Song commentary: Madonna - Nothing Fails

I always associate Nothing Fails with Thanksgiving of 2010. Normally for Thanksgiving we went to my grandma's house, but by that time my mom was too ill to make the trip (only two and a half hours each way, but just getting in the car was a struggle for her), so that year we stayed home. I was just on the brink of getting into Madonna, and listening to samples on iTunes on my phone. I distinctly remember pulling up the Jason Nevins mix of Nothing Fails as I was standing on the stairs, about to go set up my computer to record Kylie in the Macy's parade. And though I was expecting to hear a pop bop, based on his Slayline and Clarko remixes, instead I got this rocky mix with Madge singing, "When I get lost in space I can return to this place, 'cause you're the one. Nothing fails, no more fears. Nothing fails, you've washed away my tears." It was so totally in keeping with what I was feeling, and what I needed to hear affirmed, at the time.

As I said, my mom died only a few weeks later, a week before Christmas. Nothing Fails was really the song that kept me going through all my grieving, and though Intervention is now my go-to Madonna song when I need encouragement, Nothing Fails still runs through my head sometimes. It's funny, because as I've discussed before, I grew up extremely religious, which was totally because of my mom. But now I haven't been to church in years, except for Christmas, and a couple times I went with my extended family, in both cases doing it just for the social bond. Yet when I was near suicidal a couple weeks ago, my impulse was to go to a church and pray. So "I'm not religious, but I feel so moved, makes me wanna pray, pray you'll always be here" is spot on for me, giving me that link between my present and my past, and the loss of my mom.

Then there's the first verse. About a year after losing my mom, I was head over heels in love with one of my best friends, who didn't feel the same way - and for a long time didn't even notice. "I'm in love with you, you silly thing, anyone can see" was so accurate, and I remember recalling it frequently as I walked around campus, trying to put her out of my head. It's kind of disconnected from the rest of the song, but it's important to me, albeit for a totally different reason.

So that's why I love Nothing Fails so much. It has a stronger musicality than most of the American Life album (much as I adore it), and fantastic lyrics. It really is one of Madonna's finest songs.

Originally posted to Popjustice on October 28, 2015.