Diamandis stated that she got the idea for the title "Teen Idle" from a fashion show she went to, noting that a grey knitted jumper and "Teen Idle" written on it inspired the song's title. Thinking it would be funny to rhyme "idle" with "suicidal," she decided to write the song about youth—specifically how she did not live out her teen years the way she wished she had.[1]
Official versions:
Album version: 4:14
Instrumental version: 4:15
Lyrics
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
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 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
I wanna be a virgin pure
A twenty-first 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
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 suicidal
The wasted years, the wasted youth
The pretty lies, the ugly truth
The day has come where I have died
Only to find I've come alive, come alive
I've come alive, oh oh, oh oh, oh oh
Oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh, oh oh oh oh
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?
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 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, come alive
In a 2015 Hollywire interview, an alternative artist, Melanie Martinez, had been asked to name a song that she wished she had written. Melanie had confessed that she wished she had written the lyrics of Marina's Teen Idle, saying that Marina is a brilliant songwriter.[2]
The rhythm and theme of this song's first verse are both mirrored in the first verse of "Immortal".
