20 Meanings
Add Yours
Share
Q&A

Numb Lyrics

One track mind, like a goldfish
Stuck inside my petri dish
I can't breathe, and I can't smile
This better be worth my while

I feel numb most of the time
Lower I get the higher
I'll climb, and I will wonder why
I got dark only to shine
Looking for the golden life
Oh, it's a reasonable sacrifice

C-C-C-Cry

Forego families, forego friends
That's how it started, and how it ends
I can't open up and cry, 'cause I've been silent all my life

I feel numb most of the time
The more I get the higher
I'll climb, and I will wonder why
I get dark only
To shine
Looking for the golden light
Oh, it's a reasonable sacrifice

C-C-C-Cry
C-C-C-Cry

Ooh, I get dark
Oh, and I'm in hell
I need a friend
Ooh, but I can't yell
Yeah, I'm no good
No good to anyone
'Cause all I care about
Is being number one

Shine
Looking for the golden light
Oh, it's a reasonable sacrifice

Shine
Looking for the golden light
Oh, it's a reasonable sacrifice
Sacrifice

I feel numb most of the time
The more I get the higher
I'll climb, and I will wonder why
I get dark only
To shine
And I'll light up the sky
Stars that burn the brightest
Fall so fast and pass you by
Puff like empty lighters

I feel numb most of the time
The more I get the higher
I'll climb, and I will wonder why
I got dark only
To shine
And I'll light up the sky
Stars that burn the brightest
Fall so fast and pass you by
Spark like empty lighters

Dum dum dum, duh dah da
Song Info
Submitted by
florencefan On Aug 08, 2009
Questions and Answers

Ask specific questions and get answers to unlock more indepth meanings & facts.

20 Meanings

Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.

Cover art for Numb lyrics by Marina and the Diamonds

This song is bloody amazing. You hear all these ballads from other pop artists that are out today and they are good, but they havn't got a scratch on this one. I love you Marina :)

Cover art for Numb lyrics by Marina and the Diamonds

some corrections..

One track mind, like a goldfish, Stuck inside my petri dish

I feel numb most of the time, The lower I get the higher, I'll climb, and I will wonder why, I got dark only, To shine. Looking for the golden light, Oh, it's a reasonable sacrifice.

Forego family, forego friends, That's how it started, and how it ends, I can't open up and cry, 'cause I've been silent all my life.

Cover art for Numb lyrics by Marina and the Diamonds

i think it's petri dish, not pantry dish. (:

Cover art for Numb lyrics by Marina and the Diamonds

Marina said her self that this song is about social awkwardness and the hole album is analyzing success.

With those two points its easier to understand the chorus

I feel numb most of the time, The more I get the higher, I'll climb, and I will wonder why, I get dark only, To shine. Looking for the golden light, Oh, it's a reasonable sacrifice.

She is climbing the ranks of stardom and wonders "why" "I get dark" refers to her social standing with her family and friends- she dosen't have any traditional friends and she closed them out which she thinks is a reasonable sacrifice for working so hard to shine as a super star.

but later she sings:

And I'll light up the sky, Stars that burn the brightest, Fall so fast and pass you by, Spark like empty lighters.

this basically gives us the "why?" she is asking. It questions what she actually got- she's lighting up the sky but who knows how long that will last- and it might just "pass you by" not be spectacular enough for it to have warranted the effort.

Song Meaning
Cover art for Numb lyrics by Marina and the Diamonds

To me this song means quite a lot it seems to describe how I feel most of the time. I agree with the comments about depression but would like to add that I think it relates a lot to how i feel with Bi polar disorder where I am up one minute and as low as can be the next. When I'm hyper I feel invincible as in 'I get dark only to shine' and 'all I care 'bout is being number one' and don't care about anything or anyone but when I'm down its like 'I can't breathe, and I can't smile, This better be worth my while' and reasoning with myself that 'Looking for the golden light, Oh, it's a reasonable sacrifice' Maybe I'm wrong but hey ho there you go. The song has helped me a lot though and for that Marina I am grateful lol

My Opinion

i suffer from bipolar too and was ashamed, marina suffering from the same symptoms has really helped me deal with it and now i'm not ashamed anymore, she is my idol and a wonderful role model

Not Valid

I was just about to say the same thing, it describes it perfectly. I know that even when I feel like shit(forgive my language) that I'm going to feel high as a kite with energy eventually afterwards. Hence "I feel numb most of the time. The more I get the higher I'll climb, and I'll wonder why, I got dark only to shine".

Cover art for Numb lyrics by Marina and the Diamonds

I feel numb most of the time, The more I get the higher, I'll climb, and I will wonder why, I got dark only, To shine. And I'll light up the sky, Stars that burn the brightest, Fall so fast and pass you by, Spark like empty lighters.

I loooove this bit. Her voice is absolutely amazing in this song :) I think this song is about stardom rather than depression, although I guess it could always be a bit of both.

Cover art for Numb lyrics by Marina and the Diamonds

I think it's about stardom;

The singer feels empty inside when theyexpect happiness to come with their fame. As they climb the ladder of stardom nothing changes. In the chorus the singer remarks how ironic it is that while they're shining for the whole world to see they feel so low ("I feel numb most of the time, the more I get the higher I'll climb and I will wonder why, I get dark only to shine").

"I can't open up and cry, cause I've been silent all my life" obviously means the person doesn't know how to show their feelings, so they bottle it up.

"Ooh I get dark ohh and I'm in hell, I need a friend ooh but I can't yell" is again the singer unable to properly show their feelings, even in the darkest hours.

"Yeah I'm no good no good to anyone, cause all I care about is being number one" they push aside everythig else to react that goal of fame, in a hope that maybe this time it'll bring happiness.

"And I'll light up the sky, stars that burn the brightest fall so fast and pass you by, spark like empty lighters" means that though now the singer is a budding star, it won't last and they'll soon be forgotten like all the others.

My Interpretation

the whole album is really hinging on this idea of success and striving for it. its insatiable. this song epitomizes this. It is about more than stardom or fame. I would even say that has little to do with this at all. it is about her personality and her desire to be the best and to achieve her dreams. she has left people behind because she is so focussed. she is constantly searching for more. - "looking for the golden light".

she feels numb because she is "one track mind". she rationalizes it to be a "reasonable sacrifice"....

Not Valid

^ The way she writes her songs, there is more than one interpritation. They have meaning on a personal level, but also apply to other things. Like Mowgli's Road, it was about her having to choose between being a mainstream singer and something lesser know, but it apllies to choices in general.

Plus, isn't stardom part of her dreams? She has said she used to be hung up on it all, wanted to be a big pop star, and "Oh No!" is certainly about sucess. So if this is applying to her dreams and need to be the best, it applies...

Not Valid
Cover art for Numb lyrics by Marina and the Diamonds

fucking absolutely BEAUTIFUL. omg. kinda sounds like Tori Amos. but better. (: love it.

I'm pretty sure this song is about depression, how it makes you numb and incapable of feeling and about being driven to search for stardom as an (albeit extreme) way of overcoming it. The sacrifices along the way are worth it, if only to feel better and escape the numbness of depression for just a short time.

Not Valid

I agree she does remind me of Tori, but as for being better, ha, hmm... But I do think she has the definite potential to reach Tori's level

Cover art for Numb lyrics by Marina and the Diamonds

I'm pretty sure this song is about depression, how it makes you numb and incapable of feeling and about being driven to search for stardom as an (albeit extreme) way of overcoming it. The sacrifices along the way are worth it, if only to feel better and escape the numbness of depression for just a short time.

(ok, call me dim, I meant to post this as a general comment not a reply. Sorry for the repetition)

it's ok

Not Valid
Cover art for Numb lyrics by Marina and the Diamonds

i totally agree with IsoT.

"rootless" is the way i feel like for many months, i'm listening now all the time, just glad, that i'm not the only one feeling like that. -marina i love you only for that song!) i was wondering, WHY i am that rootless... and it's just 20 minutes ago, when i realized, if it could be my own fault, cause i was trying to reach the bottom, just like in fight club- (free from everything that could own me).

and i think that's why "numb" is the song after "rootless"-

"Forgo families, forgo friends, That's how it started, and how it ends, I can't open up and cry, 'cause i've been saddened all my life."

that's where ia am now. i can count the friends i have on one hand (while smoking a cigarette)