Goodhousekeeping: Lady Gaga told
Variety that the song doesn't just connect Ally (Gaga) and Jackson's (Cooper) romance. That's the "shallow," if you will. What's actually happening in "the deep end" is something much more profound, she says.
The Best Actress nominee sees the lyrics having special meaning, especially in light of the #MeToo movement:
"We are living in a time where there’s so much conversation about women’s voices being heard ... Men listening to those voices. And also, men not listening to those voices. Women being silenced in very public ways, like Dr. [Christine Blasey] Ford with Justice [Brett] Kavanaugh. Judge Kavanaugh being appointed is basically like telling every single woman in the country that’s been assaulted, ‘We don’t care. Or we don’t believe you.'"
And so, with "Shallow," she says the words signify a time when men and women are having an open dialogue with each other.
"That conversation is what makes the song successful and beautiful and why people cry when they hear it," Gaga said. "It’s because that man and woman connect, and they are listening to each other."