Music Friday: Lady Gaga's 'Blade of Grass' Was Inspired by Her Own Love Story

Welcome to Music Friday when we bring you songs with jewelry, gemstones or precious metals in the title or lyrics. Today, we turn our spotlight on Lady Gaga’s “Blade of Grass,” a tender and haunting ballad inspired by her own love story.

The story begins in Gaga’s own backyard, where she and tech entrepreneur Michael Polansky shared a quiet moment discussing the idea of marriage. “He said to me, ‘If I ever proposed to you, how do I do that?’” Gaga recounted. “And I said, ‘Just get a blade of grass from the backyard and wrap it around my finger.’” True to her words, Polansky did exactly that when he proposed on April Fool’s Day 2024.

But the modest blade of grass wasn’t the only ring Polansky had planned. He also presented Gaga with a breathtaking oval-cut diamond ring, estimated to be worth up to $2 million. The stunning sparkler features a 10-carat center stone set on an 18-karat white and rose gold pavé band, accented with natural pink ombré diamonds and a hidden white diamond halo.

Still, it was the symbolic blade of grass, cast in resin to preserve its sentiment, that touched Gaga most deeply. “I love them both,” she told The Howard Stern Show audience, “but the blade of grass, you can’t replace something that has a meaning like that.”

That deeply meaningful moment was the inspiration behind “Blade of Grass,” a love song Gaga co-wrote with Polansky. The lyrics echo the intimacy of the moment: “Come on and wrap that blade of grass / Around my finger like a cast… / Come on and wrap that blade of grass / And we’ll make it last.”

In interviews, Gaga has described the song as “a love song between the two of us” that also serves as a reflection on the journey it took to find love. The song is rooted not only in joy, but also in memory — the same backyard where the proposal took place was also the site of her late friend Sonja Durham’s wedding, held shortly before Durham’s passing in 2017. “Blade of Grass” becomes, then, a poignant tribute to the bittersweet nature of love, life and remembrance.

"Blade of Grass" was featured as the 13th track on Gaga's chart-topping 2025 album, Mayhem. The album charted in 32 countries and claimed the #1 spot on both the US Billboard 200 and the Billboard Canadian Albums chart. At the Little Monster Press Conference hosted by Spotify, Gaga singled out “Blade of Grass” as her favorite song on the album, not only for its beauty, but for the deeply collaborative and emotional experience of creating it.

Lady Gaga, born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta in 1986, is no stranger to emotional songwriting and show-stopping talent. Since the release of The Fame, her 2008 debut studio album, featuring mega-hits like “Just Dance” and “Poker Face,” she has reinvented herself across genres and mediums. Alongside her musical accomplishments, Gaga has earned 14 Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes and an Academy Award — cementing her status as one of the most versatile and lauded artists of her generation.

Whether it’s symbolically wrapped in platinum, diamonds or a blade of grass, love — like music — shines brightest when it comes from the heart.

Please check out Gaga's live performance of "Blade Of Grass" from Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The lyrics are below if you'd like to sing along…

"Blade of Grass"
Written by Lady Gaga, Andrew Watt, Mike Lévy and Michael Polansky. Performed by Lady Gaga.

Lovers kiss in a garden made of thorns
Traces of lonely words, illusions torn

You said, "How does a man like me love a woman like you?"
I said, "Hold me until I die and I'll make you brand new"

Come on and wrap that blade of grass
Around my finger like a cast
'Cause even though the church burned down
I'll be your queen without a crown
I've been so lonely in this field
Fighting a battle with no shield
Come on and wrap that blade of grass
And we'll make it last

This is the lawn of memories I mourn
I fall into your eyes, shelter from storm

You said, "How does a man like me love a woman like you?"
I said, "Hold me until I die and I'll make you brand new"

Come on and wrap that blade of grass
Around my finger like a cast
'Cause even though the church burned down
I'll be your queen without a crown
I've been so lonely in this field
Fighting a battle with no shield
Come on and wrap that blade of grass
And we'll make it last
Come on and wrap that blade of grass
And we'll make it last

I'll give you something
Yeah, it's no diamond ring
The air that I'm breathing
Forever's not enough
A song we'll both sing
Yeah, it's not the same thing
Yeah, it's not the same thing
Forever's not enough

Come on and wrap that blade of grass
Around my finger like a cast
'Cause even though the church burned down
I'll be your queen without a crown
I've been so lonely in this field
Fighting a battle with no shield
Come on and wrap that blade of grass
Wrap that blade of grass
Wrap that blade of grass
And we'll make it last
Come on and wrap that blade of grass
And we'll make it last

Credit: Photo by Justin Higuchi, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.