Gang Bang

Album: MDNA (2012)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Despite its unfortunate title, this song is about murdering an errant lover rather than demeaning group sex. However, the dark house track is still lyrically explicit and was therefore omitted from the "clean" version of MDNA.
  • Amongst the eight credited songwriters on this track are the British pop singer Mika, who tweeted on March 8, 2012 that the song is, "weird as f--k, underground and lyrically cool, it's amazing and bizarre. I love it, she sounds so good singing words so harsh."
  • The song finds Madonna at her most primal and animalistic. Speaking with Sirius XM Radio, she revealed that MDNA resulted from her need to unleash some serious pent-up emotions. ''I felt like a caged animal. I felt like I had to scream. I had to get some things off my chest," she said, adding, ''There's something simple and primal and direct about playing guitar and singing."
  • Co-producer William Orbit discussed the song's dark lyrical content with MTV News: "[It's] aggressive," he said. "It's like she sang that off the bat. I mean that. She created it in the moment. And the lyrics were all there, but I think she fell into a character. It was actually a good day. It wasn't a dark day. There wasn't like aggression in the air. The demo created out of the blue pretty much. She loved the spirit of it. We were all dancing around the control room. It was a total atmosphere of spontaneity. Pretty good fun, but it's dark."
  • During a Facebook interview with Jimmy Fallon, Madonna said she had wanted Quentin Tarantino to direct a video for this track. "That's who I was thinking about when I was writing the song," the singer told Fallon. "I was picturing one of his movies, and one of the female characters."
  • Mika told BBC 1 Radio 1's Reggie Yates that he originally titled the song "Bang Bang," but it was changed as there were already songs with that name.
  • Speaking to Digital Spy about his contribution to the song, Mika said: "There were a lot of people involved in that record. I wouldn't say I wrote the song, but I definitely wrote part of it. The result is actually a very cool colliding of lots of separate people and I love that chaotic nature about it. I like the song, I just wish all of them on her album was like that. It was cut with the attitude of a Grace Jones record - you didn't know where that song was going. That's what I love about it."

Comments: 1

  • Leo from Westminster 1, MdGang Bang-Madonna's most angry and aggressive rocker. I can feel the rage in her voice-like she just came back from a living hell! Yet the simple and solemn fact is-Madonna's still alive and Living to Tell Her Story. Gang Bang-"A Victim of a Kind of Rage!"-indeed, Madge!
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Second Wind Songs

Second Wind SongsSong Writing

Some songs get a second life when they find a new audience through a movie, commercial, TV show, or even the Internet.

The Fratellis

The FratellisSongwriter Interviews

Jon Fratelli talks about the band's third album, and the five-year break leading up to it.

Eagles Lyrics Quiz

Eagles Lyrics QuizMusic Quiz

Lots of life lessons in these Eagles lyrics - can you match them to the correct song?

Charlie Benante of Anthrax

Charlie Benante of AnthraxSongwriter Interviews

The drummer for Anthrax is also a key songwriter. He explains how the group puts their songs together and tells the stories behind some of their classics.

Rock Revenge Songs

Rock Revenge SongsMusic Quiz

John Lennon, Paul Simon and Lynyrd Skynyrd are some of the artists who have written revenge songs. Do you know who they wrote them about?

Adam Young of Owl City

Adam Young of Owl CitySongwriter Interviews

Is Owl City on a quest for another hit like "Fireflies?" Adam answers that question and explains the influences behind many others.