Power & Control
Marina Lyrics
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Give a little, get a lot
That's just how you are with love
Give a little, get a lot
Yeah, you may be good-looking
But you're not a piece of art
I'm gonna make you fall
Power and control
I'm gonna make you fall
Women and men, we are the same
But love will always be a game
We give and take a little more
Eternal game of tug and war
Think you're funny, think you're smart
Think you're gonna break my heart
Think you're funny, think you're smart
Yeah, you may be good-looking
But you're not a piece of art
Power and control
I'm gonna make you fall
Power and control
I'm gonna make you fall
Women and men, we are the same
But love will always be a game
A human vulnerability
Doesn't mean that I am weak
That I am weak, I am weak
I am weak, I am weak, weak
Weak, weak, weak, weak
Power and control
I'm gonna make you fall
Power and control
I'm gonna make you fall
Women and men, we are the same
But love will always be a game
We give and take a little more
Eternal game of tug and war
Power and control
I'm gonna make you fall
Power and control
I'm gonna make you fall
I'm gonna make you fall
We give and take a little more
'Cause all my life I've been controlled
You can't have peace without a war
Without a war, without a war
The lyrics to Marina & the Diamonds' song "Power & Control" explore the dynamics of power and control in relationships. The singer acknowledges that in love, one often has to give a little to get a lot, and that the give and take can feel like an "eternal game of tug and war." She asserts her own power and control in the situation, proclaiming that she will make her partner fall.
The lyrics also touch on gender dynamics in relationships, stating that women and men are the same but that love will always be a game. The singer challenges her partner's assumptions about her, asserting that she is not weak despite her human vulnerability. She also pushes back against the idea that her partner is a piece of art to be adored, suggesting that his looks do not make him superior to her.
Overall, the lyrics convey a sense of agency as the singer navigates the power dynamics of her relationship. She is determined to maintain her own power and control, even as she engages in the give and take of love.
Line by Line Meaning
Power and control
The theme of the song: the dynamic of power and control in love.
Give a little, get a lot
How the subject of the song behaves in love: manipulative and transactional.
That's just how you are with love
The subject's belief that love is a game to be won, not a genuine emotion.
Yeah, you may be good-looking
The subject's recognition of the target's physical attractiveness, but their lack of regard for them as a person.
But you're not a piece of art
The subject's dismissal of the target as an object rather than a human being.
I'm gonna make you fall
The subject's intention to gain the upper hand in the relationship by making the target vulnerable.
Women and men, we are the same
The subject's assertion that gender has no effect on the power and control dynamic in love.
But love will always be a game
The subject's cynicism about the nature of love, and their expectation of manipulation and deceit.
Eternal game of tug and war
A metaphor for the constant struggle in a relationship to gain and maintain control.
Think you're funny, think you're smart
The subject's perception of the target as overconfident and underestimating of them.
Think you're gonna break my heart
The subject's belief that the target will try to control them, but their intention to subvert this control.
A human vulnerability
The subject's recognition that they, too, have weaknesses and vulnerabilities.
Doesn't mean that I am weak
The subject's rejection of the idea that vulnerability equates to weakness.
That I am weak, I am weak
Repeating this phrase creates a sense of defiance and self-acceptance in the face of perceived criticism.
Power and control
Reiterating the theme of the song.
I'm gonna make you fall
Repeating the subject's intention to gain control over the target.
'Cause all my life I've been controlled
The subject's motivation for wanting to exert control over someone else: they feel they've been controlled their entire life.
You can't have peace without a war
A cynical observation that the struggle for power in relationships is inevitable.
Without a war, without a war
Repeating this phrase emphasizes the song's themes of power, control, and conflict.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Marina Lambrini Diamandis, Steve Angello
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Aniela
Part 1: fear and loathing
After committing suicide, Electra begins yet another new life. She has high hopes for this one, hoping she won't be unhappy like in her previous lives
Part 2: radioactive
Electra finds a new boyfriend, and she feels happy, a change from her previous experiences. She ambitiously dives into the future
Part 3: the archetypes
Electra begins to feel like multiple people: a beauty queen, a housewife, a home wrecker/ heartbreaker, and a teen idle
Part 4: Primadona:
Electra lets the beauty queen part of her personality take over
Part 5: Su-Barbie-a
Electra begins to feel like the beauty queen is false, overly perfect, and transparent, and that everyone knows it's not really her. She feels like a Barbie, perfect but fake
Part 6: fear and loathing
Electra's boyfriend, sick of all of her issues, breaks up with her. She explodes, and tries to keep him, but he leaves.
giorgioz
Power
And control
Give a little, get a lot
That’s just how you are with love
Give a little, get a lot
Yeah, you may be good-looking but you’re not a piece of art
Power, control
I’m gonna make you fall
Power, control
I’m gonna make you fall
Women and men, we are the same
But love will always be game
We give and take a little more
Eternal game of tug and war
Think you’re funny, think you’re smart
Think you’re gonna break my heart
Think you’re funny, think you’re smart
Yeah, you may be good-looking but you’re not a piece of art
Power, control
I’m gonna make you fall
Power, control
I’m gonna make you fall
Women and men, we are the same
But love will always be a game
A human vulnerability
Doesn't mean that I am weak
That I am weak
I am weak
I am weak
I am weak
Weak
Weak (ah-ah, ah ah, ah ah, ah ah)
Weak (ah-ah, ah ah, ah ah, ah ah)
Weak (ah-ah, ah ah, ah ah, ah ah)
Weak (ah-ah, ah ah, ah ah, ah ah)
Power, control
I’m gonna make you fall
Power, control
I’m gonna make you fall
Women and men, we are the same
But love will always be a game
We give and take a little more
Eternal game of tug and war
Power, control
I’m gonna make you fall
Power, control
I’m gonna make you fall
I’m gonna make you fall
We give and take a little more
‘Cause all my life I’ve been controlled
You can’t have peace without a war
Without a war
Without a war.
yumbunny256
Ok, here is MY theory for this album. I have included 2 songs that are not in the “parts” because I feel like they are still essential to the story.
Part 1: Fear and Loathing. This is the song that concludes the album, but is part 1 here. I think this means that at this point, Electra Heart is already dead, which is why Marina does not have the heart on her cheek, and why she already seems to have learnt her lesson (I lived my life in bitterness… There is no crime in being kind… I’m done with trying to have it all.”) It is already the end. She also refers to the archetypes she once was when she was Electra Heart (“I lived a lot of different lives, been different people many times…Got different people inside my head, I wonder which one they like best…”) i.e. the four archetypes, “lived a lot of different lives” implies that she has already lived as these four archetypes, as Electra Heart. We haven’t been introduced to these “people inside her head” yet, but we will be in Part 3.
Part 2: Radioactive: The mood and attitude in this song is completely different to Part 1, and it seems too different to follow on from Part 1. It is much too upbeat compared with the sad tones of Fear and Loathing, and her attitude to love is completely different in this song (“Love is all that I fear”). This implies that this song must have happened in a completely different period of time, so must be a FLASHBACK to Electra Heart’s past, when she was alive (in fact, the WHOLE ALBUM is a flashback to Electra Heart’s past, until her death in Part 11). In this song, we flashback to where it all began, when Marina was becoming Electra Heart, before Electra Heart completely took her over. She wears a blonde wig to symbolise she is ready for a drastic transformation. We see her behaving irrationally, sawing a sofa, misbehaving in a shop, probably to let go of the anger she has. She has developed a negative attitude towards love, probably due to some heartbreak. She tries to convince herself that she was not the victim in the relationship breakdown, that it was HIS loss (“Baby know I’m the one who left you/You’re not the one who left me.”) (“Ready to be let down… Love is all that I fear”… ) she is scared of being hurt in a relationship again.
Part 3: The Archetypes: we are introduced to the archetypes, and Electra Heart is a bit of all of them: Housewife, Homewrecker, Beauty Queen, Idle Teen.
Homewrecker: The first archetype. She is ready for a complete transformation (“You’ll find me in the lonely hearts/Under ‘I’m after a brand new start’”) but not just a blonde wig like in Radioactive. She wants a permanent change, so dyes her hair blonde. Electra Heart is disgusted by the girls around her who feel the need for a serious relationship (“Girls and their curls and their gourmet vomit/Boys and their toys and their six inch rockets”) According to her, love has always been one-sided (“One will breed love, the other hate”) She prides herself on needing no one else and being a cruel player (“Deception, perfection are wonderful traits… And I don’t belong to anyone”). She’s a slayer, and she’s proud of it.
Part 4: Primadonna: for the first time, we see Marina with an eyeliner drawn heart on her cheek, which symbolises that she has fully become Electra Heart. This shows Electra Heart as the “Beauty Queen” archetype, she is obsessed with materialism and adoration, (“All I ever wanted was the world… I wanna be adored…”)
Part 5: Su-Barbie-a: the third archetype, the housewife. We see Marina’s face hidden, showing that Electra Heart has no sense of identity, like a housewife who belongs to her husband. Like most women in the industry, she is objectified and chosen for her looks over her true self (“Having the body that you have, having the face shape that you have, this really does work for you”). She always “belongs” to someone, and she hates it, like a Barbie doll, which is kind of the metaphor used here, the idea that women can be used for their looks (in both the industry and in relationships) and then thrown away (“Look at those great looking dolls! … But what do I do with my old Barbie?” implying that like dolls, they can be discarded when no longer needed and won’t suit the current trendy climate. “Barbie’s new and different!” is implying that the perfect body image is changing with time, and that women with the old “Barbie” body aren’t useful in the industry now so can be thrown away like any other Barbie doll)
Part 6: Power and Control: sick of her passive housewife self, Electra Heart decides to take back control in her relationship. We see her in the video playing mind games with her lover, controlling him, highlighting how there always seems to be a power struggle in relationships (“Women and men we are the same/But love will always be a game”). She wants to be the ruling power in her relationship.
Teen Idle: The last archetype ‘Idle Teen’ , we see Electra Heart’s more vulnerable side. It’s emotionally exhausting for her to constantly put up her ‘tough-girl’ image. She wishes she could be a cold-hearted person deep down (“I wanna be a real fake”) but she can’t, it’s an act and she knows it but she can’t let the mask slip. She hates her adult life, it’s too much effort, and looks back on her teen years, wishing she had lived them to the fullest, doing whatever frivolous things normal teens do, like being “a prom Queen fighting for the title” instead of feeling depressed and “suicidal”.
Part 7: How to Be a Heartbreaker: knowing she can’t afford to break, Electra Heart rebounds and let’s go of her “teen idle” self, and we see her as even more cold-hearted than before (but this is an act, she is using this as a defence mechanism because she is still afraid). She is ashamed that she let her guard down and showed us her true emotions in “Teen Idle”, so decides that it is time for another drastic transformation, so she dyes her hair black again to create an even more menacing identity. We can see that in the video, the ribbon ties in her hair change colour with each different boy she is with, signifying that she changes herself to appeal to each different boy, she is worse than ever before. She tells us her rules on… well… how to be a heartbreaker (duh..?) and on of the rules is to “never wear your heart on your sleeve/unless you wanna taste defeat”. “Wear your heart on your sleeve” is a saying that means to show your true emotions or feelings. Electra Heart is telling us to never show our true emotions if we want to come out on top in a relationship, and at the bridge of the song, she tells us why she has decided to keep her cold-hearted mask on (“We don’t want our hearts to break… so it’s better to be fake”).
Part 8: E.V.O.L: Electra Heart monologues about how love is poisonous, she hates it. She has become so bitter about having any kind of serious relationship (“Every kiss you give me makes me sicker”) But we also here her say (“And I’m your dying beauty Queen”) signalling that Electra Heart is weakening. She is losing control of Marina and is slowly dying.
Part 9: The State of Dreaming: inspired by Marilyn Monroe, a model who tragically took her own life aged 35. Even though she took her own life, the beautiful image of her is strong enough for her to be remembered by. In the same way, people see Electra Heart as this pretty looking character, she is really just as vulnerable as the rest of us. In this song, Electra Heart acknowledges her fake mess and how she plays into a character that she is not deep down (“My life is a play”) and realises that all the material things she thought she desired are fake and meaningless (“I live my life inside a dream”).
Part 10: Lies: The whole point of Electra Heart being a cold-hearted heartbreaker was so she could make boys fall for her, only to throw them away like she once was. It is her way of making herself feel strong. But in this song, Electra Heart’s plan seems to have backfired. She got into a relationship with someone who she hoped to trick like every other boy, but she ended up falling in love with him, but HE was playing HER, and ended up beating her at her own game. Electra Heart seems to have given up here, she is tired of playing the “love game” she has always played: “You’re never gonna love me/So what’s the use?/What’s the point in playing /A game you’re gonna lose?” She has admitted defeat and she can’t help but fall in love with one who played her (“I can’t let you go…”) , even though he doesn’t feel the same (“I don’t wanna admit that we’re not gonna fit/No I’m not the type that you like”)
Part 11: Electra Heart is now completely broken. She is completely broken hearted and has admitted defeat, she has lost control over Marina. She admitted that the idea of materialism and stardom blinded her (“Lights they blind me”).
At the end of the video, she wipes the heart off her cheek, signalling that Electra Heart is dead and only Marina remains. She asks you to “go back to the start, where the holy father made his mark”. She asks you to go back to the beginning of the album, Fear and Loathing, which explains what led her to that place where she learnt her lesson (“There is no crime in being kind/Not everyone is out to screw you over/Maybe they just wanna get to know you”)
WE NOW GO BACK TO PART 1 LIKE ELECTRA HEART TOLD US TO: We know that Electra Heart is already dead in Fear and Loathing now as MARINA has learnt the lessons she should have, and has cut her hair short, unlike the Electra Heart in the Electra Heart video who has quite long hair, and has also no longer has the heart on her cheek. Basically, Fear and Loathing is put at the beginning, but is really the end. Electra Heart is no more.
Ju M.
"Yeah, you may be good looking but you're not a piece of art" SLAY
Carlos Arellano
+Ju M. Yass xd
Milky Day
IFKR
Tiara Ruiz
😍
Alex Murillo
I read this comment as soon as she sung that xD
Milky Day
Perfect timing XDD
Kitten Cuddles
"Electra Heart is the antithesis of everything that I stand for. And the point of introducing her and building a whole concept around her is that she stands for the corrupt side of American ideology, and basically that's the corruption of yourself. My worst fear—that's anyone's worst fear—is losing myself and becoming a vacuous person. And that happens a lot when you're very ambitious."
—Marina and the Diamonds discussing Electra Heart, the album's titular character.
PeepsILoveEllie
+Kitten Cuddles aaaaamen. preach.
Aüos. Real
I love Marina so much as i loved Electra Heart
Ama Poblete
She did once say that Electra Heart was her most personal album and in which she expressed her feelings the most.