Judas

according to an interview taken from Popjustice, this was Lady Gaga's explanation about the song.

The first time Lady Gaga played us the tune she told us that in broad terms it was about being in love with the worst guy you've ever met, but as you might expect there's more to it than that. "It's about leaving your darkness behind in order to come into the light," she added the other day. "I have a lot of things that have haunted me from my past - choices, men, drug abuse, being afraid to go back to New York, confronting old romances - and Judas represents, for me, something that is bad for me that I can't escape. I keep going back and forth between the darkness and the light in order to understand who I am." (from vanitysnephew.blogspot.com/2011/04/gaga-explains-meaning-behind-judas.html)

Christ. It's not about the Illuminati.

"Judas is about forgiveness and perseverance through struggle." - Lady Gaga

This song is fucking fabulous. I'm sure a bunch of people are going to complain about her sound changing, but I think she's not so much changing as she is expressing her wide range as an artist. I love love love this track.

The following is credited to Andrew Steffey, as linked.

answers.yahoo.com/question/index

Its about love and forgiveness when you look at the lyrics as a whole. You could argue this is about falling in love with the wrong person (Judas instead of Jesus), but it goes much deeper than that. Believe it or not Gaga is a Christian rather you think she embodies it or not. The thing is she believes god loves everyone regardless of who they are.

Let's break down the lyrics:

In the first verse she says she will wash his feet (an old Christian practice) and asks that he be forgiven for the lies even after he betrays me. Basically even though such a horrid act he is still human and no one is perfect.

In the second verse it goes on to say she could not "love a man so purely, even darkness forgave his crooked ways, I've learned love is like a brick, you can build a house or sink a dead body." She is referring to the idea that even the worst of acts can be repented for if he would of asked, forgiveness was right there waiting for him. Judas of course did not choose to repent, but out of remorse for his treachery he committed suicide. If he had not fell guilty to greed with his love (described as a brick) in Jesus, he could in a sense "build a house" (helping spread the word), but due to his selfish act felt so bad he returned his ransom and hung himself (the dead body sunk by a brick).

Now we're to the bridge and this clarifies the entire meaning of the song.

" 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"

The gospel said the son of man will go out as planned by god, "but woe the man who betrays the son of man. It would be better if he were not born." He in essence committed the ultimate sin, but here Gaga is speaking as if she is Marry Magdalene . According to the new testament Jesus cleansed her of 7 demons and was the first to see Jesus after his resurrection not to mention this former prostitute was a disciple saved by Jesus. Mary knew from personal experience forgiveness was there for anyone to acquire, therefore Gaga speaking as if she were Mary would treat Judas the same rather or not he repented for he is still a man and she cannot judge him. Playing on the fact Mary was a former prostitute we get the last line of the bridge where she is inferring that if you don't want to hear the truth (that we cannot judge Judas) then do not listen (get an ear condom).

We have to remember though what Judas did was a horrid act, that in a biblical sense this had to happen. It's Christian belief. The bible tells us to love thy neighbor and that we are not to judge. We can't judge people for who they are, rather a different race, religion, or sexual orientation. That's the meaning of the song. Rather you agree by what she believes or not.

Hope this helps explain it.

I personally think these lyrics are beyond a person's worst relationship. It can be very many different things. The one that I believe it is about the most is it's about Christianity. As you know Lady GaGa went to a very religious school and I bet the people there taught that homosexuality is a sin and this contradicts the saying that God loves everyone for who they are. I think that Judas represents the contradicting Christianity. Lady GaGa doesn't believe that God is someone like that. The verse "When he comes to me I am ready...even after three times he betrays me" means she is ready to fight against the contradictions of Christianity and claim cultural baptism. I think the verse "a king with no crown" means the god that has no ground, no justification or no explanation, which is how the bible contradicts itself. And for the chorus, this is the hardest part I guess. "I'm just a holy fool oh baby he's so cruel but I'm still in love with judas baby." It means I'm just doing what my heart tells me and I'm saying you're wrong but I still love you which was the way that god taught me- To love everyone. "I couldn't love a man so purely." This means I can't believe you because your bible seems very suspicious to me. "Even prophets forgive his crooked way." This means even the most respectful people believe these kinds of beliefs (For example that homosexuality is a sin). "I've learned that love is like a brick...sink a dead body." This means that I learned that your beliefs is about love but not in every case. And the bridge pretty much explains what Lady GaGa is trying to do- CULTURAL BAPTISM "I want to love you but something is pulling me away from you." This means I want to believe you but your beliefs aren't what I want them to be. "Jesus is my virtue and Judas is the demon I cling to." Jesus means that the real god is what I'm aiming for and Judas is the demonic religion I was brought up with. As I said earlier, this is just my interpretation, I love this song and love its ambiguity.

I'm pretty sure it's "Oh baby, it's so cruel", not "he's" ;)

Do people really think Lady Gaga is a conspiracy?! What the fuck? She is just a pop singer, folks. These comments display both how crazy the fans and the haters can get (although, Jesus, I've seen some really insane stuff on the opposing side elsewhere). She is not saying "I really, specifically love the man that betrayed Jesus, yay Satan." It's just a metaphor about the wrong guy, why is that so fucking dangerous and sacreligious to write? SOME PEOPLE ARE SO NUTS.

The song itself! First listen, I was totally wigging out, pissed off, WTF am I hearing. By maybe the fifth listen, I was in love. Some of this is ridiculous, let's be honest (ear condom? that electro/Ke$ha "ew"?) but I find it hilarious. I predict Gaga's not taking herself as seriously as she did throughout The Fame Monster. Awesome album an aesthetic, but she was heavily criticized for her pretentions. Some of her crazy decisions in this and, yes, that beautiful mess Born This Way (not to mention her being half a motorcycle on the cover art) indicate that the freedom Gaga preached about leading up to the release isn't so much the uplifting kind. I feel that she's free to do whatever the fuck she wants, laugh at herself, and I am LOVING it.

But what the HELL is that accent? xD Oh, Gaga, you slay me.

I am constantly amazed at how close this song hits to the ultimate truth. It's so true in a spiritual sense! A lot of spiritual literature says: Our negativity exists because we cling on to it & feed it. We are all holy fools! Our darkness, be it disease or addiction, is there for a reason: to teach us how to trump over it! To become more than we can be. Judas is the personification of all that negativity! The solution is simple: instead of clinging, let go! Acceptance: What freedom! :)

Mary Magdalene washed Jesus' feet, not Judas'. I mean, maybe she's reversing their roles, but still, the Illuminati rumors are one hundred percent false.

Why can't people understand metaphors? The song is about loving someone who is bad for you. I'm pretty positive it is about a very specific person in her life. I don't want to name names in case I am wrong, but there are many songs on The Fame about him too. You and I on the new album is about him as well.

For all of the people who think this song is blasphemy and that Lady Gaga is writing all about religion, I have to disagree.

The way I look at it, this song is about a type of, "forbidden love," if you will. Gaga uses religion and the Bible as a sort of, literary allusion.

Of course, I don't know much of who Judas is or any of that in the sense of the Bible - but I truly believe she's just using things as examples.

Gaga herself said that the most controversial thing about the song was the video's costumes.