lady Gaga pushes the idea of "Born this way."
Image by SpreePiX - Berlin via Flickr(Walt Meuller on Lady Gaga)Lady Gaga song dropped onto our pop culture landscape just a few short hours ago. The trend-setting and cutting-edge pop star who - at every turn - sends shivers up the spines of anyone and everyone (either shivers of great, liberating joy. . . shivers of great fear and distress. . . or shivers of something in between)told us all back at the 2010 MTV VMA's that this was going to happen sometime soon.
Today, the first single release and title track from her new album - "Born This Way" - is out. . . and it's probably the biggest thing happening in the world of pop culture. That's no exaggeration.
While the video is yet to be released, this morning's release of the audio track is a teaser for her live performance of the song which is scheduled for Sunday night's Grammy Awards. The video release will be even bigger. One young fan posted this reaction to the song on a message board: OH MY GAGA. THIS SONG IS ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE! SHE IS FEARLESS. THIS IS THE ANTHEM OF A GENERATION. WE WERE BORN THIS WAY BABY!!!!!!!
INTRO:
It doesn't matter if you love him, or capital H-I-M
Just put your paws up'
cause you were Born This Way, Baby
VERSE:
MY MAMA TOLD ME WHEN I WAS YOUNG
WE ARE ALL BORN SUPERSTARS
SHE ROLLED MY HAIR AND PUT MY LIPSTICK ON
IN THE GLASS OF HER BOUDOIR
"THERE'S NOTHIN WRONG WITH LOVIN WHO YOU ARE"
SHE SAID, "'CAUSE HE MADE YOU PERFECT, BABE"
"SO HOLD YOUR HEAD UP GIRL AND YOU'LL GO FAR,
LISTEN TO ME WHEN I SAY"
CHORUS:
I'M BEAUTIFUL IN MY WAY
'CAUSE GOD MAKES NO MISTAKES
I'M ON THE RIGHT TRACK BABY
I WAS BORN THIS WAY
DON'T HIDE YOURSELF IN REGRET
JUST LOVE YOURSELF AND YOU'RE SET
I'M ON THE RIGHT TRACK BABY
I WAS BORN THIS WAY
POST-CHORUS:
OOO THERE AIN'T NO OTHER WAY
BABY I WAS BORN THIS WAY
BABY I WAS BORN THIS WAY
OOO THERE AIN'T NO OTHER WAY
BABY I WAS BORN-
I'M ON THE RIGHT TRACK BABY
I WAS BORN THIS WAY
DON'T BE A DRAG -JUST BE A QUEEN
DON'T BE A DRAG -JUST BE A QUEEN
DON'T BE A DRAG -JUST BE A QUEEN
DON'T BE!
VERSE:
GIVE YOURSELF PRUDENCE
AND LOVE YOUR FRIENDS
SUBWAY KID, REJOICE YOUR TRUTH
IN THE RELIGION OF THE INSECURE
I MUST BE MYSELF, RESPECT MY YOUTH
A DIFFERENT LOVER IS NOT A SIN
BELIEVE CAPITAL H-I-M (HEY HEY HEY)
I LOVE MY LIFE I LOVE THIS RECORD AND
MI AMORE VOLE FE YAH (LOVE NEEDS FAITH)
REPEAT CHORUS + POST-CHORUS
BRIDGE:
DON'T BE A DRAG, JUST BE A QUEEN
WHETHER YOU'RE BROKE OR EVERGREEN
YOU'RE BLACK, WHITE, BEIGE, CHOLA DESCENT
YOU'RE LEBANESE, YOU'RE ORIENT
WHETHER LIFE'S DISABILITIES
LEFT YOU OUTCAST, BULLIED, OR TEASED
REJOICE AND LOVE YOURSELF TODAY
'CAUSE BABY YOU WERE BORN THIS WAY
NO MATTER GAY, STRAIGHT, OR BI,
LESBIAN, TRANSGENDERED LIFE
I'M ON THE RIGHT TRACK BABY
I WAS BORN TO SURVIVE
NO MATTER BLACK, WHITE OR BEIGE
CHOLA OR ORIENT MADE
I'M ON THE RIGHT TRACK BABY
I WAS BORN TO BE BRAVE
REPEAT CHORUS
OUTRO/REFRAIN:
I WAS BORN THIS WAY HEY!
I WAS BORN THIS WAY HEY!
I'M ON THE RIGHT TRACK BABY
I WAS BORN THIS WAY HEY!
I WAS BORN THIS WAY HEY!
I WAS BORN THIS WAY HEY!
I'M ON THE RIGHT TRACK BABY
I WAS BORN THIS WAY HEY!
I'm anticipating some major push-back from some folks, but I think that the release of this song marks a watershed moment in our understanding of who we are and where we're going as a culture. That's why it needs to be listened to, watched, tracked, and talked about. It cannot be ignored. "Born This Way" offers a mix of truth (God as Creator, inherent value and worth, etc.), and a host of very dangerous ideas that are evidence of our slide into a postmodern world void of the truth factor.
Yes, God has made us just the way He wanted to, instilling in us tremendous value and worth. The Scriptures are clear on that. But we are sinful and polluted beings who need to exercise Biblical discernment in our assessments of ourselves, our natures, what we believe, and how we live. Without a deep and sobering understanding of our own sin, we can never fully understand or appreciate the grace we received at the cross.
The song puts forth and promotes a way of thinking about, looking at, and living life that's been increasingly embraced in our culture. We are who we are. . . but we need to be who we've been called to be. Lady Gaga is making some powerful statements about the nature of God, the nature of humanity, the nature of sin, and how to live life. The whole world is watching, listening, and believing.
Lady Gaga is not a flash-in-the-pan performer. She is speaking for a generation. She is leading a generation. If you are older, think about how attitudes, values, and behaviors have changed over the years. . . over a very short span of years.
But now, the pendulum has swung in the other direction, to leave us living in a world where we love sinners and celebrate sin. What was once seen as vice is now virtuous. And to use the words "sinner" or "sin" . . . well. . . that's actually the only thing that's seen as a sin.
"Born This Way" is a wake-up call.
