| "Angel Down" | |
|---|---|
| Song byLady Gaga | |
| from the albumJoanne | |
| Written | 2015 |
| Released | October 21, 2016 |
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| Length | 3:49 2:19(work tape) |
| Label |
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| Songwriters | |
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| Audio video | |
| "Angel Down" onYouTube | |
"Angel Down" is a song by American singer-songwriterLady Gaga. It serves as the concluding track on the standard edition of her fifth studio album,Joanne (2016). Influenced by thekilling of Trayvon Martin in 2012, it was written by Gaga and her long-time collaboratorRedOne, during the initial recording sessions of the album in 2015; he also produced itswork tape version. In late 2015, she played "Angel Down" toMark Ronson, who later produced the official rendition of the track, along withBloodPop. It is atorch song, as well asprotest song against shootings of African Americans in the United States. The pianoballad also touches on topics of social media.
Critical reception towards "Angel Down" was mixed – somejournalists found the track a beautiful end to the album and appreciated its message, while others deemed it well-intentioned but otherwise a weak offering. After debuting the song on theNew York Times/T Gala, Gaga performed it during her two concert series in support ofJoanne, theDive Bar Tour (2016) and theJoanne World Tour (2017–2018). In 2022, she added "Angel Down" to the setlist for select dates ofThe Chromatica Ball, interpolating political statements to the performance.
In the first few months of theJoanne's (2016) inception,Lady Gaga was seen collaborating with long-time producerRedOne, as well as new collaborators likeGiorgio Moroder andNile Rodgers.[1] "Angel Down" is the only song featured on the album that was penned with RedOne.[2] Its acoustic version, officially released with the moniker "work tape",[note 2] was written and produced in 2015,[4] with Lady Gaga handling piano and vocals, while RedOne played on guitar and alsoprogrammed the track. This rendition of the song was recorded in Woodshed Studios in Malibu, California by Trevor Muzzy and Alekes Von Korff.[3] When looking for more collaborators for the project, Gaga encounteredMark Ronson in a London studio, where she played him "Angel Down", which was described by him as "quite moving".[4] They finished the new version's production alongsideBloodPop, who played keyboards and drums.[3] Ronson addedMellotron strings to the song.[5] It was recorded by David "Squirell" Covell and Joshua Blair inShangri-La, while the Pink Duck Studios session was taken by Blair and assisted by Justin Smith. Another take, done in Electric Lady Studios, was recorded by Blair with the help of Barry McCready.[3]
"Angel Down" was influenced by thekilling of Trayvon Martin in 2012. During the interview with New Zealand DJZane Lowe, she compared murders of youngAfrican-Americans to an epidemic, saying she is overwhelmed by the apathy of society on the issue. The singer asked "How can I not say something?", since making "an album about twerking [her] ass off in the club" felt "empty" and "irrelevant" to her.[6] During her 2022 tour,The Chromatica Ball, Gaga further referred to "Angel Down" as a "song about America".[7]
Its final version is the concluding track ofJoanne's standard edition.[8] Described as atorch song with a "lush sonic pallet",[9][8] it is a piano-driven ballad touching on subjects of religion and theUS shootings,[2][10] featuring "backward loops and dreamypsychedelic flourishes".[11]The Daily Telegraph'sNeil McCormick wrote that it has "mournfully elegant melody and quasi-religious save-the-nation sentiments", referring to the lyric "I'm a believer / Where are leaders?"[10] It includes Gaga's "vulnerable" vocals complemented by a "gentle" production and "sadly" played Mellotron.[2][5] Aprotest song,[12] "Angel Down" begins with Gaga stating "I confess I am lost / In the age of the social / On our knees, take a test / To be lovin' and grateful",[13] alluding to the ongoing indifference towards racism issues to social media. As the song progresses, she reveals her confusion to the people's apathy to the death of an "angel" as she sings in the chorus "Shots were fired on the street / By the church where we used to meet / Angel down, angel down / But the people just stood around".[14][15] The song was compared to the work ofElvis Presley,Celine Dion, andJewel.[10][13]
Writing forThe Observer, Michael Cragg found "Angel Down" an "intoxicating lament that twinkles and wheezes in equal measure".[16] Richard S. He ofVulture wrote that the song is "a far cry from the fearless optimism of Gaga's past albums. But it carries an important message: to not turn away from suffering."[17]NME's Emily Mackay also praised the song for its "simple, warm and vital message", urging "to take care of each other in a cruel world".[18] Daniel Welsh fromHuffPost opined that "Angel Down" is a better way to end the album than "Just Another Day",[note 3] hence it "forc[es] the listener to end thinking about something important".[19] Luke Winstanley ofClash described it as a "beautifully sombre closer",[8] while Kevin Fallon fromThe Daily Beast said it is a "solid torch song to wind down the album".[9] ForDigital Spy's Lewis Corner, it is "a beautiful ending to the album, hearing a vulnerable vocal from Gaga over a gentle production."[20] AtContactmusic.com, Eoin Hanlon thought that "Angel Down" is one of the "moment[s] where her vocals are at their best" on the album.[21] Writing forLos Angeles Times, Mikael Wood labeled the song as "lugubrious".[22] In a review published bySpin, Rich Juzwiak contemplated that the track is an "oblique enough to avoid revealing itself as the Trayvon Martin tribute that it was conceived as", however according to him, it "could have been much heavier handed".[23]
On a more critical note,Pitchfork writer Amanda Petrusich described Gaga's attempt of talking about "serious concerns" in "Angel Down" as "clumsy if not performative".[5] Adam White ofThe Independent found it a "well-intentioned if forgettable ode to political confusion".[24] Similarly,Billboard's Andrew Unterberger felt along with anotherJoanne track, "Come to Mama", Gaga's "well-intentioned anthems of social conscience [...] land somewhat flat".[25]Chicago Tribune'sGreg Kot also criticized the social commentary-filled lyrics on "Come to Mama" and "Angel Down".[26]Jezebel writer Bobby Finger called "Angel Down" the "album's biggest problem", saying: "it's hard to listen to Gaga scorn those who did nothing after Martin's death four years after the fact. It all feels like a vigil held too late — one populated by cardboard cutouts and battery-operated flickering lights, not grieving humans holding candles. I don't doubt her compassion, just her intentions."[27]The Atlantic's Spencer Kornhaber was more keen of the "work tape" version, calling it "by far the best product of this Gaga era"; he however heavily criticized the album version by Ronson and BloodPop, thinking "the song has become strangely mannered, gilded in harps and forfeiting the original's searing vocals".[28]
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Gaga debuted "Angel Down" live onNew York Times/T Gala on October 19, 2016, where she was honored for her contribution to the world of fashion.[15] The following day, she performed the song atThe Bitter End, in New York City, as part of herDive Bar Tour, a promotional concert tour in support ofJoanne.[29] After her main set was over, she climbed on the bar's roof to sing it and "Joanne" to the crowd who gathered outside, as they were unable to get in due to the limited capacity of the venue.[29] Before singing the track at the Los Angeles stop of the tour, Gaga called for peace at a "tumultuous" time in American politics, referring to the2016 United States presidential election. She added the line "Trayvon Angel" to the song's outro.[30] "Angel Down" was performed alongside "Come to Mama" at presidential candidateHillary Clinton'sfinal campaign stop inRaleigh, North Carolina.[31]
"Angel Down" was of part the set list for Gaga's fifth headlining concert tour, theJoanne World Tour (2017–2018).[32] She performed it while wearing a fringe blazer and a wide-brimmed hat.[33] For the duration of the song, Gaga was lift up into the air on a mobile platform, which was slowly descended from the ceiling.[34][35] She dedicated "Angel Down" to "everyone we lost this year."[36] Jonathan Dean ofThe Times found the performance "incredibly moving".[37] Because of the prior song of the setlist, "Paparazzi", Alex Stedman ofVariety thought the sequence had an "almost dizzying tonal change".[35]
In 2022, Gaga embarked on The Chromatica Ball, where she sang "Angel Down" on select dates in North America and Japan, as the sole track fromJoanne on the setlist.[7] She performed it on the piano while wearing a black and lavenderlatex bodysuit.[38][39] Her piano was covered in tree branches, appearing "as something growing organically out of gnarly forest limbs and trunks", according toVariety.[40] Preceding the song, she addressed different topics which were under debate in the United States, includinggun violence andabortion rights.[41][42] Gaga's piano was illuminated by blue lights for "Angel Down" at her Texas show, where she expressed hope that the "purple [state] is gonna goblue".[41]
In 2025, Gaga performed "Angel Down" as a surprise song on piano atThe Mayhem Ball tour's show in Antwerp, Belgium.[43]
These credits are adapted from theliner notes ofJoanne.[3]
Official version[edit]Recording locations
Personnel
| Work tape version[edit]Recording locations
Personnel
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| Chart (2016) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[44] | 152 |
| The Fame | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| The Fame Monster | |||
| Born This Way | |||
| Artpop |
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| Joanne | |||
| Chromatica | |||
| Mayhem | |||
| Songs written for film |
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| Covers | |||
| Other songs recorded | |||
| As featured artist |
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| Songs for other artists | |||
