Lady Gaga Opens Up About Her Dad's Heart Condition

Singer wrote new song, 'Speechless,' 'to remind [fans] that you only get one set of parents.'

Lady Gaga has become such an otherworldly icon, what with her wigs and unusual getups, that it's sometimes easy to forget that she's really Stefani Germanotta, a nice Italian girl From New York who wanted to be the next Madonna. A reminder of that came during her interview with New York's Z-100 radio station on Tuesday morning (October 27), when, along with promoting her forthcoming The Fame Monster expanded re-release, she also talked about her dad.

The re-release features a song, "Speechless," for her father, Joseph, in which she hopes he'll be convinced to seek the medical treatment he needs for his heart condition. "I've known about my father's condition for about 15 years. He told me whatever happens, happens," she said. "I was getting ready to lose my dad and I wrote this song."

She said she brought up the song not to plug her album but to remind her fans, especially the younger, rebellious ones, that they should treasure their parents. "I say this with such sincerity," she said. "I wrote this song called 'Speechless' that was this plea to my father. I sent it to him. I have a lot of fans who are really lovely, young, troubled fans, but I want to remind them that you only get one set of parents."

She performed a snippet of "Speechless" as part of a piano medley on "Saturday Night Live" earlier this month.

Last week, when her dad was in the hospital recovering from the open heart operation he received, she took to Twitter to let her fans know that all was well with him.

"My Daddy had open-heart surgery today. And after long hours, and lots of tears, they healed his broken heart, and mine. Speechless," she wrote. "At the hospital. Giving daddy a foot rub while he falls asleep. He's my hero."

Lady Gaga launches her Monster Ball Tour on November 27 in Montreal.