Deeper and Deeper

"Deeper and Deeper" is a song by American singer-songwriter Madonna from her fifth studio album Erotica. The song was released as the album's second single by Maverick Records in December 1992. The song was written by Madonna, Shep Pettibone and Anthony Shmikin and was produced by Madonna and Shep Pettibone. It also appeared on her 2001 compilation album GHV2 in a shorter edit form. "Deeper and Deeper" is a dance-oriented song. It also features other musical structures such as the use of acoustic guitars, with some Spanish, flamenco style lead and the use of castanet beats in the song's bridge. The song has been described by critics as "Pure Disco". Lyrically the song is a metaphor about a boy coming to accept his homosexuality. The song also shares similarities with Madonna's previous 1990 hit "Vogue" and also features a reference to "Vogue" towards the ending part of the song (the lyrics "You got to just let your body move to the music/you got to just let your body go with the flow" are taken from "Vogue"). There's also a reference to the song "Do-Re-Mi" from the musical The Sound of Music in the line "When you know the notes to sing, you can sing most anything". Despite the sexual nature of the Erotica album and the controversy surrounding Madonna and the album at that time, "Deeper and Deeper" was met with positive reviews and received significant radio and airplay. Music critics have called the song one of Madonna's strongest disco inspired tracks and complimented the song's refreshing dance oriented nature. Slant Magazine listed "Deeper and Deeper" as number thirty-six on their "Best Singles of the '90s" list. The music video for "Deeper and Deeper" was directed by Bobby Woods and shot on November 7-8, 1992. It was seen as a homage to artist Andy Warhol and his films. It was set in the 1970s and featured Madonna playing a character based on Edie Sedgwick who goes out to a nightclub and finds her friends and boyfriend (played by actor Udo Kier, who had appeared in the Andy Warhol films Flesh for Frankenstein and Blood for Dracula and had previously appeared on her "Erotica" video). The video received mixed reviews from both music critics and fans alike. It's considered one of Madonna's most intriguing yet least appealing music videos. Madonna has performed "Deeper and Deeper" in two of her concert tours. She first performed the song on The Girlie Show World Tour in 1993. This performance, like the song's music video, had a strong disco theme, with Madonna and her back up singers and dancers wearing afro wigs and bell bottom pants. The song was not included on a tour until eleven years later on the Re-Invention World Tour (2004) where, as opposed to the original disco version, it was performed as a slow-cut jazz version, with trumpets and an up-right bass and featuring Madonna dressed as a circus showgirl. It was also rehearsed for Madonna's 2006 Confessions Tour but ultimately was not included.