Madonna’s “God Control” Lyrics Meaning

The iconic American singer Madonna is known for being an advocate of gun control. And according to her song “God Control”, she has maintained this disposition even amidst a population who believe that the genuine need for such “is in her brain”, as in not actually existing. But despite understanding the rationales behind which people set out to acquire firearms she does not follow a similar course of action, even when looked down upon as a result.

It should be noted that the Queen of Pop never mentions or references the United States outright in this song. But it is pretty clear that American society – and an individual’s ability to effectively navigate themselves through it – is the main topic. In other words, Madonna is prompting the listener to “wake up”, as in become mentally alert and acknowledge “the damn truth”.

Indeed overall this track portrays the Queen of Pop as an outcast, a person who, due to her controversial and outspoken perspective on gun control and a number of issues, cannot simply go with the flow. Moreover even amidst what she perceives as a “nation” with many flaws, Madonna still finds reason to be optimistic.

Song’s Title (God Control)

As for the title of this track, Madonna (via the Tiffin Children’s Choir) states that “we (have) lost God control”. Based on the overall theme of the song, that would seem to allude to the quite-pervasive idea that America has deviated from its religious-based roots, as in “God” no longer being in “control” of the country.

Conclusion

All in all, Madonna’s “God Control” can be defined as an extremely political song that touches on gun violence in Madonna’s home country of America. Aside issues of gun violence, the lyrics also touch on the bleak future that Madonna thinks awaits lots of Americans. To a certain degree, the primary themes of “God Control” are quite similar to Childish Gambino’s 2018 song “This Is America“.

Music Video for “God Control”

This video is very-cinematic in its approach. In it Madonna plays two major-acting roles. One is as some sort of apparently-freelance reporter who is penning an article advocating gun control. The other is as a woman who is attending a nightclub and is generally uninterested in such issues.

The overall narrative is depicted going backwards in time, as in the conclusion of the story being shown at the beginning of the video so to speak.  And what it basically involves is Madonna’s character as a reporter lamenting over the prevalence of gun violence and indeed trying to warn people of such even prior to her character as a partygoer being slain in a mass shooting, which is portrayed in graphic detail and seems to be based on an actual event which occurred in Florida. And conclusively, the piece reads like a public service announcement in support of gun control.

Facts about “God Control”

This song features vocals contributed by the London-based Tiffin Children’s Choir. Madonna recorded with them in November of 2018 and even posted the experience on Instagram. FYI, that was the first time Madonna and the Tiffin Children’s Choir ever worked together.

Madonna wrote “God Control” French songwriter and record producer Mirwais Ahmadzaï. Both Madonna and Ahmadzaï had worked together several times prior to “God Control”. As a matter of fact Ahmadzaï can be said to be a long-time collaborator of Madonna’s.

The pair also produced the track alongside renowned American hip-hop producer Mike Dean. Dean has also worked with Madonna quite-extensively in the past.

“God Control” was released as the third track on the playlist of Madonna’s critically acclaimed Madame X album on 14 June 2019.