Til It Happens To You by Lady Gaga Song Info
Accompanied by a somber background of stringed instruments, Lady Gaga powerfully sings a song of empathy. This masterful ballad was co-written by Diane Warren for the 2015 film The Hunting Ground, and gained an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song. The Hunting Ground is a documentary-style movie following sexual assault cases and rape crimes committed on college campuses across the United States. Gaga was asked to lend her vocals to the cause in order to bring awareness to the issue. In 2014, Gaga revealed that she is also a victim of sexual assault; lending a haunting perspective to these emotionally charged lyrics. In an interview with Billboard, Warren talked about the song and Gaga’s contributions: “I heard about [the film] and it just really touched me, and she had stuff in her life that she could relate to. Gaga is one of the most talented artists I have worked with in my life and I’m excited about doing more with her… There are a lot of levels to the song. There’s something very vulnerable about it and something very defiant about it, especially the way [Gaga] sings it. The first verse is vulnerable—'You tell me it’s going to get better?‘—and the second verse comes in and it builds. Really? It gets better? No. You don’t know until it happens to you…”
