Music Review: Lady Gaga "Dance In The Dark"

Lady Gaga

Dance In The Dark

Album: The Fame Monster

Year: 2010

        A girlfriend of Lady Gaga’s can’t handle the high expectations put on her in the bleak  “Dance In the Dark.”

          A male voice stutters “di di di” over a thrashing guitar and moans, setting a disoriented tone.  In the intro, the noises in her head won’t go away. Her ribs are poking out of her collarbone. Her breasts are still too small. She should’ve gone up another cup size. She sees a wrinkle  on her forehead. She finds the phone number for her plastic surgeon. She assures herself that no one has influence over her. (“Make it stop/Silicon, saline, poison inject me/Baby, I’m a free b-/I’m a free b-.”)

               Her friend can be considered a free spirit. However, she likes stability. But once she’s done somewhere, she has no intention of returning. She’ll talk with you in detail about politics, entertainment and the various places she’s seen. Her clothes are neat and washed. Her hair is brushed and her face is fully made-up. Her boyfriend has confided in Gaga that she’s spiraling. She’s worrying about her job and her body all the time. She hardly eats. (“Some girls won’t dance to the beat of the track/She won’t walk away/But she won’t look back/She looks good/But her boyfriend says she’s a mess/She’s a mess/She’s a mess/Now the girl is stressed/She’s a mess/She’s a mess/She’s a mess/She’s a mess/Tell them how you feel girls.”)

          In the chorus, her depression is the only thing keeping her alive. Her boyfriend checks on her and she sobs. (“Baby loves to dance in the dark/Because when he’s looking/She falls apart/Baby loves to dance in the dark/Tell them how you feel girls.”)

            Her boyfriend believes she will get better. With every kiss she gives him, he can see a glimpse of her old self. Her decisions now consist of finding other men to sleep with and snapping at her boyfriend. She is still able to maintain a façade of perfection. (“Run, run/Her kiss is a vampire grin/The moon lights her way while she’s howling at him/She looks good/But her boyfriend says she’s a tramp/She’s a tramp/She’s a vamp/But she still does her dance/She’s a tramp/She’s a vamp/But she still kills the dance/Tell them how you feel girls.”)

          An extended chorus is sung. (“Baby loves to dance in the dark..baby loves to dance in the dark (Tell them, girls)/In the dark/She loves to dance in the dark/In the dark/She loves, she loves to dance in the dark.”)

            In the bridge, she turns to the spirits of Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland and Sylvia Plath and hopes to find something within their words. She wants them to speak to her. She wants to know what little JonBenet Ramsey would tell her. She tells her friend they will be a constant presence after they’ve gone. No one would forget them like Liberace. She wants her friend to be at peace. Music will heal her and some form of religion will guide her. Art will give her a new point of view. She thinks of Princess Diana who didn’t ever seemed to be home.  (“Marilyn, Judy, Sylvia/Tell them how you feel girls!/Work your blonde (Jean) Benet Ramsey/We’ll haunt like Liberace/Find your freedom in the music/Find your Jesus/Find your Kubrick/You will never fall apart/Diana, you’re still in our hearts/Never let you fall apart/Together we’ll dance in the dark.”)

          An edited chorus ends the single. (“Baby loves to dance in the dark/Because when he’s looking/She falls apart/Baby loves to dance in the dark.”)

       Lady Gaga’s spectral vocals summon the ghosts of the past, looking for answers. The celebrities who died too young and had troubled lives are the ones she wants to reach. Sylvia Plath’s great mind would be able to articulate her emotions.

      Tragic pop culture icons dominate the single. Marilyn Monroe gets the usual mention (although to Gaga’s credit it was before it became a trend). However, her other choices are inspired: actress Judy Garland, author Sylvia Plath, singer Liberace, director/screenwriter Stanley Kubrick and Princess Diana of Wales. Even though it seemed they had it all, they were tortured by their own demons.  In context of the single, it makes sense considering their lives are paralelled with the young woman’s.

             However, her mention of JonBenet Ramsey, a six-year-old who was murdered in 1996, is tasteless. All the others were known celebrities. Ramsey simply deserves to rest in peace.

           The otherwise fantastic “Dance In the Dark”  is true art pop.