Madonna began writing songs for Ray of Light at a time of dramatic change in her life. Most recently, she gave birth to a daughter, a few months later she broke up with the girl’s father, became seriously interested in Kabbalah and took up yoga. All this could not but affect her activities. It was from the song Frozen that cardinal transformations began in the singer’s work, which contributed to the strengthening of her world fame.
The story of Madonna’s song Frozen
Madonna spoke about the sources of inspiration and the initial stage of work on the track in an interview with Spin magazine:
In the case of Frozen, the song I wrote with Pat Leonard, I was obsessed with the movie The Sheltering Sky by Bernardo Bertolucci and all these Moroccan, orchestral, super romantic motifs in the spirit of “a man carries his beloved woman through the desert.” That’s why I said [Patrick Leonard] that I need something tribal, something really sexy and romantic. When he started playing some music, I just turned on the record, started to follow the emerging associations and came up with this melody.
Spin, 1998
British musician William Orbit took part in the process of working on the track. According to Madonna, she invited him because she was impressed by the remixes he did for her songs.
The meaning of the song Frozen
Anticipating that critics will see in the text of the composition an appeal to Carlos Leon, the father of her daughter Lourdes, Madonna hastened to refute such attempts to explain the meaning of the track and shared her vision of the main idea:
Retribution, vengeance, hatred, regret – that’s what I’m talking about in Frozen. Everyone will say, “This is a song about Carlos,” but it really isn’t. It’s just about people in general.
New York Times, 1998
Frozen release and achievements
The official release of the Frozen single took place on February 23, 1998, but a month before that, the song was played on a Singapore radio station, after which it immediately hit the Internet. The composition was a huge success and topped the charts in many countries, including the UK Singles Chart. It peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100.
In addition to Ray of Light, the track is featured on Madonna’s best-of compilations GHV2 (2001) and Celebration (2009).
Madonna’s accusations of plagiarism
In 2005, the Frozen scandal erupted. The Belgian court concluded that the main melody was taken from Salvatore Akaviva’s Ma vie fout le camp. Madonna was forbidden to sing the composition in Belgium, which, however, did not prevent the singer from performing it in 2009 at a concert in the country.
And in 2014, the decision was completely canceled. Edouard Scotto di Suoccio stated that both of the above works were copied from his 1983 Blood Night. The judges compared the three songs and decided that none of them were “original” enough to warrant plagiarism.
Video of Frozen by Madonna
The spectacular music video for Frozen was directed by Chris Cunningham. This work was awarded the MTV Video Music Award 1998 in the nomination “Best Special Effects”.
Interesting Facts
- Russian singer Linda, after the release of the video for Frozen, said that the American singer stole her image, embodied in the video filmed for the song “Crow”. The press then actively discussed the future lawsuit, but it did not come to it.
Frozen Lyrics by Madonna
You only see what your eyes want to see
How can life be what you want it to be
You’re frozen when your heart’s not open
You’re so consumed with how much you get
You waste your time with hate and regret
You’re frozen when your heart’s not open
If I could melt your heart
We’d never be apart
Give yourself to me
You are the key
Now there’s no point in placing the blame
And you should know I’d suffer the same
If I lose you, my heart would be broken
Love is a bird, she needs to fly
Let all the hurt inside of you die
You’re frozen when your heart’s not open
Lyrics of Frozen by Madonna Alternate
You only see what your eyes want to see
How can life be the way you want it
You’re cold as ice when your heart is on lock
You only care how much you get
You kill your time with hate and regret
You’re cold as ice when your heart is on lock
If I could melt your heart
We would never part
surrender to me
You are the key
Now there’s no point in blaming anyone
And you should know that I suffer the same
If I lose you my heart will be broken
Love is a bird, it needs to fly
Let no heartache remain in you
You’re cold as ice when your heart is on lock
