Born This Way

 

     A major work of Gaga's that contains many Catholic references is her second studio album, Born This Way. Born This Way is an album that features many religious symbols, such as characters from the bible used to symbolize past or current lovers, places of worship to represent a mindframe or spirituality, and particularly Jesus Christ himself. A major example of this is in her song also titled Born This Way. It is a song about equality, and to express her desire for equality amongst the entire human race, she talks of how Jesus created us all differently for a reason and we should all love ourselves, despite our differences and our flaws and imperfections. In the famous opening line, she states, "It doesn't matter if you love him, or capital H-I-M...", meaning that no matter if you love Jesus Christ, or you are a homosexual man (or anyone who loves men, for that matter), it should not matter, and we should be celebrating our differences instead of critisizing them.     

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Above is a photo of Gaga, featuring the lyrics of the chorus of Born This Way. She says that we should all have faith in God, and know that we are on the right track in life because he made us the way we are for a reason. This is one of many examples of how Gaga's personal religious beliefs influence her work. 

 

 

Bloody Mary

 

Bloody Mary is another song by Lady Gaga, one in which she uses Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene, both characters from The Bible, to symbolize a relationship/romance and a story of female empowerment. In the chorus, she sings, "I won't cry for you, I won't crucify the things you do, I won't cry for you, See, when you're gone I'll still be Bloody Mary". By using these names, she explores the theme of an eternal love, and the concept of female empowerment and the role a woman plays in a man's life. She believes that Mary Magdalene was a woman, both divine and human, and while she was a public figure, was also perfectly human and a wife to Jesus Christ. This song explores the two roles she played in life, and possibly relates it to herself in a sense that she lives two lives, both as a popstar for millions of fans, as well as a friend/sister/etc to those around her, and the influence or lack thereof, these two lives have on each other. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Judas

 

Judas is one of Lady Gaga's most religiously-influenced songs. She sings this song from the eyes of Mary Magdalene, and sings about how she is still in love with Judas, despite the fact that she knows it is wrong and that he has wronged her. Gaga has been quoted as saying this song "is a metaphor and an analogy about forgiveness and betrayal and things that haunt you in your life and how I believe that it's the darkness in your life that ultimately shines and illuminates the greater light that you have upon you. Someone once said to me, 'If you have no shadows then you're not standing in the light.' So the song is about washing the feet of both good and evil and understanding and forgiving the demons from your past in order to move into the greatness of your future." This song is yet another example of how Gaga's belief in the Catholic religion influences how she writes music and creates art.