麻醉自己

創作與錄製

《Dope》最初被命名為《I Wanna Be with You》，由Gaga在倫敦iTunes音樂節上表演，稱其為一首寫給粉絲、表達其在髖關節撕裂的康復過程中對粉絲的想念的頌歌。歌曲由Gaga、DJ White Shadow、Dino Zisis和Nick Monson合寫，由Gaga和Rick Rubin製作。 歌曲被Gaga描述為「電子民謠」（electronic ballad）、「一首粉絲聖歌催生的內心深切告白」（"the evolution of a fan song that became a deep confession in me."）正式曲目名稱最終被確定為「Dope」，並在2013年10月9日隨專輯曲目列表公布而公布。該詞在英文中泛指毒品，也可以特指海洛因或大麻。錄音室正式版本僅保留了初始版本的基本旋律，歌詞幾乎被完全改掉。
在與英國Kiss FM的訪談中，Gaga稱《Dope》是她創作的最為私人化（personal）的歌曲。由於感到專輯需要更為自傳性和自白式的內容和表現其脆弱面的歌曲，Gaga與Rick Rubin合作製作了這首歌曲。在製作過程中，Rubin讓Gaga按自己希望的方式製作歌曲，而Rubin只是協助錄製。她同時對Kiss FM說：「《Dope》實際上是關於我成長以來與各種各樣的『癮』作鬥爭的經歷。」

作曲

據Slant Magazine雜誌的Sal Cinquemani，《Dope》是一首「電子搖滾哀樂」（electro-rock lament）、「在愛爾蘭民謠的血管中（in the vein of Irish folk ballad rue）」。據PopCrush的Amy Sciaretto，《Dope》聽來是「戲劇性、鋼琴主導的強有力的民謠（dramatic, piano-driven power ballad）」，擁有「喜憂參半的主題」，並將其描述為「聽起來像是她拜訪了她的音樂繆斯後起床，沒刷牙、沒大喝一口威士忌，就坐在鋼琴旁、開始唱歌。歌曲聽起來如此原始自然。」 
Gaga以酒醉般、連結線般的聲音開始歌曲，開始的歌詞為「我發誓這是我的最後一杯 / 但我知道我又喝醉了 / 因為我失去了唯一的朋友。」（ "I promise this drink is my last one / I know I fucked up again / Because I lost my only friend"）歌曲的作曲和音樂元素在深沉性（contemplative nature）上使人回想起Gaga之前收錄於《Born This Way》中的歌曲《Hair》，並因其鋼琴主導的旋律和強有力的聲音表現而與蕾哈娜的2013年單曲《Stay》相似。歌曲聽起來更像戲劇音樂，但沒有任何音樂風格。在音樂伴奏上，除了鋼琴和微弱的合成器外別無他物，這使得Gaga的演唱成為了歌曲的著重點。 
歌詞上，歌曲講述了藥物濫用、渴望一段持久感情勝過毒品。在到達歌曲的hook"I need you more than dope"之前，Gaga唱道「最後一個泡芙和最後兩個遺憾 / 三種精神和孤獨的十二步」（「Just one last puff and two last regrets/Three spirits and 12 lonely steps「）.Sciaretto 認為歌詞「生在高潮刺激中 / 令我如此憂悶空虛」（"I feel so low / From living high"）是Gaga的最棒的歌詞，因其談論了難以企及的自我覺悟。歌曲憂傷的旋律補充了歌詞表達的內容，帶來了多層的分析。據電視頻道Fuse的Joe Lynch，《Dope》是Gaga最為私人的歌曲之一。他同時認為歌詞"I promise this drink is my last one / I know I fucked up again / Because I lost my only friend"是影射了與Gaga對簿公堂的前助理Jennifer O'Neil。

發行與專輯封面

Gaga已在社交媒體Instagram 上面發布了兩張手寫的《Dope》歌詞。如"Been hurtin' low from living high, Toast one last puff and two last regrets" 和"each day I cry, I feel so low, from living high"的歌詞，以及」#DOPE「的標籤都影射了毒品吸食。這些照片引發了Instagram對於Gaga需要幫助的擔憂，於是向Gaga發送了電子郵件，寫道「嗨，Instagram社區的成員在看到你共享的帖子後，產生了對你的健康與否的擔憂。我們提供援助，為您提供一些重要的安全信息。」Gaga對該封郵件不屑一顧，並將其截圖發至Twitter以表嘲諷。在《ARTPOP》曲目列表公布後，Gaga在Instagram上面發布了一張她自己的照片，其中她頭戴著以NASA的logo為樣式的鴨舌帽，但上面的「NASA」被替換為「DOPE」。
在2013年10月31日，Gaga在Twitter上透露《Dope》是《ARTPOP》發行之前最後發行的歌曲，將在11月4日提供數位下載。單曲的專輯封面也被公布，其中Gaga身穿黑色軟盤帽，淺黑色的頭髮散在肩上，超大尺寸、四方的雙排扣西裝外套，透視內褲，黑色的皮革靴和一個讓她的牙齒顯得更大的牙套。  她的眼睛被一條圍巾遮住，在她腹部和她胯部周圍有淤青。Idolator作者Mike Wass將其稱為「科學怪人和麥可·傑克森的混合」（"a cross between Frankenstein and Michael Jackson"）。赫芬頓郵報的Matthew Jacobs認為這個專輯封面比起《ARTPOP》之前發行的其他單曲的專輯封面更為適度。MTV新聞的John Walker將其與提姆·波頓（美國著名導演）的作品相比較，稱其為「恐怖」。他將Gaga的臉和牙套描述為「頗似埋了很久的用鈦澆鑄的頭蓋骨的無粘性的牙齒「（"[resembling] the gum-less teeth of a long-buried skull cast in titanium"）」，並認為手和腿是假肢。另外他說這個封面使他想起了Janet Jackson在《滾石》雜誌1993年某期上面的照片。 Lily Harrison from E! Online complimented Gaga for taking the fashion of grills to a "whole new level". She commended the singer's ability to portray her toned figure in spite of the "odd ensemble". A writer for Metro felt that the singer was as "peculiar as ever" on the artwork. Emma Kelly from Daily Star called the cover "creepier" than any horror film and felt that the wide jacket made the singer appear as a rugby player. She compared the digitally altered smile to the cover for electronic musician Aphex Twin's EP, Come to Daddy (1997) where similar inflated grills were present. Fashion website Refinery29's Leila Brillson felt that the artwork was more of a surrealist move which made Gaga look like a "nightmarish" version of virtual band Gorillaz. Brillson was also unclear if the bruises were related to the song.

評價

Slant Magazine的樂評人Sal Cinquemani對歌曲給出了正面評價。他之前對iTunes Festival上面表演的初始版本的乏味的「編排」和「低級的」旋律表示不屑，但對最終版本表示讚揚。他說：「Gaga對公眾關注的其與毒癮的抗爭已經十分公開。無論這是不是她換上的又一件衣服，已經寫出了一首具有強信服力的懺悔聖曲。」 Amy Sciarretto from PopCrush gave it 4.5 stars out of 5, complementing the song for its "raw" and simplistic nature, which allowed Gaga's voice to be "the focal point and the centerpiece". She concluded by saying that "Dope" was "confessional pop at its very best". Idolator reviewer Christina Lee believed that with "Dope", Gaga had found another novel way of stripping herself down in the song, and complimented the singer's vocals in the song. Michael Cragg from The Guardian, who was granted an early listen to Artpop, felt that the song was an emotional highlight of the album, denoting it as the record's "one real moment of calm" and "the album's most tender moment". However, Cragg was skeptical about the line "I need you more than dope", feeling it to be a less impressive comparison. 
Georgina Littlejohn from Entertainmentwise called the track "a passionate love song that proves that Gaga is as much a songwriter as an entertainer." Alex Young from Consequence of Sound praised Gaga's vocals and deemed the track "easily the best track to surface from Artpop thus far". Jason Lipshutz from Billboard called the song a "Broadway show-stopper", adding that Gaga's broken vocals are brilliant and bruising. Jim Farber from New York Daily News felt the song expressed "great need in the lyrics while displaying only bravado in her delivery." Bradley Stern from MuuMuse found the "wailing piano ballad" to be among the weakest tracks from Artpop.

現場演出

Gaga在2013年11月3日在2013YouTube頒獎典禮上首次表演了《Dope》。她在紅毯上頭戴黑色禮帽，黑色墨鏡，穿著黑色的皮革襯衫、戴著專輯封面上同樣的黃色腐爛牙套。 表演時她身著法蘭絨襯衫，頭戴棕色假髮，頭戴DOPE帽，素麵朝天。整場表演僅以Gaga自己彈奏的鋼琴作為樂器。演出極具情緒化，燈光微弱，Gaga的眼淚貫穿始終。Nidhi Tiwari from International Business Times favored the performance, calling it "stupendous" and "emotionally draining". Gil Kaufman from MTV News found the performance to be pensive, saying that "leave it to 女神卡卡 to go completely the other direction [than the tone of the show]". Jon Caramanica from The New York Times complemented Gaga's "easiest-to-consume" performance for being "taut and focused" without any error in its execution. Conversely, Jason Lipshutz from Billboard was critical of the performance, feeling that it "failed to be the emotional stunner it desperately deserved to be". He believed that although directors Spike Jonze and Chris Milk kept the focus on Gaga's tear-stricken face to give it an intimate feel, the screaming of the audience ruined the performance. Liam O'Brien from The Independent reported that around 4,000 people left the online stream during Gaga's performance, although the number of audience streaming the show was not much.