Lady Gaga closes her Joanne album with this ballad about the 2012 death of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed Florida teen who was fatally shot by George Zimmerman. The mixed race nightwatchman was later found not guilty of second-degree murder and of manslaughter. Speaking with Beats 1's Zane Lowe, Gaga said: "I was overwhelmed by the fact that people just stood around and didn't do anything about it and that the justice system continues to over and over again not seek justice for these families." The singer went on to explain how her young African-American fans tell her their fears about their safety. "They tell me they drive in their cars and if they hear a siren there is a paranoia that rushes through their body that they freeze up, that they can't think," said Gaga. "This is a tremendous anxiety; this is something that I care about. This is something that has to stop, something that we all need to heal from."
Lady Gaga wrote this with her longtime collaborator RedOne. Their major breakthrough was 2008's "Just Dance," the debut single that helped launch the Mother Monster into superstardom. The Moroccan-Swedish producer also collaborated with Gaga on the hit singles "Poker Face" and "Bad Romance." This is his only songwriting credit on the standard edition of Joanne.
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