Radioactive
Marina& The Diamonds Lyrics


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Lying on a fake beach
You'll never get a tan
Baby I'm gonna leave you drowning until you reach for my hand

In the night your heart is full and by the morning empty
But baby I'm the one who left you, you're not the one who left me

When you're around me, I'm radioactive
My blood is burning, radioactive
I'm turning radioactive
My blood is radioactive
My heart is nuclear
Love is all that I feel
I'm turning radioactive
My blood is radioactive

Waiting for the night fall, for my heart to light up
Oh baby I want you to die for, for you to die for my love

In the night your heart is full and by the morning empty
But baby I'm the one who left you, you're not the one who left me

When you're around me, I'm radioactive
My blood is burning, radioactive
I'm turning radioactive
My blood is radioactive
My heart is nuclear
Love is all that I feel
Ready to be let down
Now I'm heading for a meltdown

Tonight I feel like neon gold
I take one look at you and I grow cold
And I grow cold
And I grow cold

When you're around me, I'm radioactive
My blood is burning, radioactive
I'm turning radioactive
My blood is radioactive
My heart is nuclear
Love is all that I feel




Ready to be let down
Now I'm heading for a meltdown

Overall Meaning

In Marina & The Diamonds' song "Radioactive," the lyrics speak to the experience of being in a toxic and unhealthy relationship. The opening lines, "Lying on a fake beach, you'll never get a tan. Baby, I'm gonna leave you drowning until you reach for my hand," suggest a false sense of happiness and fulfillment in the relationship. The singer of the song takes pleasure in maintaining power over their partner and watching them struggle.


The chorus, "When you're around me, I'm radioactive. My blood is burning, radioactive. I'm turning radioactive. My blood is radioactive. My heart is nuclear. Love is all that I feel," portrays the damaging effects of this toxic relationship. The singer feels a sense of danger and destruction when they are with their partner, likening it to radiation. Their emotions are intense and overwhelming, leading to a feeling of being consumed by their unstable love.


The second verse reinforces the power dynamic within the relationship, with the singer asserting that they are the one who left their partner, not the other way around. This could suggest that they enjoy leaving their partner emotionally drained and empty, while they themselves feel empowered by the control they possess.


Overall, "Radioactive" captures the destructive and volatile nature of an unhealthy relationship, where one person takes pleasure in exerting power over the other while also feeling the adverse effects of their emotions.


Line by Line Meaning

Lying on a fake beach
Being in a fabricated and artificial environment


You'll never get a tan
You won't experience genuine warmth or connection


Baby I'm gonna leave you drowning until you reach for my hand
I will let you struggle until you beg for my help


In the night your heart is full and by the morning empty
At night, you feel loved and fulfilled but in the morning, you're left feeling empty


But baby I'm the one who left you, you're not the one who left me
I'm the one who ended the relationship, not you


When you're around me, I'm radioactive
Being near me has a toxic and harmful effect


My blood is burning, radioactive
I'm consumed by intense emotions and turmoil


I'm turning radioactive
I'm transforming into something dangerous and destructive


My blood is radioactive
My emotions are toxic and harmful


My heart is nuclear
My emotions are explosive and capable of causing devastation


Love is all that I feel
My only emotional experience is related to love


Waiting for the night fall, for my heart to light up
Anticipating the darkness to ignite my emotions


Oh baby I want you to die for, for you to die for my love
I desire absolute devotion, even if it brings harm to you


Ready to be let down
Prepared to be disappointed or hurt


Now I'm heading for a meltdown
I'm on the verge of a complete emotional breakdown


Tonight I feel like neon gold
I feel vibrant and shiny, yet artificial


I take one look at you and I grow cold
Your presence makes me distant and detached


When you're around me, I'm radioactive
Being near me has a toxic and harmful effect


My blood is burning, radioactive
I'm consumed by intense emotions and turmoil


I'm turning radioactive
I'm transforming into something dangerous and destructive


My blood is radioactive
My emotions are toxic and harmful


My heart is nuclear
My emotions are explosive and capable of causing devastation


Love is all that I feel
My only emotional experience is related to love


Ready to be let down
Prepared to be disappointed or hurt


Now I'm heading for a meltdown
I'm on the verge of a complete emotional breakdown




Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Mikkel Eriksen, Tor Hermansen, Marina Diamandis, Fabian (Quaver) Lenssen, Clyde Narain

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Most interesting comments from YouTube:

@delilahq7381

♡IDLE TEEN ERA♡
Living Dead - Electra is an idle teenager. Everyday feels the same for her.
Teen Idle - She regrets not having fun as a teen.
Fear & Loathing - She recognises she shouldn't be afraid to have fun and shouldn't loathe herself so much.
Lonely Hearts Club - She falls in love with a boy. She wants him to know how lonely she is and how this will affect the relationship.
♡HOUSEWIFE ERA♡
Radioactive - She lets go of everything and just has fun with this dude. She still feels loneliness and worries for the fakeness of the relationship, but doesn't let it bother her.
Bubblegum Bitch- She completely reinvents herself.
Primadonna- She's letting herself be selfish and hides behind her new dude, who she's now engaged/married to.
Starring Role - The fears and self loathing (hah, see what I did there?) she's been holding in have come out again. Her husband's cheating on her, he's got a few side hoes, so many that Electra is like FUCK NO YOU MAKING ME FEEL LIKE THE MF SIDE HOE, I SHOULD BE THE MAIN HOE
♡HOMEWRECKER ERA♡
Power & Control - Electra's fed up with her hubby's shit. She's letting him know what she's capable of.
EVOL - Electra thinks back to the beginning of the relationship and where she is now.
How To Be A Heartbreaker - Divorces her hubby. She's trying out what her ex did, breaking hearts and wrecking homes.
Homewrecker - She's been doing this for a while, but she's still empty. She's not satisfied with anyone anymore.
♡BEAUTY QUEEN ERA♡
Sex Yeah - Electra's squeaky clean image is gone. She's known as the town slut.
Valley of the Dolls - Electra has nowhere to turn, so she turns to drugs. Now she's the town slut & druggie.
The State of Dreaming - Electra hallucinates and reminisces her youth and "stardom".
Lies - Electra goes back to her ex, and he welcomes her. They try and try and try, but it's not the same anymore. The magic is gone. Electra kills herself with pills.



@noijonas

Okay, so my friend and I are hardcore Diamonds, and I came up with this theory from the videos and lyrics that he added on to and I'll try to explain it as best as I can!

Part 1: Fear and Loathing is Electra getting rid of who she once was. Perhaps it was after a breakup or something? This is not the first time, either. (been many people different times).

Part 2: Radioactive is Electra meeting a new man who she feels like she's on top of the world with. Together, they are toxic and destructive (when you're around me, I'm radioactive) but again, she feels amazing with him. Also, she tries blonde. Perhaps her boyfriend enjoys it.

Part 3: The Archetypes. Electra actually dyes her hair blonde and actually becomes Electra Heart, and is showing the world who she has become. Also, she is revealing that she and the man are now married (housewife).

Part 4: Primadonna. Electra is sure of who she is now, and she gets into a whole "I don't need anyone but myself" place. She feels like the queen of the world.

Part 5: SU-BARBIE-A, Electra's husband doesn't appreciate her telling him he's unneeded, and so they begin to argue constantly, as evidenced by the arguing in the background.

Part 6: Power and Control. Electra's marriage is beginning to fall apart, and they both begin cheating on each other. It becomes a literal power play for both of them.

Part 7: How To Be a Heartbreaker, Electra is now divorced from her husband and is now fooling around with several new men. Also, she removed the blonde from her hair, going back to her natural dark hair.

Part 8: E.V.O.L, Electra begins to realise that she is a little heartbroken and "fucked up" after divorcing her husband. The fun with new boys has run dry.

Part 9: State of Dreaming, Electra realises that she ruined her own life by being narcissistic and unappreciative. She realises that she's been "living in a make-believe land" where she didn't need anyone but herself.

Part 10: Lies. Electra gets her husband back. Sort of. He doesn't love her anymore, and she's completely heartbroken. Their relationship now is purely sexual, and she knows it will never be mended.

Part 11: Electra Heart. Electra's life has fizzed out, and after ruining her marriage and losing her husband and all the happiness she ever had, Electra kills herself.

Also: Perhaps her husband had a girlfriend or wife when he and Electra first met in Radioactive, and thats where "Homewrecker" comes in.

Thanks for reading this mess haha, hope it made sense! xx



@giorgioz1550

Lying on a fake beach
You'll never get a tan
Baby I'm gonna leave you drowning until you reach for my hand

In the night your heart is full and by the morning empty
But baby I'm the one who left you, you're not the one who left me

When you’re around me, I’m radioactive
My blood is burning, radioactive
I'm turning radioactive
My blood is radioactive
My heart is nuclear
Love is all that I feel
I'm turning radioactive
My blood is radioactive

Waiting for the night fall, for my heart to light up
Oh baby I want you to die for, for you to die for my love

In the night your heart is full and by the morning empty
But baby I'm the one who left you, you're not the one who left me

When you’re around me, I’m radioactive
My blood is burning, radioactive
I'm turning radioactive
My blood is radioactive
My heart is nuclear
Love is all that I feel
Ready to be let down
Now I’m heading for a meltdown

Tonight I feel like neon gold
I take one look at you and I grow cold
And I grow cold
And I grow cold

When you’re around me, I’m radioactive
My blood is burning, radioactive
I'm turning radioactive
My blood is radioactive
My heart is nuclear
Love is all that I feel
Ready to be let down
Now I’m heading for a meltdown.



All comments from YouTube:

@brendanwernisch4761

We need a club that literally only plays Marina. 

@curassavica

Call it the Lonely Hearts Club.

@stargirrrl_

😱💕🙏💖

@pastelcums5781

Omg, yes! 💞

@victorianhart6105

Yessss

@cecietomas2061

Where do I sign up?!?

94 More Replies...

@TheJJmaynard

My only question is, why isn't Marina more famous? She has a perfect voice, she's so beautiful, and overall just so lovely. 

@melikeerdemir3845

Because she's not a slut like other singers

@ThePsychoticPurple

I don't think it's a perfect voice but I like it just the same.

@mismag133

ThePsychoticPurple shh, it's perfect.

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