"Hey Girl" is a song written by Lady Gaga and Florence Welch, of Florence + the Machine, for Gaga's fifth studio album Joanne. Lady Gaga performed a small snippet of the song October 5th, 2016, during her interview on 102.7 KIIS FM. The track is the only collaboration on the album.
Background
Photo shared by Florence via Instagram on August 24, 2016.
Rumors about collaboration started when Florence shared an Instagram picture of her standing in front of a baby blue Ford Bronco – the same custom car Gaga was photographed driving earlier the same week. They were also both spotted with Mark Ronson in California. During an interview on BBC Radio 1, Gaga spoke about the collaboration on the album,
- "There's a feature on the album that I think you will be very excited about. Me and Florence Welch did a duet together. I started to work on an idea for a song that I really wanted to do with a girl. You’ll see why when you see what the song is about." She continued, "I just thought, ‘Who do I want to sing with?’ She’s really to me if not the best, one of the greatest vocalists in the world. She’s incredible."
During an interview on Beats 1, Zane Lowe has asked Gaga about the making process of the song and she replied: "Love that record. [...] I remember when she [Florence] came in and I was like o.k. I want to go back and forth [...] and she was like "Why are we going back and forth [...] I should just sing the second verse in this" and I was like "No! [...] There's got to be a conversation. We got to talk to each other. I need to women having it out and the coming together""
Performances
Trivia
- During the encore of the Joanne World Tour performance in Denver, Gaga sang a snippet of "Hey Girl" to a fan. The lyrics she sang were: "Hey girl, can you hear me? Are you holding out your heart?"
- The recording session of "Hey Girl" with both Welch and Gaga was featured in the Netflix documentary Gaga: Five Foot Two. It took place at Mark Ronson's house.
Lyrics
[Lady Gaga]
Hey girl, can you hear me?
Are you holding out your heart?
[Florence Welch]
Hey girl, do you feel me?
Sometimes I go too far
[Lady Gaga]
Hey girl, it ain't easy
I know it's pulling me apart
[Florence Welch]
But darlin', don't you leave me
[Lady Gaga]
Baby, don't you leave me
[Florence Welch]
Hey girl, hey girl
We can make it easy if we lift each other
[Lady Gaga]
Hey girl, hey girl
We don't need to keep on one-in' up another
Hey girl
[Florence Welch]
Hey girl
[Lady Gaga]
Hey girl
[Florence Welch]
Hey girl
[Lady Gaga]
If you lose your way
Just know that I got you
Just know that I got you
[Florence Welch]
Lady is it lonely?
I been callin' out your name
[Lady Gaga]
Tell me that you need me
'Cause I need you just the same
[Florence Welch]
Everyday a heartache
I'm just tryin' to keep it sane
But I know you believe me
[Lady Gaga]
Baby don't you leave me
[Florence Welch]
Hey girl, hey girl
We can make it easy if we lift each other
[Lady Gaga]
Hey girl, hey girl
We don't need to keep on one-in' up another
[Florence Welch]
Hey girl
[Lady Gaga]
Hey girl
[Florence Welch]
Hey girl
[Lady Gaga]
Hey girl
[Florence Welch]
If you lose your way
Just know that I got you
[Lady Gaga & Florence Welch]
Help me hold my hair back
Walk me home 'cause I can't find a cab
And we dance down The Bowery
Held hands like we were 17 again
[Lady Gaga]
And then it's 4 am
The sun is creepin' up again
Don't you leave me
[Florence Welch]
Oh, darling don't you leave me
Hey girl, hey girl
We can make it easy if we lift each other
[Lady Gaga]
Hey girl, hey girl
We don't need to keep on one-in' up another
Hey girl,
[Florence Welch]
Hey girl
[Lady Gaga]
Hey girl
[Florence Welch]
Hey girl
[Lady Gaga & Florence Welch]
If you lose your way
Just know that I got you
[Lady Gaga]
Just know that
Just know that I got you
Just know that
Just know that
Just know that
Help me hold my hair back
Walk me home 'cause I can't find a cab
And we dance down The Bowery
Held hands like we were 17 again
Credits
| Written by | Lady Gaga, Florence Welch and Mark Ronson |
| Produced by | Mark Ronson, Lady Gaga and BloodPop® |
| Recorded by | Joshua Blair and assisted by David "Squirrel" Covell at Shangri-La Studios, Malibu, CA  Jens Jungkurth, Joshua Blair and assisted by Michael Harris, Christopher Cerullo, Chris Claypool at Vox Recording Studios, Los Angeles, CA Brett “123” Shaw at 123 Studios, London, 
|
| Mixed by | Tom Elmhirst and assisted by Joe Visciano, Brandon Bost at Electric Lady Studios, New York, NY
|
| Mastered by | Tom Coyne & Randy Merrill at Sterling Sound, New York, NY
|
| Track Participants | Lady Gaga — Piano Homer Steinweiss — Drums Nicholas Movshon — Bass Thomas Brenneck — Guitar Victor Axelrod — Synthesizer Florence Welch — Vocalist Jack Byrne — Guitar Kelsey Lu — Cello Tom Moth — Harp BloodPop® — Rhythm Programming for GenPop Corp. |
| Published by |
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| Florence Welch appears courtesy of Island Records, a division of Universal Music Operations Limited. | |
Reference
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