Gloria by Laura Branigan

Publish date: 2024-05-05

I never got it. Who was Gloria? Why was another woman singing about her?

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by Anonymousreply 94April 1, 2018 4:30 PM

It’s about a figure skater who falls on her ass and then becomes a stripper. Didn’t you see Flashdance?

by Anonymousreply 1March 25, 2018 3:47 AM

Gloria was a phone operator That's why Brannigan knew her number. It was 4-1-1. For emergencies.

by Anonymousreply 3March 25, 2018 3:58 AM

Sadly, Laura Branigan left us at a young age.

by Anonymousreply 4March 25, 2018 4:03 AM

Laura died in her home in 2004 from a cerebral aneurysm. She was 52. Rest in peace to a singing angel.

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by Anonymousreply 5March 25, 2018 4:09 AM

R5 My first experience of coming out has a background of Careless Whisper and Laura's Self Control back in 84. Wonderful song and artist.

by Anonymousreply 6March 25, 2018 4:13 AM

Laura has been so quiet lately. She should get out more.

by Anonymousreply 7March 25, 2018 4:17 AM

She had a killer voice and was a sultry CLASSY lady. Terrific songs to sing to as a young gayer like me. Very sad when I'd heard she had passed. What a foxy fox!

by Anonymousreply 8March 25, 2018 4:17 AM

"Gloria" as featured in ACS: Versace.

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by Anonymousreply 9March 25, 2018 4:21 AM

But why was a woman singing about Gloria?

by Anonymousreply 10March 25, 2018 4:27 AM

"Was it something that they said?"

Was Gloria triggered?

by Anonymousreply 11March 25, 2018 4:27 AM

"Gloria" is a song written by Northern Irish singer-songwriter Van Morrison and originally recorded by Morrison's band Them in 1964 and released as the B-side of "Baby, Please Don't Go". The song became a garage rock staple and a part of many rock bands' repertoires. Gloria (Them song) - Wikipedia

Also FYI, I don’t know for sure but a bunch of doctors told me that suicides are always called aneurysms when the deaths are announced. I found a friend who had killed himself and the official cause in the NYT was aneurysm.

by Anonymousreply 12March 25, 2018 4:28 AM

R10 She's clearly giving trying to make things clearer for Gloria. Gloria ain't no dyke.

by Anonymousreply 13March 25, 2018 4:28 AM

The original, by the way, is a piece of fluff by Italian pop star Umberto Tozzi who is sort of like their Michael Bolton. The Italian lyrics are very bland.

by Anonymousreply 14March 25, 2018 4:29 AM

"Gloria" (Italian pronunciation: [ˈɡlɔːrja]) is a 1979 love song that became an international hit. The song was originally written and composed in Italian by Umberto Tozzi and Giancarlo Bigazzi, and afterwards translated to English by Jonathan King. A 1982 cover version by Laura Branigan sold over one million singles in the United States alone.

I was wrong. Van Morrison wrote the Gloria from Patti Smiths' Horses album.

by Anonymousreply 16March 25, 2018 4:42 AM

Here's another cheesy Umberto Tozzi performance of Gloria.

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by Anonymousreply 17March 25, 2018 4:50 AM

Gloria is about a woman with a heart of gold.

by Anonymousreply 18March 25, 2018 4:56 AM

Thanks R17- That was great. I wish someone would translate it. I got confused by the laundry boys.

by Anonymousreply 19March 25, 2018 4:57 AM

Something about being on the MAIN line?

by Anonymousreply 20March 25, 2018 4:58 AM

Why can’t a woman sing about another woman?

by Anonymousreply 21March 25, 2018 5:04 AM

R19, it was an odd choice having characters in the background pulling focus away from the main act.

by Anonymousreply 22March 25, 2018 5:06 AM

I don’t know who Gloria is. Good song. But many good (and better) songs written recently that DL people ignore. I don’t get it.

by Anonymousreply 23March 25, 2018 5:12 AM

The Italian and English versions are not about the same thing. Trust me.

by Anonymousreply 24March 25, 2018 7:33 AM

[quote]many good (and better) songs written recently that DL people ignore

Name one.

by Anonymousreply 25March 25, 2018 7:48 AM

r10 Why not? She wasn't singing that she was in love with Gloria, it was like a cautionary, slow down type of song. Like Edie Brickell "Little Miss S" or "Glamorous Life" from Sheila E. Like slow down, bitch. You're not as young as you used to be, you're less desired now, etc. And r24 is right, that wiki thing about the Italian song, besides being totally corny, can't be the song Branigan sings.

by Anonymousreply 26March 25, 2018 7:55 AM

Umberto's Gloria is someone constantly in his head no matter what he does that he misses and is waiting for. I can't begin to explain just how cheesy the lyrics are. Think 'Everything I Do' by Bryan Adams, 'Every Breath I Take' by The Police or 'Hello' by Lionel Richie. Laura's Gloria is a much more interesting woman as she's in some sort of existential crisis.

by Anonymousreply 27March 25, 2018 9:42 AM

The Tozzi version of 'Gloria' in English, with lyrics translated by Jonathan King.

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by Anonymousreply 28March 25, 2018 10:18 AM

I'm mostly an indie and international films guy. One of the best I've seen this past decade is a 2013 film from Chile called 'Gloria' that is actually based on the Umberto Tozzi song: the lead character, "Gloria" actually plays the song (and other similarly cheesy 80s love songs) throughout the movie illustrating the mundaneness of life she wishes to escape. But also, in a deliberate move by the writer-director, the character "Gloria" is herself inspired by the Gloria in the Laura Branigan song: an angsty, restless, disillusioned woman that's desperately looking for something to fill the void in her life.

Here's the trailer.

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by Anonymousreply 30March 25, 2018 4:14 PM

And here's the poster which I feel beautifully encapsulates the movie.

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by Anonymousreply 31March 25, 2018 4:17 PM

Durr OP, it’s about a woman impregnated by an alien while hiding on an aircraft carrier. It’s so OBVIOUS.

by Anonymousreply 32March 25, 2018 4:18 PM

U2 had a song called Gloria that was their first exposure on MTV. I’ve always thought that one was about the Glory of God or something rather than a woman.

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by Anonymousreply 33March 25, 2018 4:53 PM

Is she singing about this Gloria?

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by Anonymousreply 34March 25, 2018 5:04 PM

"Are the voices in your head calling Gloria?" Gloria is a mental patient who hears voices and believes people are coming after her and harassing her on the phone, when really no one is there at all. The singer is someone who works at the mental institution and is trying to calm Gloria down after one of her bad episodes.

by Anonymousreply 35March 25, 2018 5:13 PM

That's a literal meaning, r35.

by Anonymousreply 36March 25, 2018 5:14 PM

R35, "I think they got your number. I think they got the alias you've been living under." This nurse or whoever has a mean streak and likes to occasionally mock Gloria by convincing her it's all true and they really ARE coming after her. Then she feels guilty about it so then she tries to comfort her.

by Anonymousreply 37March 25, 2018 5:21 PM

Yes, R23, especially the recent protest song performance by that brilliant chanteuse Miley Cyrus.

by Anonymousreply 38March 25, 2018 5:23 PM

The song is about ME you fools.....

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by Anonymousreply 39March 25, 2018 5:28 PM

They use Laura Branigan's "Gloria" to great effect in I, Tonya.

by Anonymousreply 40March 25, 2018 5:51 PM

I thought I heard long ago that it was about Gloria Steinem. Sort of a women's lib. song.

Or perhaps she was a fan of Gloria Bunker-Stivic.

by Anonymousreply 42March 25, 2018 6:34 PM

Self Control is still may favorite Branigan song. The opening chords are so cool.

by Anonymousreply 43March 25, 2018 11:33 PM

Laura's husband had died 8 years before she died. He was 16 years her senior in age.

by Anonymousreply 45March 25, 2018 11:57 PM

The nurse-mental patient interpretation is so off.

by Anonymousreply 46March 26, 2018 3:30 AM

The narrator tells Gloria that Gloria is the one obsessed, not the person Gloria thinks is obsessed about her.

by Anonymousreply 47March 26, 2018 11:30 PM

Exactly r 47, "if everybody wants you, why isn't anybody calling?"

by Anonymousreply 48March 26, 2018 11:42 PM

Gloria Laura Branigan Gloria, you're always on the run now Running after somebody, you gotta get him somehow I think you've got to slow down before you start to blow it I think you're headed for a breakdown, so be careful not to show it You really don't remember, was it something that he said? Are the voices in your head calling, Gloria? Gloria, don't you think you're fallin'? If everybody wants you, why isn't anybody callin'? You don't have to answer Leave them hangin' on the line, oh-oh-oh, calling Gloria Gloria (Gloria), I think they got your number (Gloria) I think they got the alias (Gloria) that you've been living under (Gloria) But you really don't remember, was it something that they said? Are the voices in your head calling, Gloria? A-ha-ha, a-ha-ha, Gloria, how's it gonna go down? Will you meet him on the main line, or will you catch him on the rebound? Will you marry for the money, take a lover in the afternoon? Feel your innocence slipping away, don't believe it's comin' back soon And you really don't remember, was it something that he said? Are the voices in your head calling, Gloria? Gloria, don't you think you're fallin'? If everybody wants you, why isn't anybody callin'? You don't have to answer Leave them hangin' on the line, oh-oh-oh, calling Gloria Gloria (Gloria), I think they got your number (Gloria) I think they got the alias (Gloria) that you've been living under (Gloria) But you really don't remember, was it something that they said? Are the voices in your head calling, Gloria?

by Anonymousreply 49March 26, 2018 11:44 PM

I loved Laura Branigan when I was a teen. I think I bought every cassette she put out. I'll never forget on All My Children how Laura's How am I Supposed to Live Without You played in the background as Amanda decided to tell Greg about the letter she had from Jenny knowing it would end their relationship.

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by Anonymousreply 50March 26, 2018 11:46 PM

Self Control was banned from MTV and I never could figure out why. This is a great song. Could be released today without being dated.

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by Anonymousreply 51March 26, 2018 11:48 PM

Laura Branigan was one of Leonard Cohen's background singers in the mid-Seventies.

Very good.

Laura Branigan also performed in Sun City in the Eighties, during apartheid.

Not so very good.

I am her "Gloria." And unlike her, I survived, baby.

by Anonymousreply 52March 26, 2018 11:58 PM

Loved Spanish Eddie too. It was so fucking fame gay.

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by Anonymousreply 53March 26, 2018 11:59 PM

Other than that album, did Branigan have any other hits?

by Anonymousreply 54March 29, 2018 12:31 PM

Gloria was she, and she was Gloria. We're all Gloria.

by Anonymousreply 55March 29, 2018 12:35 PM

R54 Solitaire; How am I Suppose to Live Without You; Self Control; Lucky One

by Anonymousreply 56March 29, 2018 12:41 PM

The Power of Love was Top 20.

by Anonymousreply 57March 29, 2018 1:09 PM

Iris Chacón becomes possessed singing Gloria en español.

In this version the Gloria she sings about is an esoteric, much socially needed, euphoric concept - , closer to the glory of God, more than anything.

She recorded it shortly after she converted to a fanatically religious sect that brainwashed her and her husband - and proceeded to siphon her millions to the church.

When she woke up from it all, she was bankrupt and overweight. The comeback took a long time, and, the favorite of Latin queen’s all over the globe was never the same.

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by Anonymousreply 58March 29, 2018 1:16 PM

Well the Vivaldi Gloria was becoming dated so we needed something new for the Christmas season.

by Anonymousreply 59March 29, 2018 1:21 PM

Gloria. Awful song I never want to hear again. Absolutely grating.

by Anonymousreply 63March 29, 2018 2:26 PM

[quote] 'Every Breath I Take' by The Police.

R27 really thinks this song is cheesy, and romantic? It’s a very sinister, serious & restrained ballad about stalking.

by Anonymousreply 66March 29, 2018 5:22 PM

"Gloria' is used well in "I, Tonya".

by Anonymousreply 67March 29, 2018 5:25 PM

It's about my mother and her designer denim label.

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by Anonymousreply 69March 29, 2018 5:34 PM

It’s about, hell, only the thirteenth sitcom by 1982 about a divorced woman moving away to a new town and struggling to make it.

“But you know what Joey? We’ll be OK!”

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by Anonymousreply 70March 29, 2018 7:58 PM

LOL, I was a Universal tour guide when "Gloria" was shooting on the backlot and we had to talk about to the tourists as if we were all excited about it -- and none of us were. It didn't take much to realize it was going to be a dog. It was.

That might have been the same summer that a few girl tour guides made their way to Jon Erik Hexum's trailer and got the hell fucked out of them. As trams of tourists went by and the trailer would be pointed out (I like to think it had to be rocking at some point). He was shooting the sci fi show, "Voyagers" and was hot as a whip. And dead within a couple of years.

by Anonymousreply 71March 30, 2018 2:26 AM

It's funny how one song can spawn so many stories.

by Anonymousreply 72March 30, 2018 10:46 AM

Gloria is in one of my workout playlist. Love it.

by Anonymousreply 73March 30, 2018 12:03 PM

"Self Control" was actually written by anther Italian singer, Raf, who released it around the same time as Laura (May/June 1984.) I was living in Europe at the time and both versions were played on the radio which was a bit strange.

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by Anonymousreply 74March 30, 2018 12:33 PM

Always thought it was cool that the “Self Control” music video was directed by William Friedkin.

by Anonymousreply 75March 30, 2018 12:42 PM

Laura clearly thought she was onto something covering Italian songs after the success of 'Gloria'. He she is covering another Umberto Tozzi hit, 'Ti Amo' but in this case, I think the original was better. With 'Gloria', they were smart to change the lyrics from love/torch song to something more interesting. With 'Ti Amo', the English lyrics are more or less faithful to the original Italian.

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by Anonymousreply 76March 30, 2018 5:37 PM

R58 She could no longer whore and turned to singing? Send the bitch back to the barrio. Fucking atrocious.

by Anonymousreply 78March 30, 2018 7:38 PM

R78, she’d been singing and shaking her booty since she was 19

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by Anonymousreply 79March 31, 2018 11:37 AM

For the person wondering about suicide vs aneurysm, Branigan did die aneurysm. IIRC she had a close family member who died the same way. For the poster upthread who said it's ok for Branigan to sign to another woman because "it's not a love song": what would be so wrong if she DID sing a love song to another woman?

by Anonymousreply 80March 31, 2018 2:31 PM

I always thought Gloria was her slutty alter-ego

by Anonymousreply 81March 31, 2018 2:52 PM

Stream of consciousness of a woman sliding into schizophrenia

by Anonymousreply 82March 31, 2018 3:00 PM

It was the hit of the summer on Top 40 radio when I "came of age," as they used to say. So I associate it with those great, good, bad, funny, sad, happy and thrilling early experiences that I remember from that year.

by Anonymousreply 83March 31, 2018 3:13 PM

I actually always preferred R70s theme song to the song Gloria, it's quite the earworm...

As a wee gayling in the mid-80s I remember my older teenage female cousin saying she hated Laura Brannigan. When I asked why she said, 'Because she sings songs about playing with yourself'. That's when I learned Self Control was about M-Bating.

by Anonymousreply 84March 31, 2018 3:33 PM

Branigan could belt with the best of 'em.

by Anonymousreply 85March 31, 2018 8:03 PM

She was a huge chunk of the 80s for me.

by Anonymousreply 86March 31, 2018 8:07 PM

I covet all of her music.

by Anonymousreply 87March 31, 2018 8:10 PM

Glora is a woman who's lived in the fast lane for years, but she's getting older and all the hard living is starting to catch up with her. The narrator is a friend of Gloria's who's telling her she "needs to slow down or she's headed for a breakdown." "Life In the Fast Lane" is a similar narrative to "Gloria," although that song is about a couple, not a single woman. They've lived a high-flying, hard-partying lifestyle for some time, but they're both getting older and things are starting to crash around them.

by Anonymousreply 88March 31, 2018 8:15 PM

R87 Don't covet. Go buy it.

by Anonymousreply 89April 1, 2018 10:32 AM

It’s the song that somehow managed to rhyme “number” with “under.”

by Anonymousreply 90April 1, 2018 11:25 AM

R57 They used Hefty large lawn and leaf bags to great effect in that video.

by Anonymousreply 91April 1, 2018 12:53 PM

[quote]Self Control was banned from MTV and I never could figure out why.

I know the video but I can’t imagine where I would have seen it if not MTV. Did they eventually un-ban it?

by Anonymousreply 93April 1, 2018 4:10 PM

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