The Dead Dance

Album

MAYHEM

Label

Interscope Records

Genre

Synthpop

Composer(s)

Lady Gaga;Andrew Watt;Henry Walter

Entered Chart

Sep 20, 2025

Peak Date

Sep 20, 2025

Released

September 3, 2025

"The Dead Dance" is a synth-pop and disco track about the feeling of hopelessness that can follow a relationship ending - a kind of emotional death. However, the song's core message is about overcoming that pain and finding a new kind of life and joy through music and dance. "The inspiration for 'The Dead Dance' was a breakup, and it was all about the way that we sometimes feel when it's over; how a relationship ending can kill our ability to feel hopeful about love," Gaga explained to Netflix Tudum. "It's got this really cool, funky beat underneath it. And that is when the song becomes not just about the relationship; it becomes about having fun with your friends when you've been through something tough and amazing." The song plays in the second season, episode seven of the Netflix series Wednesday, during a dance sequence performed by characters Enid and Agnes at the Nevermore Gala. Gaga appears in the preceding episode as the ghost of Rosaline Rotwood, a deceased Nevermore Academy teacher who grants Wednesday temporary psychic abilities. Gaga's involvement with the series grew out of a chain reaction: in Season 1, a sped-up version of her 2011 song "Bloody Mary" went viral on TikTok thanks to Jenna Ortega's spidery dance moves. This cultural moment put Gaga squarely in the show's creators' orbit and they contacted her about contributing music to season 2. The Mother Monster already had "The Dead Dance" waiting in the wings, and she tailored it specifically for the show. This led to her role as Rosaline Rotwood. Gaga co-wrote and co-produced the track with Andrew Watt and Cirkut, both veterans of her Mayhem album sessions. Wednesday executive producer Tim Burton directed the music video, filming it in Mexico City's haunting Island of the Dolls. The visuals are stark black-and-white, with Gaga weaving among decaying dolls as though auditioning for Thriller by way of Rocky Horror. The effect is creepy, kooky, and altogether ooky.

Like the words of a song, I hear you call
Like a thief in my head, you criminal
You stole my thoughts before I dreamed them
And you killed my queen with just one pawn

This goodbye is no surprise
This goodbye won't make me cry

Yeah, I'll keep on dancin' until I'm dead
Dancin' until I'm dead, I'm dancin' until I'm dead
Yeah, I'll keep on dancin' until I'm dead (dead)
I'll dance until I'm dead (dead, dead, dead)
'Cause when you killed me inside, that's when I came alive
Yeah, the music's gonna bring me back from death
I'm dancin' until I'm dead (dead)
I'll dance until I'm dead (dead, dead, dead, dead)

You've created a creature of the night
Now I'm haunting your air, your soul, your eyes

This goodbye is no surprise (is no surprise)
This goodbye won't make me cry

Yeah, I'll keep on dancin' until I'm dead
Dancin' until I'm dead, I'm dancin' until I'm dead
Yeah, I'll keep on dancin' until I'm dead (dead)
I'll dance until I'm dead (dead, dead, dead)
'Cause when you killed me inside, that's when I came alive
Yeah, the music's gonna bring me back from death
I'm dancin' until I'm dead (dead)
I'll dance until I'm dead (dead, dead, dead, dead)

Do the dead dance (dead)
The dead dance
Do the dead dance (dead)
The dead dance
Do the dead dance (dead)
The dead dance
Do the dead dance (dead)
But I'm alive on the dance floor

And I'm dancin' until I'm dead (dead)
I'm dancin' until I'm dead, I'm dancin' until I'm dead
Yeah, I'll keep on dancin' until I'm dead (dead)
I'll dance until I'm dead
'Cause when you killed me inside, that's when I came alive
Yeah, the music's gonna bring me back from death
I'm dancin' until I'm dead (dead)
I'll dance until I'm dead

Dead (dead, dead, dead, dead)