Madonna’s “Killers Who Are Partying” Lyrics Meaning

As The Guardian puts it , in “Killers Who Are Partying”, the Queen of Pop is “play(ing) empath to the world’s… masses”.  That basically means throughout the song she is personally identifying with certain groups by stating a willingness to share in specific types of suffering they may endure. For instance, as illustrated in the first verse, she is down to be “gay”, “Africa(n)”, “poor” or a “child” if such are respectively “burned”, “shutdown”, “humiliated” or “exploited”. And her sympathy is seemingly sourced in the singer recognizing the world as a “lonely” and “wild” place.


You can view the lyrics, alternate interprations and sheet music for Madonna's Killers Who Are Partying at Lyrics.org.

In all, this track is very-philosophical in its approach. And overall it seems the sentiment Madonna is attempting to put forth is not so much her feelings for the oppressed people of the world as it is a call for the listening audience to adopt a similar disposition and apparently take some initiative in order to bring about desired change.  

Who exactly the titular “killers” are is never forthrightly stated. However, within the overall context of the song, it would probably be those who are actually persecuting the troubled groups whom Madonna mentions.

Lyrics of "Killers Who Are Partying"

Release Date of “Killers Who Are Partying”

This song was released by Interscope Records on 14 June 2019. It is the sixth track on Madonna’s highly praised album Madame X.

 Writers and Producers

The song was written and produced by Madonna. She did the writing and production along with one of her most established collaborators, Mirwais Ahmadzaï. 

What language does Madonna sing in during the post-chorus and bridge of this song?

During the aforementioned sections of the track, the language Madonna sings in is Portuguese.

Did “Killers Who Are Partying” come out as a single from Madame X?

No. The official singles from the Madame X album are: “Medellín” and “Crave“. The tracks “I Rise” and “Future” were also released as promotional singles.

4 Responses

  1. DANI says:

    I love this song. It’s deep and philosophical, with beautiful sounds. I like how she combines Portuguese with English in the chorus. Her voice is so crisp and clear. To me it’s one of the standouts of Madame X. I see how she is saying the world is a dark lonely place and the road is long to a better life. Killers are those who are doing this terrible stuff and are celebrating off somewhere as if they accomplished something wonderful and grand.

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