Born in Brynmawr to a Welsh mother and Greek father, Diamandis was raised in Abergavenny and moved to London as a teenager to become a professional singer, despite having little formal musical experience. In 2009, she came to prominence upon placing second in the BBC’s Sound of 2010. Her debut studio album, The Family Jewels

Are you satisfied?

Are You Satisfied? is a song by Welsh singer-songwriter MARINA. The song was written by Marina Diamandis and produced by Liam Howe, Richard Stannard and Ash Howes. It’s the first song from her first studio album, The Family Jewels.

Background

Marina posted demos to her MySpace, and was referred to as «Black and White» for the outro of the song on forums.

It’s a personal lament about trying to conform to others’ desires and expectations but also trying to be successful while being at ease with ones’ true self.

Track by Track

I decided to have Are You Satisfied? as the first song on the album because it gives insight into why I decided to do this whole thing and because I never feel satisfied or that happy, or I didn’t at the time, and I was interested in why I wanted to do this. I love music and I want to be a great singer, musician and performer because I feel like that’s my calling and that’s natural to me but as I said before you don’t just wake up and be famous. Even though I critique celebrity culture a lot and it’s one of the main themes of my album lyrically, I’m interested in why I’m drawn to it and why I wanted to get into this business if I’m so against it. […] It’s not about fame, it’s about being who you want to be without listening to the people who tell you ‘oh you can’t do this’ ‘you can’t do that’ you are the only person who knows what will make you truly happy in life. I suppose this song’s purpose is to challenge people or to give people courage to do what they want because ‘do you want an average life?’ no I don’t. I never did and I hope I won’t have one. So I suppose at the time I was living a very average life and I felt dissatisfied and that’s why this song came out!

Marina

Lyrics

Album version

[Verse 1]
I was pulling out my hair
The day I cut the deal
Chemically calm
Was I meant to feel happy
That my life was just about to change?
One life pretending to be
The cat who got the cream
Oh, everybody said
«Marina is a dreamer»
People like to tell you

[Pre-Chorus]
What you’re gonna be is not my problem
If you don’t see what I see
(It’s my problem, it’s my problem)
And I do not give a damn if you don’t believe
It’s my problem, it’s my problem
That I never am happy
It’s my problem, it’s my problem
If I’m always gonna feel

[Chorus 1]
Are you satisfied with an average life?
Do I need to lie to make my way in life?

[Verse 2]
High achiever, don’t you see
Baby, nothing comes for free
They say I’m a control freak
Driven by a greed to succeed
Nobody can stop me

[Pre-Chorus]
Cause it’s my problem
If I wanna pack up and run away
It’s my business if I feel the need to
Smoke and drink and sway
It’s my problem, it’s my problem
If I feel the need to hide
And it’s my problem if I have no friends
And feel I want to die

[Chorus 2]
Are you satisfied with an average life?
Do I need to lie to make my way in life?
Are you satisfied with an easy ride?
Once you cross the line will you be satisfied?

[Bridge]
Sad inside
In this life
Unsatisfied praying
Sad inside
In this life
Unsatisfied praying

[Chorus 2]
Are you satisfied with an average life?
Do I need to lie to make my way in life?
Are you satisfied with an easy ride?
Once you cross the line will you be satisfied?

[Outro]
Black, white
(Are you satisfied, are you satisfied?)
Black, white
(Are you satisfied, are you satisfied?)
Black, white
(Are you satisfied, are you satisfied?)
Black, white
(Are you satisfied, are you satisfied?)

Marina is a great artist with many songs that are worthwhile, her lyrics focus on the experience she has lived or moments in life where mostly young women can identify, it is very worth listening to her works.