand sign symbolizes eating a sandwich, like when someone has a big sandwich held up to their mouth with both hands and then they chomp down on it. People chomp down on the media through advertisements. They’re eating the media with their eyes and they digest the media with their brains. She also claps hands symbolizing putting two slices of bread together to form a sandwich and eats the media's food. Right below is a picture:
Next, Gaga sings:
“I left my head and my heart on the dance floor”:
Now, she's turned a part of her brain off, because her head and her heart are containers of information fed to her by the media and she dispenses of the containers filled with the information. Further, by leaving her head and heart on the dance floor, she is fighting against the media, which is why she clenches her fists in resistance. Above is a picture of Gaga being militant, and below is of Gaga again making the "ok sign" with her fingers. Again, it's the all-seeing eye. The dance floor is a spiritual place where Gaga feels closer to God. Then the choking begins:
“eh, eh. Eh. Eh eh, Stop telephoning me”:
Likewise, the eh eh eh sounds are symbolic of choking. “Stop telephoning me” again means to stop calling her or stop feeding her. After that, she sings:
“Can call all you want, but there’s no one home”:
Here, Gaga is saying no matter how many advertisements they shove down her throat, she’s not there to see them. She’s blinded herself from it. “Home” is a metaphor for “brain.” Next, the word “phone” or “Telephone” is a metaphor the part of her brain where the media’s information is stored. Also, “and you’re not gonna reach my telephone”means the media is not going to choke her anymore because she’s removed it from her brain. Then she sings:
“Out in the club and I’m sipping that bub”:
Now the “club” is a place to escape the suffocating media and its advertisements. Next,“sipping that bub” symbolizes getting drunk literally and figuratively. In the figurative sense, it symbolizes getting drunk or high from peace, love and unity and most importantly freedom.Soon Gaga gets some company to escape the media with.
Immediately Beyonce comes in with a rapid-fire verse full of venom. Beyonce has never performed "Telephone" with Gaga live, so there are dance moves to go along with Beyonce's lyrics, however Beyonce's lyrics relate perfectly to Gaga's performance. Next, Beyonce sings:
“boy, the way you blowin’ up my phone won’t make me leave no faster” She's saying the media bombards her brain, but she won’t make her leave her place of peace where she escapes to, the “club.” The “club” can be literally a night club to go dance the night away or anywhere you feel safe and happy. Consequently, the black Matrix coat that Gaga wears in the first picture above finds its way into Beyonce's verse. “Put my coat on faster." The "coat" represents suffocation and death and she refuses to suffocate and die from the media's pressure.
Soon thereafter, Beyonce sings: “I should’ve left my phone at home ‘cuz this is a disaster”: remember the “phone” is the part of her brain where the media’s information is stored. The “home” symbolizes her brain. Beyonce's friend Gaga returns, so she and Gaga can go to the club.
Then Gaga sings: “It’s not that I don’t like you, I’m just at a party." Although Gaga may like the media sometimes and has an appreciation for it, she doesn’t like its dark side. As a result, her “party” is her peace of mind and her freedom. Nearby, dancing is on its way.
During the bridge, Gaga and Beyonce feel like they're in heaven tearing up the dance floor. “I’ll be dancing”: Gaga and Beyonce will be free from the media and the evils of the world. Below, one of Gaga's female dancers makes a halo symbol with her arms on the word “I’m dancing.” The halo symbol refers to finding a higher, spiritual place, refereeing God.
Lastly, Gaga's female dancer also makes the all-seeing eye sign with one hand and a clenched fist with the other hand. These signs symbolize that by dancing Gaga is being militant and spiritual at the same time. Below is a picture.
Now you should have a better understanding of what Lady Gaga is all about. Her performances are much more than unusual outfits and amazing dance moves, they make you think about life and the world you live in.
Watch Gaga's performance of "Telephone" in Stockholm from May 8, 2010. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2_tga8--uA
No comments:
Post a Comment