Lady Gaga Pays Tribute to Tony Bennett

Lady Gaga has finally broken her silence on the passing of Tony Bennett, with whom she was incredibly close ... and that's reflected in her moving tribute to the legend himself.

The singer posted a photo of herself and Tony, writing ... I will miss my friend forever. I will miss singing with him, recording with him, talking with him, being on stage together. With Tony, I got to live my life in a time warp. Tony & I had this magical power."

Gaga goes on to say that she felt like she was in another era while performing with Tony -- and goes on to describe valuable life lessons he imparted to her in a variety of ways.

She also adds this ... "I've been grieving the loss of Tony for a long time. We had a very long and powerful goodbye. Though there were 5 decades between us, he was my friend. My real true friend. Our age difference didn’t matter -- in fact, it gave us each something neither of us had with most people. We were from two different stages in life entirely--inspired."

LG says TB's Alzheimer's disease was both a blessing and a curse in her view -- because it taught her about vulnerability, and the value of cherishing people you love in the present.

She finishes ... "If I could say anything to the world about this I would say don’t discount your elders, don’t leave them behind when things change. Don’t flinch when you feel sad, just keep going straight ahead, sadness is part of it. Take care of your elders and I promise you will learn something special. Maybe even magical. And pay attention to silence -- some of my musical partner and I’s most meaningful exchanges were with no melody at all."