With a net worth that is believed to be over $320 million and a legacy built on iconic stage performances, undeniable vocal talent, and show-stopping fashion choices, Lady Gaga is one of the world’s most influential superstars.
As an artist who pens her own lyrics, Gaga has often sparked curiosity among the public as to the meanings behind her songs. And luckily, Mother Monster has never been shy about sharing her inspirations.
John Wayne is a song off Lady Gaga’s fifth studio album Joanne, which was released in 2016. Many of the Manhattan-born superstar’s songs are famous for their cryptic lyrics and hidden meanings, and John Wayne is no exception. When the track was released, fans were eager to know the inspiration behind it.
Keep reading to find out the true meaning behind Gaga’s song John Wayne, and the one person who inspired it more than anyone else.
What Inspired Lady Gaga’s Song ‘John Wayne’?
“It's like, I just love a cowboy, you know,” Gaga says in the beginning of the song John Wayne. “I'm just like, I just, I know it's bad, but I'm just like, can I just like, hang off the back of your horse, and can you go a little faster?!”
The lyrics go on to suggest that Gaga craves “a real wild man” rather than a more refined city type of guy. According to Cheat Sheet, the inspiration behind a record all about Gaga chasing wild men is actually her father, Joe Germanotta.
Gaga is believed to be close to her father, and has a tattoo dedicated to him on her back. It is also thought that the song Speechless from Gaga’s Fame Monster album was inspired by her dad.
“That record is about why do I chase wild men?” the singer shared (via Cheat Sheet) about John Wayne. “I chase wild men because I chase my dad.”
“My dad is a wild man,” Gaga went on, explaining that the pain her father experienced in his life turned him into the type of figure she’s singing about. “Why is he a wild man? Because he lost his sister when he was 15. And since he lost his sister, he’s been chasing away to not feel the pain.”
Why Did Lady Gaga Call Her Album Joanne?
Fans who don’t follow Lady Gaga’s life closely were initially confused when the star named her 2016 studio album Joanne. Others were right in pointing out that Joanne is one of Gaga’s middle names, her birth name being Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta.
Gaga named her album Joanne, not after herself, but after her father’s sister, who had passed away in 1974. In an interview with V magazine, Gaga explained that Joanne’s tragic death at the age of 19 had caused significant pain in her family, and she wanted her album to be about living each day as if it is your last.
In the interview, Gaga shared that Joanne had passed away from lupus.
“It’s a terrible autoimmune disease,” she explained. “… They didn’t know what it was. And so when she was really, really ill, she had these lesions on her hands and the doctors wanted to take her hands off.”
Gaga then opened up about what type of woman Joanne was, explaining that she too was an artist. “She was a painter, and she did needlepoint and crochet, and she was a writer and a poet. As Joanne neared death, my grandmother said, ‘I can’t let my daughter’s last moments on this earth be without her hands.’”
The spirit of Joanne is very much alive within my family,” Gaga went on. “My dad has a restaurant called Joanne, and for me, personally, it means I must live every day as if it was my last. Catholic guilt. It’s those stories, those classic stories, that made me tough.”
Throughout her career, Gaga has continuously mentioned and paid homage to Joanne, famously referencing her in her Manifesto of Little Monsters text, which featured in her Monster Ball World Tour in 2009.
What Is Lady Gaga’s Biggest Hit Song?
John Wayne is just one of a long list of popular songs that Gaga has gifted the world during her stellar career. According to E!, Gaga has at least 15 songs that have peaked at number 10 or higher on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart.
They include Applause, Million Reasons, LoveGame, Judas, Poker Face, Paparazzi, Stupid Love, Alejandro, The Edge of Glory, You and I, Born This Way, Shallow, Telephone, Just Dance, and Bad Romance.
Of these, Just Dance, Shallow, Born This Way, and Poker Face were among the most successful as far as the Billboard charts are concerned, each of them peaking at number one.
As Lady Gaga writes her own music, the catchy lyrics in her most famous songs all doubtlessly have interesting meanings and inspirations behind them too.
