This song demonstrates how intelligent and eloquent Madonna really is! It's provocative and challenges those who see her as a dumb aging pop-tart. It disappoints me immensely that after Ray of Light, her most accomplished and poetic album, she went straight back to being a dumb aging pop-tart.
Anyway, that aside, I LOVE this song! I think the meaning is relatively simple - Madonna is reflecting on a life spent in the spotlight, chasing things that only mattered for the time-being. "Substitute for Love" I think stands for something that fills the void. No matter how famous or happy you are, there's always a loss of that special something - and in this case that something is love.
The verse about the "Trinkets, ferris wheel, etc" - I think it's Madonna turning against that world of fame and glamour. She's realizing that it's all fake and she's now found something real - even if that real thing is just a "substitute" it's also a revelation. The "substitute" stands for holding onto the truth until real love comes along.
Ending the song with "this is my religion" gives credence to the idea that the substitute for love is part of a new belief system.
This song demonstrates how intelligent and eloquent Madonna really is! It's provocative and challenges those who see her as a dumb aging pop-tart. It disappoints me immensely that after Ray of Light, her most accomplished and poetic album, she went straight back to being a dumb aging pop-tart.
Anyway, that aside, I LOVE this song! I think the meaning is relatively simple - Madonna is reflecting on a life spent in the spotlight, chasing things that only mattered for the time-being. "Substitute for Love" I think stands for something that fills the void. No matter how famous or happy you are, there's always a loss of that special something - and in this case that something is love.
The verse about the "Trinkets, ferris wheel, etc" - I think it's Madonna turning against that world of fame and glamour. She's realizing that it's all fake and she's now found something real - even if that real thing is just a "substitute" it's also a revelation. The "substitute" stands for holding onto the truth until real love comes along.
Ending the song with "this is my religion" gives credence to the idea that the substitute for love is part of a new belief system.