Lady Gaga’s new album Chromatica is a personal look into her journey of healing in recent years. And one of the most empowering and intimate explorations of this process is in the lyrics of her song “Free Woman.”
Gaga told Zane Lowe that the song is about how she moved forward after being sexually assaulted by a music producer when she was younger. She explained she felt “woman” needed to be in the title for that reason. “I tend to aspire for things to be genderless, just because I think that it’s significant,” Gaga said. “But with that song in particular, I felt a need to reference my gender. Because even though I really have a tremendous disdain for people that attribute a gender, or sexual identity to your personality…it was so important for this to be ‘Free Woman,’ because I was assaulted by a music producer.”
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She continued, “I was sexually assaulted by a music producer. It’s compounded all of my feelings about life, feelings about the world, feelings about the industry, what I had to compromise and go through to get to where I am. And I had to put it there. And when I was able to finally celebrate it, I said, ‘You know what? I’m not nothing without a steady hand. I’m not nothing unless I know I can. I’m still something if I don’t got a man, I’m a free woman.’ It’s me going, ‘I’m free,’ but it’s not just because, ‘I’m a free woman. Look at me. I found gratitude and everything is zen.’ It’s, ‘I no longer am going to define myself as a survivor, or a victim of sexual assault. I just am a person that is free, who went through some fucked up shit,'” she said. “I say, ‘This is the dance floor I fought for. That’s what I’m living for. Light up my body and kiss me too hardly. I walk the downtown, hear my sound.’ This is my way of saying, ‘I’m making a dance record again, and this dance floor, it’s mine, and I earned it. And all that stuff that I went through, I don’t have to feel pain about it anymore. It can just be a part of me and I can keep going.'”
Gaga said this realization had a huge impact on her. “I can’t tell you how healing this was [to] me. I could cry about it, except I’m actually feeling so much more healed now that that laugh-away-from-the-tear feeling is not even as much there. When I first started talking about this album, I would cry in between every interview. And now I go, ‘Well, it turns out if you believe in yourself, sometimes you’re good enough.’ And it turns out that’s possible. And I would love for people that listen to this record to feel and hear that.”
Here, the lyrics to the song via Genius.
Intro:
(I’ll remember that, I’ll remember that)
(I’ll remember that, that I)
(I’ll remember that, I’ll remember that)
(I’ll remember that, that I)Verse 1:
I walk the downtown, hear my sound
No one knows me yet, not right now
But I am bound to set this feeling in motion
I walk the downtown, hear my soundPre-Chorus:
I say that I want it, want it (Be free)
Don’t fight it, fight it
But if I’m gonna go for it
I’ll remember that, that
I say that I want it, want it (Be free)
Don’t fight it, fight it
But if I’m gonna go for it
I’ll remember that, that IChorus:
I’m not nothing without a steady hand
I’m not nothing unless I know I can
I’m still something if I don’t got a man
I’m a free woman, oh-oh (Be free)
Post-Chorus:
Oh yeah
(Be free)Verse 2:
This is my dancefloor I fought for
A heart, that’s what I’m livin’ for
So light up my body and kiss me too hardly
We own the downtown, hear our soundPre-Chorus:
I say that I want it, want it (Be free)
Don’t fight it, fight it
But if I’m gonna go for it
I’ll remember that, that
I say that I want it, want it (Be free)
Don’t fight it, fight it
But if I’m gonna go for it
I’ll remember that, that IChorus:
I’m not nothing without a steady hand (I’m a free woman)
I’m not nothing unless I know I can (I’m a free woman)
I’m still something if I don’t got a man
I’m a free woman, oh-oh (Be free; c’mon, woo)
Post-Chorus:
I’m a free woman
I’m a free woman (Be free)
I’m a free woman
I’m a free woman, oh-oh (Be free)
Oh yeah (I’m a free woman)Chorus:
I’m not nothing without a steady hand (I’m a free woman)
I’m not nothing unless I know I can (I’m a free woman)
I’m still something if I don’t got a man
I’m a free woman (Oh), oh-oh (Be free)
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