In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
I stand here waiting for you to bang the gong
To crash the critics saying, "is it right or is it wrong?"
If only fame had an IV, baby could I bear
Being away from you, I found the vein, put it in here
I live for the applause, applause, applause
I live for the applause-plause, live for the applause-plause
Live for the way that you cheer and scream for me
The applause, applause, applause
Give me that thing that I love (Turn the lights on)
Put your hands up, make 'em touch, touch (Make it real loud)
Give me that thing that I love (Turn the lights on)
Put your hands up, make 'em touch, touch (Make it real loud)
(A-P-P-L-A-U-S-E) Make it real loud
Put your hands up, make 'em touch, touch
(A-P-P-L-A-U-S-E) Make it real loud
Put your hands up, make 'em touch, touch
I've overheard your theory
"Nostalgia's for geeks"
I guess sir, if you say so
Some of us just like to read
One second I'm a kunst
Then suddenly the kunst is me
Pop culture was in art
Now, art's in pop culture in me
I live for the applause, applause, applause
I live for the applause-plause, live for the applause-plause
Live for the way that you cheer and scream for me
The applause, applause, applause
Give me that thing that I love (Turn the lights on)
Put your hands up, make 'em touch, touch (Make it real loud)
Give me that thing that I love (Turn the lights on)
Put your hands up, make 'em touch, touch (Make it real loud)
(A-P-P-L-A-U-S-E) Make it real loud
Put your hands up, make 'em touch, touch
(A-P-P-L-A-U-S-E) Make it real loud
Put your hands up, make 'em touch, touch
Ooh touch, touch ooh
Touch, touch now ooh ooh ooh ooh
I live for the applause, applause, applause
I live for the applause-plause, live for the applause-plause
Live for the way that you cheer and scream for me
The applause, applause, applause
Give me that thing that I love (Turn the lights on)
Put your hands up, make 'em touch, touch (Make it real loud)
Give me that thing that I love (Turn the lights on)
Put your hands up, make 'em touch, touch (Make it real loud)
(A-P-P-L-A-U-S-E) Make it real loud
Put your hands up, make 'em touch, touch (Make it real loud)
(A-P-P-L-A-U-S-E) Make it real loud
Put your hands up, make 'em touch, touch
A-R-T-P-O-P
To crash the critics saying, "is it right or is it wrong?"
If only fame had an IV, baby could I bear
Being away from you, I found the vein, put it in here
I live for the applause, applause, applause
I live for the applause-plause, live for the applause-plause
Live for the way that you cheer and scream for me
The applause, applause, applause
Give me that thing that I love (Turn the lights on)
Put your hands up, make 'em touch, touch (Make it real loud)
Give me that thing that I love (Turn the lights on)
Put your hands up, make 'em touch, touch (Make it real loud)
(A-P-P-L-A-U-S-E) Make it real loud
Put your hands up, make 'em touch, touch
(A-P-P-L-A-U-S-E) Make it real loud
Put your hands up, make 'em touch, touch
I've overheard your theory
"Nostalgia's for geeks"
I guess sir, if you say so
Some of us just like to read
One second I'm a kunst
Then suddenly the kunst is me
Pop culture was in art
Now, art's in pop culture in me
I live for the applause, applause, applause
I live for the applause-plause, live for the applause-plause
Live for the way that you cheer and scream for me
The applause, applause, applause
Give me that thing that I love (Turn the lights on)
Put your hands up, make 'em touch, touch (Make it real loud)
Give me that thing that I love (Turn the lights on)
Put your hands up, make 'em touch, touch (Make it real loud)
(A-P-P-L-A-U-S-E) Make it real loud
Put your hands up, make 'em touch, touch
(A-P-P-L-A-U-S-E) Make it real loud
Put your hands up, make 'em touch, touch
Ooh touch, touch ooh
Touch, touch now ooh ooh ooh ooh
I live for the applause, applause, applause
I live for the applause-plause, live for the applause-plause
Live for the way that you cheer and scream for me
The applause, applause, applause
Give me that thing that I love (Turn the lights on)
Put your hands up, make 'em touch, touch (Make it real loud)
Give me that thing that I love (Turn the lights on)
Put your hands up, make 'em touch, touch (Make it real loud)
(A-P-P-L-A-U-S-E) Make it real loud
Put your hands up, make 'em touch, touch (Make it real loud)
(A-P-P-L-A-U-S-E) Make it real loud
Put your hands up, make 'em touch, touch
A-R-T-P-O-P
Lyrics submitted by laurentertaining, edited by YouKS, AllusiveAtheis
Applause Lyrics as written by Paul Edward Blair Stefani J Germanotta
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Downtown Music Publishing, Songtrust Ave, Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Great version of a great song,
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What's a "Koons"?
Jeff Koons. "He is collaborating with artist Lady Gaga for her fourth studio album, ARTPOP to be released on November 11.[69] Koons is also mentioned in a line on Gaga's lead single from the album, Applause. The lyrics "One second I'm a Koons, then suddenly the Koons is me" seem to be in direct reference to Koons art and his involvement in Gaga's ARTPOP project."<br /> en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Koons
xA, I voted your comment down by mistake (and now I can't change it). Your answer is absolutely correct!
Koons is a wannabe Warhol. Kind of like Gaga, herself. Apparently it's become cool to name drop pop artists and fashion designers. Actually, music, pop art, and fashion seem to have merged into a self-referential circle of cash extraction.
By "I live for the applause", I think she means that all she wants to do is entertain her fans and make them happy and excited, since we usually applause when we are enjoyng something (a concert or presentation in this case).
I love the lyrics, music and video of this song. Its absolutely stunning. Mostly in high contrast black and white with sporadic bursts of color, the Applause music video is set up like a performance art piece mixed with theatrical elements. It contains a multitude of visual references, including Black Swan, German Expressionist cinema from the 1920s, and Heath Ledger’s Joker. Hope the entire album POPART will be a great comeback of Lady Gaga. goo.gl/SOqxob
Her art pic in this is beautiful!
I heard Lady Gaga talking about this song on Elvis Duran and The Morning Show. She said its about respecting the performer and how people just don't do that like they used to
I just saw the art picture for this song this morning on spotify. Though I am not a fan of lady gaga, I found the picture beautiful. Pierrot found Colombine.
She is using Applause as a metaphor for she fucking loves creating music. And genres overlap but her music is pop.
And the critics can't understand it.
Of course the applause comes after the music, which was created subconsciously, at least those magic parts are subconscious in a trance.
Then people cheer and if you haven't had a few beers it brings you back to earth humbly, few beers it's easier to not be a big douche and nod at the people who like you.
Really I think what she is saying can go back to a Louis Armstrong quote. Mr. Armstrong was asked by a rather square magazine what was jazz and he said well if you don't know what jazz is you'll never know.
And they're confused why she is an artist and the quote applies, look everyone can agree that Dierks Bentley is some of the stupidest music on this planet, and if you don't you don't know what an artist is.
P.s. Dierks I won't write the brief until I'm in law school
You live in Nashville? See your lawyers would tell you to say Jason Isbell was a nobody and you had never heard of him but I would have how improbable it would be that you had a melody that is exactly the same relative pitch look I haven't picked up a guitar yet dude.
But you don't pay them for that, you pay them because they write letters that scare artists, but they don't know music theory, I do and that scares the fuck out of them.
Your lawyers wear cowboy hats?
And I can play too so I have to go to law school and you are the only musician, Dierks Bentley that I hope to represent opposing counsel, faggot. I'll be cool with everyone else.
Dierks I couldn't play for years and I worked on legal arguments and I had three in my head I didn't quite get on paper that would have squashed you it would have led you where any argument you made would lose with present day jurisprudence. I did this Relaxing at Carmalillo they're on paper and your lawyers will get a copy of my academic exercise, which will get me a job because it represents what is wrong with the industry.
I would refer you to "Would You Want William Hung as Your Trier of Fact, The Case for a Specialized Music Tribunal". Now I don't agree with everything here but bottom line they fear litigation and in my opinion sneakily changing rhythms proves beyond a reasonable doubt that the theft was subconscious (which is irrelevant legally).
I haven't bothered to actually work out tonal centers and make more arguments against you because it sucks and I had to listen drunk, twice.
Whoever I am working for tread carefully Dierks Bentley.
Gaga has stated in interviews (multiple times) that she takes great joy in seeing her fans happy, seeing her message of acceptance no matter the circumstances (among other messages) heard through her music. I think this song is a tribute to that. Maybe she is reminding us that it's her fans that make it worth it.
Her attire in this video is unusually bland and not-quite-as-suggestive as usual. However, I'm sure that's intentional. Maybe it's a means of communicating her desire to be closer to her fans. Maybe it's just a way to contrast with the colors that are in the video. Maybe she is just trying a new style.
What's really interesting to me is the stanza about art. Google Translate says kunst means art.
One second I'm a kunst Then suddenly the kunst is me Pop culture was in art Now, art's in pop culture in me
Gag wanted to be an artist and suddenly she gets recognition. Pop culture was one component of art, and now Gaga's art is popular; her artistic expression is done via her pop music.
For anyone who may be wondering, "kunst" is the german word for art.
It reffers to nature of art rather than art
Kunst is indeed the German word for art. But the official Gaga video with lyrics has the lyric as: <br /> "One second I'm a Koons<br /> Then suddenly the Koons is me" <br /> youtube.com/watch at 1:35<br /> <br /> Koons is capitalized suggesting a personal pronoun. Koons is a artist. From wikipedia: "Koons worked with American pop performer Lady Gaga on her 2013 studio album Artpop, including the creation of its cover artwork featuring a sculpture he made of Lady Gaga."
I love her honesty! So glad she showed the truth about Pierrot!