This song is, like Lady Gaga revealed on her twitter some time ago, that it's about being strong and brave. What she didn't reveal to us is how much it ties back to her past work. I think it's an absolutely wonderful song because it throughout the lyrics, you can see references to her extremely old song, No Floods. Side-by-side, No Floods and The Queen tell a story about a girl who started off as a princess of her New York streets and moved on to being a Queen, without forgetting where she came from and how much she has grown because of her fans, who are her kingdom now (so to speak). It's also about fulfilling the dreams of your youth and being the person you had hoped to become.
No Floods - "I never ever thought I'd live away From everybody that I love and say Goodbye"
The Queen - "Oh, tonight I'm gonna show them what I'm made of, oh, The killer queen inside me is coming to say hello"
No Floods - "No matter lightning or thunder, Buckets of rain water, You can't flood this town"
The Queen - "I, wind and hurricane, The stormy sky and rain, When you run dry I'll flood your pain"
And perhaps
No Floods: “fire can’t burn these hands”
The Queen: “like a phoenix”
Throughout the song, there are some other parts that recall Marry The Night earlier in the album, like the constant references to tonight and the church bells in the very beginning of the song. At the very end of the song, the lyrics “I will fly on a challenger across the sky” and her voice cracking for that moment after she finishes her lyrics seems to suggest a connection to Future Love from The Fame Ball Tour. In that song, she talks about a “plane car” or a “flying car” (depending on the live version you listen to) that she uses to get to her future love. Is she trying to say that her fans have been her future love all along? That might be going too far, though.
What we can concretely see evident is The Queen’s relation to No Floods, its church bells and night references that call back to Marry The Night, and her very clear voice crack at the end of her lyrics that imitate her voice cracking at the end of Future Love. Her constant self-referencing reminds me why I love Lady Gaga and why I think she’s a wonderful lyricist. Her lyrics are getting closer and closer to being poetic and I can’t wait for the day when people outside her super fans see that she’s more than just her “rah rah roma mas” and her “Juda-juda-a-as.” It’s easy to overlook The Queen as a simple song, since it’s a bonus track and its beginning sounds very simplistic, but the song is riddled with little reminders of who she was and it all builds up to that very last, stanza that sounds like a powerfully booming declaration of her identity and love for her dreams and her fans. I think it’s becoming one of my favorite songs on the album and of hers.
Side-note: According to Fernando Garibay, the song’s background music also references Queen apparently. I don’t listen to Queen enough to see the connection, but if one of her producers says so, then it’s another legitimate reference to Lady Gaga’s past.
"Killer Queen" is one of Queen's biggest hits. Hell, the song's named "The Queen" and the next track on the album, "You and I" features Queen guitarist Brian May.
"Killer Queen" is one of Queen's biggest hits. Hell, the song's named "The Queen" and the next track on the album, "You and I" features Queen guitarist Brian May.
As far as the reference in the music, I think he's probably referring to the harmonized guitars towards the end. Heavily layered, harmonized lead guitars is one of Brian May's trademark moves.
As far as the reference in the music, I think he's probably referring to the harmonized guitars towards the end. Heavily layered, harmonized lead guitars is one of Brian May's trademark moves.
This song is, like Lady Gaga revealed on her twitter some time ago, that it's about being strong and brave. What she didn't reveal to us is how much it ties back to her past work. I think it's an absolutely wonderful song because it throughout the lyrics, you can see references to her extremely old song, No Floods. Side-by-side, No Floods and The Queen tell a story about a girl who started off as a princess of her New York streets and moved on to being a Queen, without forgetting where she came from and how much she has grown because of her fans, who are her kingdom now (so to speak). It's also about fulfilling the dreams of your youth and being the person you had hoped to become.
No Floods - "I never ever thought I'd live away From everybody that I love and say Goodbye" The Queen - "Oh, tonight I'm gonna show them what I'm made of, oh, The killer queen inside me is coming to say hello" No Floods - "No matter lightning or thunder, Buckets of rain water, You can't flood this town" The Queen - "I, wind and hurricane, The stormy sky and rain, When you run dry I'll flood your pain"
And perhaps
No Floods: “fire can’t burn these hands” The Queen: “like a phoenix”
Throughout the song, there are some other parts that recall Marry The Night earlier in the album, like the constant references to tonight and the church bells in the very beginning of the song. At the very end of the song, the lyrics “I will fly on a challenger across the sky” and her voice cracking for that moment after she finishes her lyrics seems to suggest a connection to Future Love from The Fame Ball Tour. In that song, she talks about a “plane car” or a “flying car” (depending on the live version you listen to) that she uses to get to her future love. Is she trying to say that her fans have been her future love all along? That might be going too far, though.
What we can concretely see evident is The Queen’s relation to No Floods, its church bells and night references that call back to Marry The Night, and her very clear voice crack at the end of her lyrics that imitate her voice cracking at the end of Future Love. Her constant self-referencing reminds me why I love Lady Gaga and why I think she’s a wonderful lyricist. Her lyrics are getting closer and closer to being poetic and I can’t wait for the day when people outside her super fans see that she’s more than just her “rah rah roma mas” and her “Juda-juda-a-as.” It’s easy to overlook The Queen as a simple song, since it’s a bonus track and its beginning sounds very simplistic, but the song is riddled with little reminders of who she was and it all builds up to that very last, stanza that sounds like a powerfully booming declaration of her identity and love for her dreams and her fans. I think it’s becoming one of my favorite songs on the album and of hers.
Side-note: According to Fernando Garibay, the song’s background music also references Queen apparently. I don’t listen to Queen enough to see the connection, but if one of her producers says so, then it’s another legitimate reference to Lady Gaga’s past.
I can't believe you missed the Queen reference in the actual lyrics:
I can't believe you missed the Queen reference in the actual lyrics:
"The Killer Queen inside of me is coming to say hello."
"The Killer Queen inside of me is coming to say hello."
"Killer Queen" is one of Queen's biggest hits. Hell, the song's named "The Queen" and the next track on the album, "You and I" features Queen guitarist Brian May.
"Killer Queen" is one of Queen's biggest hits. Hell, the song's named "The Queen" and the next track on the album, "You and I" features Queen guitarist Brian May.
As far as the reference in the music, I think he's probably referring to the harmonized guitars towards the end. Heavily layered, harmonized lead guitars is one of Brian May's trademark moves.
As far as the reference in the music, I think he's probably referring to the harmonized guitars towards the end. Heavily layered, harmonized lead guitars is one of Brian May's trademark moves.