subject: An Analysis of Poker Face Lyrics [print this page] An Analysis of Poker Face Lyrics An Analysis of Poker Face Lyrics
"Poker Face" lyrics, written by Lady Gaga (with some help from Nadir Khayat) is about many things, but one can only assume the main points of the song are about sex, gambling and more sex. More to the point, the facades or "poker faces" we put on in courtship with the opposite sex.
Lady Gaga confesses from the beginning (after multiple Mum mum mum mahs) that she can't be trusted and that she's "hooking" her player in, waiting to play the Heart card when it is to her advantage later on. Gaga proclaims in the Poker Face lyrics that "I'll get him hot, show him what I got," because "he can't read my poker face." The verse "She's got to love nobody" follows, and though the song was originally written as both a male and female verse (She's/He's) the newer versions of the song permanently made the woman the tease. Call this post-feminism taunting, totally characteristic of the fashion-conscious, politically-insensitive Gaga.
Throughout the song she throws various chorus lines including a fast "I love it", indicating her joyous addiction to gambling and sex. The cruelest line in the song is one of the best and most memorable; "And baby when it's love if it's not rough it isn't fun." Forget the Poker Face lyrics and just give her credit for fitting that bloated sentence into a three-second jingle!
Eventually, Gaga plays the Queen heart and confesses that she won't tell her rock and roll buddies that she loves them, nor hug them. Instead she reminds her male adoring public (and perhaps the entire male race) that some women are "bluffin' with their muffin", which she uses as a girly metaphor for the female sex organ. Gaga's aggressive and unconventional sexuality (in fact, she indicated the song was just as bisexual horny as hetero-horny) do give the Poker Face lyrics a certain spark lacking in another female taunt songs, including the best of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera.
One of the most musically amazing aspects of the song is just how many chorus lines she squeezed in and how many experimental techniques she got away with, including among others, stuttering chorus lyrics, robotic hooks and samplings from other songs. Of course, viewing the music video is the perfect complement to the bold song, as this gives you a chance to see a cinematically shot and futuristically fashion-driven vision of Gaga's strip poker game from hell. Why not download Poker Face and Mum mum mum ma yourself?
