Diamandis' musical style ranges from keyboard-based ballads to more up-tempo new wave-style songs with full band backing. She has cited a wide range of influences such as Daniel Johnston, Blondie, Patti Smith, Nirvana, PJ Harvey, Elliott Smith, Dolly Parton, Britney Spears and Madonna.
Su-Barbie-A
Marina & the Diamonds Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's quick curl-Barbie and mod-hair Ken!
But what do I do with my old Barbie?
S-U-B-A-R-B-I-E-A, S-U-B-A-R-B-I-E-A
Yeah, Su-Barbie-A
If you're going to tell me you don't like this dress
Oh, honey!
We are fantastic, hey hey hey
The fact is:
You, being the artist that you are
Being the age that you are
Having the body that you have
Having the face shape that you have
This really does work for you!
Now, you are not, uh
Being the real adult in this
Not with this hair, and not with this dress!
Honestly, I feel like I'm celebrating
(Barbie) And I love
Girl, be honest
Is there any possible way you could think for a second
About what somebody else might think of this?
Doll!
I love your wives, They're so, uh
Fuzzy fuzzy cute cute!
Barbie's changed, Barbie's new and different!
The Stepfords!
I don't like tea, I like gin
Even if they don't like me, they all know me
Be who you wanna be, girl!
B-A-R-B-I-E
Tanner wants a treat!
So cute! Oh excuse us!
You potty trained Tanner, Barbie!
Barbie girl
The song Su-Barbie-A by Marina & The Diamonds is essentially an ode to the iconic doll, Barbie. The opening lines of the song highlight the popularity and glamour of the Barbie dolls, with Marina questioning who those great looking dolls might be. With quick curl-Barbie and mod-hair Ken being visually striking examples of the Barbie collection. The song then transitions into how newer models of the Barbie line are different, better, and have evolved with the times. This is seen through the repetition of the chorus which spells out S-U-B-A-R-B-I-E-A, implying that it is a new and improved version of Barbie.
In the first verse, Marina ponders what to do with her old Barbie, hinting at a sense of nostalgia and uncertainty in letting go of childhood memories. This is followed by the second verse where Marina pokes fun at her lack of maturity, as her reaction to someone disliking her dress is sticking her head in the oven. However, the chorus returns, reminding her and the listener that Su-Barbie-A is still fantastic. The bridge of the song is a bit of playful banter between Marina and someone who could be a critic, with her asking if they can think for a second about what someone else might think of her style. The final words of the song return to the love for Barbie and her latest iteration.
Overall, the song Su-Barbie-A is a fun, pop-infused celebration of Barbie, with Marina conveying both the joy of nostalgia and the excitement of reinvention that are a part of the Barbie brand. The song not only relates to the toy, but also celebrates individuality, growth and not caring about what anyone thinks of you.
Line by Line Meaning
Who are those great looking dolls?
I am admiring the beauty of Barbie dolls and their perfect looks.
It's quick curl-Barbie and mod-hair Ken!
I am referring to the different versions of Barbie and Ken dolls, specifically their hairstyles.
But what do I do with my old Barbie?
I am questioning what to do with an old Barbie doll that may no longer fit my current style.
S-U-B-A-R-B-I-E-A, S-U-B-A-R-B-I-E-A, Yeah, Su-Barbie-A
I am spelling out the name of my own version of Barbie dolls, Su-Barbie-A.
If you're going to tell me you don't like this dress, I'm sticking my head right in the oven. Oh, honey!
I am exaggerating my reaction to criticism of my stylistic choices, stating that I would rather die than be told I don't look good.
We are fantastic, hey hey hey
I am affirming the greatness and uniqueness of myself and my Barbie dolls.
The fact is: You, being the artist that you are, Being the age that you are, Having the body that you have, Having the face shape that you have, This really does work for you!
I am claiming that my style and image are perfect for me, given my profession, age, body type, and facial features.
Now, you are not, uh Being the real adult in this, Not with this hair, and not with this dress!
I am acknowledging that my choice of style may not be considered mature or adult-like, but it is still true to myself and my creativity.
Honestly, I feel like I'm celebrating (Barbie) And I love
I am expressing my joy and enthusiasm for Barbie dolls and their culture.
Girl, be honest Is there any possible way you could think for a second About what somebody else might think of this?
I am challenging the idea that one should care about others' opinions when it comes to their personal style and self-expression.
Doll! I love your wives, They're so, uh Fuzzy fuzzy cute cute! Barbie's changed, Barbie's new and different! The Stepfords!
I am appreciating the new and diverse versions of Barbie dolls, which deviate from previous stereotypical portrayals like the Stepford wives.
I don't like tea, I like gin Even if they don't like me, they all know me
I am expressing my unconventional taste and preference for alcohol over tea. I am also asserting my individuality and fame, regardless of whether people like me or not.
Be who you wanna be, girl! B-A-R-B-I-E Tanner wants a treat! So cute! Oh excuse us! You potty trained Tanner, Barbie! Barbie girl
I am encouraging girls to embrace their desired identity and showing a playful moment of training dolls like they are real pets or children. Lastly, repeating the song title 'Barbie Girl' as a nod to the popular culture around this iconic doll figure.
Contributed by Annabelle V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
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.
addie [:
Lyrics:
Who are those great looking dolls?
It's Quick-Curl Barbie and Mod Hair Ken!
But what do I do with my old Barbie?
S-U-B-A-R-B-I-E-A x2
Yeah, Ooh
If you're going to tell me you don't like this dress I'm stick my head right in the oven (that hold me)
I feel fantastic!
Hey hey hey!
You'd be here expecting more the age that you are,
Having the body you have,
This really does work for you!
Now you are not fading into invisibility in this
Not with the hair, not with this dress!
Honestly, I feel like I'm celebrating
Barbie! You dance horrible!
Barbie, is there any possible way you could think for a second about what somebody else might think of you?
Doll! (Laughter)
I love your wives, they're soo.. umm...
FUZZY FUZZY CUTE CUTE :D
Barbie's Changed! Barbie's new and different!
The stepfords (Cheering)
I don't like tea, I like Gin.
Even if they don't like me, they all know me.
Be who ya wanna be, GIRL!
B-A-R-B-I-E
Tanner wants a treat!
Sooo cute!
Oh excuse us! You potty trained Tanner, Barbie!
Barbie Girl!
HOPE THIS HELPEDD X3
Pan's Old Little Fish
All samples!
0:02
Quick-Curl Barbie and Mod Hair Ken Advert (1973)
0:11 and 1:27
Twist and Turn Barbie Advert (1967)
0:32
A line from The Stepford Wives (1975)
0:39
I Feel Fantastic video (2006)
1:22 and 1:30
Lines from the remake of The Stepford Wives (2004)
1:25
Parry Gripp’s song ‘Fuzzy Fuzzy Cute Cute’ (2009)
1:34
Aldi Diplomat Red Label Tea Bags Advert (2011)
1:45
Barbie Doll and Tanner the Dog Advert (2006)
I don’t know the other ones. I got these from whosampled.com and they weren’t listed like the ones here. If I find out where they’re from I will add them here! 💕
Troubled Paradise
Imagine if this song was playing while you were walking through a haunted house or something, it would be creepy. I Love Marina
noah vinyl
Gonna play this at a sleepover at 3 am
Ana Lucia
I can imagine it.
Taylor Tot
I’d love it
Guzzy Green
Omg imagine your in a horror movie and your the final girl and your about to face the killer and this is the theme song
Tea page 🍵
Yesss 😭💀
SERA Xx
To me, it seems like her face is in darkness because she's 'faceless', presented as just a body with a pretty dress on. That's all you're given to judge her by.
It says a lot about how women are presented in the media, by advertising companies etc.
Тимофей Анохин
It's just a wishful thinking.
bat__vids
@J that is the creepiest fact ever from electra heart
Korosuke
The industries you mention are dominated by women though. I don't think it has to do with gender but with shallowness of society as a whole.