“Teen Idle” is an anamnesis of Marina’s high school years, speaking in hindsight of the remorse and sadness that had plagued her throughout. Marina’s ingenious title exudes the double meaning towards her convictions of an idolized teenage dream with an empty reality.
Marina explained to Amazon that...
[Verse 1]
I wanna be a bottle blonde
I don't know why but I feel conned
I wanna be an idle teen
I wish I hadn't been so clean
I wanna stay inside all day
I want the world to go away
I want blood, guts and chocolate cake
I wanna be a real fake
[Chorus]
Yeah, I wish I'd been a
Wish I'd been a teen, teen idle
Wish I'd been a prom queen, fighting for the title
Instead of being sixteen and burning up a bible
(Feeling super, super, super!)
Feeling super, super, super suicidal
The wasted years, the wasted youth
The pretty lies, the ugly truth
And the day has come where I have died
Only to find I've come alive
[Verse 2]
I wanna be a virgin pure
A 21st century whore
I want back my virginity
So I can feel infinity
I wanna drink until I ache
I wanna make a big mistake
I want blood, guts and angel cake
I'm gonna puke it anyway
[Chorus]
Yeah, I wish I'd been a
Wish I'd been a teen, teen idle
Wish I'd been a prom queen, fighting for the title
Instead of being sixteen and burning up a bible
(Feeling super, super, super!)
Feeling super, super, super suicidal
The wasted years, the wasted youth
The pretty lies, the ugly truth
And the day has come where I have died
Only to find I've come alive
Come alive, I've come alive
[Bridge]
I wish I wasn't such a narcissist
I wish I didn't really kiss the mirror when I'm on my own
Oh, God, I'm gonna die alone
Adolescence didn't make sense
A little loss of innocence
The ugly years of being a fool
Ain't youth meant to be beautiful?
[Chorus]
Yeah, I wish I'd been a
Wish I'd been a teen, teen idle
Wish I'd been a prom queen, fighting for the title
Instead of being sixteen and burning up a bible
(Feeling super, super, super!)
Feeling super, super, super suicidal
The wasted years, the wasted youth
The pretty lies, the ugly truth
And the day has come where I have died
Only to find I've come alive
Only to find I've come alive
Only to find I've come alive
[Outro]
Come alive
(Feeling super, super, super!)
(Feeling super, super, super!)
(Feeling super, super, super!)
Come alive
Teen Idle was written by MARINA.
Teen Idle was produced by Liam Howe.
In a track-by-track interview about Electra Heart, Marina said of “Teen Idle:”
I got the idea for the title from a fashion show that I went to. It was for one of my favorite designers, Ashish, and part of his new collection, he had these big grey jumpers with massive holes in them and on the front...