This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
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, I 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, I 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
Come alive, I've come alive
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 ugliness of being a fool
Ain't youth meant to be beautiful?
Yeah, I wish I'd been, I 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
All our lives
(Feeling super, super, super)
(Feeling super, super, super)
(Feeling super, super, super)
All our lives
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, I 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, I 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
Come alive, I've come alive
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 ugliness of being a fool
Ain't youth meant to be beautiful?
Yeah, I wish I'd been, I 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
All our lives
(Feeling super, super, super)
(Feeling super, super, super)
(Feeling super, super, super)
All our lives
Lyrics submitted by Cobehn, edited by 14emma, phoebe9261, crazysistra
Teen Idle Lyrics as written by Marina Lambrini Diamandis
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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A lot of people are saying that this song has a very sarcastic base to it which could be true but when I listen to this song I get the impression that she is singing about her childhood (as i say could be completely wrong and she could have had a great childhood).
My personal view of this song sounds like it was a time in her life where she felt extremely depressed as we can see throughout the song she wants to be something shes not and feels 'Conned' because other people seem to have a better luck in life than her or better things.
Overall I just think the whole song is the different stages and worries people go through when they are really depressed, when your Jealous :'I wanna be a bottle blonde' , Anger/hate 'I want blood,guts', Loss of faith 'Burning up the bible', Regret 'the wasted years the wasted youth', Isolation/lonliness 'Oh god im gonna die alone' and then finally finding that spark of hope
'Only to find, I've come alive Only to find, I've come alive
Oh, alive (Feeling super, super, super!) (Feeling super, super, super!) (Feeling super, super, super!)
@Jamdexdan I think this is exactly what it is about. It’s a coming of age song, in a way. Thanks for the great explanation.
@Jamdexdan I think this is exactly what it is about. It’s a coming of age song, in a way. Thanks for the great explanation.