Lady Gaga’s “Alejandro” Lyrics Meaning
On “Alejandro”, Lady Gaga is skeptical about her attraction towards the main character, Alejandro on one hand, yet appears to resist him completely on another.
The singer admits that she’s aware this Alejandro might love her, however she cannot be with him. This is probably because she’s in another relationship, as she reveals by claiming to have a ring on her finger. Her commitment or marriage to another person is strong enough to make her overlook other men, yet she appears to be hiding it from them.
The singer has the upper hand and believes she has nothing to lose if she’s not with this person. Apparently, she sees her relationship with Alejandro only as a fling and tells the men (Alejandro, Fernando and Roberto) to forget about her.
What Lady Gaga revealed about “Alejandro”
Lady Gaga has said that the song references 3 “boyfriends” namely:
- Alexander McQueen (Alejandro) who committed suicide prior to the release
- Producer Fernando Garibay (Fernando)
- Former Producer, Rob Fusari (Roberto)
Speaking about the meaning of Alejandro’s music video, Gaga told Larry King that it is a celebration of her admiration for the gay community.
Music Video
The music video to this song, which was inspired by Lady Gaga’s “gay friends”, was directed by Steven Klein, who is actually better known as a photographer. In fact even though he had previous offers, Gaga’s was the first he accepted to direct a music video. He did so, because he was personally inspired and impressed by a live performance of hers.
The clip drew criticism, specifically from some Catholic entities. According to the Catholic community, they weren’t cool with Gaga’s usage of popular-religious (i.e. Christian) imagery in relation to more carnal ideas. However, many perceive this contention to actually be something Lady Gaga desired, tantamount to a publicity stunt, to make the clip and song more popular.
Facts about “Alejandro”
Being released on 20 April 2010, “Alejandro” is the third single from Lady Gaga’s EP “The Fame Monster” (2009). Its issuance was a collaboration among as many as four labels, including Interscope Records.
Lady Gaga wrote “Alejandro” along with the track’s producer, RedOne. Her musical inspiration were two Swedish groups – ABBA and Ace of Base. And in terms of the former, it was specifically a track they dropped in 1976 entitled “Fernando”.
“Alejandro” scored a number 1 in 10 countries, including topping Billboard’s Dance Club Songs list in the United States.
And overall it charted in over 30 nations, in most cases making it onto the top 5 of their lists.
“Alejandro” has also reached multi-Platinum status in Italy, Russia and the United States.
“Alejandro” opens with a violin piece. This memorable piece was actually derived from a 1904 composition entitled “Csárdás” by Italian musician Vittorio Monti (1868-1922).
I think this song is about of course, an adultery-relationship. This reminds me of ‘The English patient’ of Michael Ondaatje. In that book, Katherine is the one who says Almasy to leave her and knows he loves her. Also, like this song, she is already married to Geoffrey. The connection between this book and the song is so uncanny. Geoffrey is also like a daddy to her than a husband.