Judas (by Lady Gaga)

"Judas" is a song by American recording artist Lady Gaga, taken from her upcoming second studio album Born This Way (2011). The song was released worldwide on April 15, 2011, four days ahead of its scheduled release, by Interscope Records. Written and produced by Lady Gaga and RedOne, "Judas" is a dance song that speaks of a woman in love with a man who betrays her while simultaneously embodying things that have haunted her in the past, thus representing something that was bad for her – something she could not escape. Gaga explained that it's also about "honoring your darkness in order to bring yourself into the light, [...] You have to look into what’s haunting you and need to learn to forgive yourself in order to move on."

"Judas" has a similar sound to Gaga's previous singles like "Poker Face", "LoveGame", "Bad Romance", and "Alejandro', and contains three distinct hooks and a break down influenced by house music. The breakdown contains influences of tribal-techno and dubstep. Gaga explained that the lines spoken during the breakdown talks about her being beyond the ability to redeem herself, in terms of the traditional views of what a woman is supposed to be. The artwork for the single was designed by Gaga in Microsoft Word\ and features a black background with the word "Judas" written in red capital letters in Impact font. It was released via her web video series,Transmission Gagavision. Critics noted similarity between "Judas" and "Bad Romance", but praised the musical production of the song, complimenting its energy and the robotic break down.

A music video for the song was filmed in early April, co-directed by Gaga and Laurieann Gibson and co-starring Norman Reedus. It includes a Biblical storyline where Reedus plays Judas Iscariot and Gaga plays Mary Magdalene. Prior to its release, the Catholic League condemned Gaga for the alleged use of religious imagery and her role as Magdalene in the video.

"Judas" was revealed as the name of the second single in Lady Gaga's interview for Vogue. Gaga confirmed "Judas" on Ryan Seacrest's radio show on February 14, 2011. RedOne was revealed as the co-producer of the song. At the 53rd Grammy Awards, he told MTV News that if the previous single from Born This Way, the title track, blew "your socks off, then you really need to wait for the next single.... I'm not gonna tell you the title, but the next single, it's ... I don't want to say. It's gonna gonna shock, [...]You're gonna be surprised and wanna go crazy." Fernando Garibay, one of the producers of Born This Way felt that the song was about sometimes not choosing the right choice. "But you can't deny that the choice is not a part of you and who you are", he added. On the radio show Last Call with Carson Daly, Gaga explained to the host Carson Daly that "Judas" was "about always falling in love with the wrong man over and over again, 'Judas' is a very, very dark song. It's rad." With MSN Canada, Gaga revealed the metaphor behind the song as:

"'Judas' 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. I just like really aggressive metaphors—harder, thicker, darker—and my fans do as well. So it is a very challenging and aggressive metaphor, but it is a metaphor.

Gaga further explained the inspiration behind the song: "It’s about constantly walking towards the light in my life, but always clutching onto the light while peering towards the devil in the back, [...] I sing about what a holy fool I am, and that although moments in my life are so cruel and relationships can be so cruel I’m still in love with Judas. I still go back again to those evil things."During her interview with Google, Gaga added to the song's meaning as about "honoring your darkness in order to bring yourself into the light, [...] You have to look into what’s haunting you and need to learn to forgive yourself in order to move on. And it’s really fun to dance to." She had also previously explained to Popjustice that she has a lot of things that have haunted her from her past, including her choices, men, drug abuse, being afraid to go back to New York, confronting old romances. Hence "Judas" represented something that was bad for her, something she cannot escape. Gaga said: I keep going back and forth between the darkness and the light in order to understand who I am."


Judas's lyrics from lyricsmode.com:
Ohohohoh
I'm in love with Judas, Judas

Ohohohoh
I'm in love with Judas, Judas

Judas! Juda-as Judas! Juda-as
Judas! Juda-as Judas! GAGA

[Lady Gaga - Verse 1]
When he comes to me, I am ready
I'll wash his feet with my hair if he needs
Forgive him when his tongue lies through his brain
Even after three times, he betrays me

I'll bring him down, bring him down, down
A king with no crown, king with no crown

[Chorus]

I'm just a Holy Fool, oh baby he's so cruel
But still I'm in love with Judas, baby
I'm just a Holy Fool, oh baby he's so cruel
But still I'm in love with Judas, baby

Ohohohoh
I'm in love with Judas, Judas

Ohohohoh
I'm in love with Judas, Judas

Judas! Juda-as Judas! Juda-as
Judas! Juda-as Judas! GAGA

[Lady Gaga - Verse 2]
I couldn't love a man so purely
Even prophets forgave his crooked way
I've learned love is like a brick you can
Build a house or sink a dead body
I'll bring him down, bring him down, down
A king with no crown, king with no crown

[Chorus]
I'm just a Holy Fool, oh baby he's so cruel
But still I'm in love with Judas, baby
I'm just a Holy Fool, oh baby he's so cruel
But still I'm in love with Judas, baby

Ohohohoh
I'm in love with Judas, Judas

Ohohohoh
I'm in love with Judas, Judas

[Bridge]
In the most Biblical sense,
I am beyond repentance
Fame hooker, prostitute wench, vomits her mind
But in the cultural sense
I just speak in future tense
Judas kiss me if offenced,
Or wear an ear condom next time

I wanna love you,
But something's pulling me away from you
Jesus is my virtue,
And Judas is the demon I cling to
I cling to

[Chorus]
I'm just a Holy Fool, oh baby he's so cruel
But still I'm in love with Judas, baby
I'm just a Holy Fool, oh baby he's so cruel
But still I'm in love with Judas, baby

Ohohohoh
I'm in love with Judas, Judas

Ohohohoh
I'm in love with Judas, Judas

Judas! Juda-as Judas! Juda-as
Judas! Juda-as Judas! GAGA