Marina and the Diamonds

Can't Pin Me Down

4 Meanings

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Can't Pin Me Down Lyrics

You can paint me any colour
And I can be your clown
But you ain't got my number.
Yeah, you can't pin me down.
Yeah, you can't pin me down.
Yeah, you can't pin me down.

Now I got your back up,
What do you not like?
Do you think I'm stuck up
Cause I'm always picking fights?
You might think I'm one thing
But I am another.
You can't call my bluff.
Time to back up motherfucker.

Do you really want me to write a feminist anthem?
I'm happy cooking dinner in the kitchen for my husband.
Yeah, yeah...
Yeah, yeah...

You can paint me any colour
And I can be your clown
But you ain't got my number.
No, you can't pin me down.
Yeah, you can't pin me down.
Yeah, you can't pin me down.

You ain't got me sussed yet,
You're not even close.
Baby, it's the one thing
That I hate the most
All these contradictions pouring out of me,
Just another girl in the twenty first century.

I'm never gonna give you anything you expect.
You think I'm like the others.
Boy, you need to get your eyes checked,
Checked,
Checked.

You can paint me any colour
And I can be your clown
But you ain't got my number.
No, you can't pin me down.
Yeah, you can't pin me down.
Yeah, you can't pin me down.

I could be your sister,
I could be your mother,
I could be your neighbor,
I could be your lover.
Do you like my body?
Do you like my mind?
What is it that you are having trouble to define?

I am never gonna give you anything you expect.
You think I'm like the others,
Boy, you need to get your eyes checked,
Checked.

You can paint me any colour,
I can be your Russian doll
But you ain't got my number.
No, you can't make me small.

You can paint me any colour
And I can be your clown
But you ain't got my number.
No, you can't pin me down.

Yeah, you can't pin me down.
Yeah, you can't pin me down.
Yeah, you can't pin me down.
Yeah, you can't pin me down.

Submitted by

dlsfjdsfdsfsadfd On Mar 18, 2015

You can paint me any colour
And I can be your clown
But you ain't got my number.
Yeah, you can't pin me down.
Yeah, you can't pin me down.
Yeah, you can't pin me down.

Do you really want me to write a feminist anthem?
I'm happy cooking dinner in the kitchen for my husband.
Yeah, yeah...
Yeah, yeah...

You can paint me any colour
And I can be your clown
But you ain't got my number.
No, you can't pin me down.
Yeah, you can't pin me down.
Yeah, you can't pin me down.

You ain't got me sussed yet,
You're not even close.
Baby, it's the one thing
That I hate the most 
All these contradictions pouring out of me,
Just another girl in the twenty first century.

I'm never gonna give you anything you expect.
You think I'm like the others.
Boy, you need to get your eyes checked,
Checked,
Checked.

You can paint me any colour
And I can be your clown
But you ain't got my number.
No, you can't pin me down.
Yeah, you can't pin me down.
Yeah, you can't pin me down.

I could be your sister,
I could be your mother,
I could be your neighbor,
I could be your lover.
Do you like my body?
Do you like my mind?
What is it that you are having trouble to define?

I am never gonna give you anything you expect.
You think I'm like the others,
Boy, you need to get your eyes checked,
Checked.

You can paint me any colour,
I can be your Russian doll
But you ain't got my number.
No, you can't make me small.

You can paint me any colour
And I can be your clown
But you ain't got my number.
No, you can't pin me down.

Yeah, you can't pin me down.
Yeah, you can't pin me down.
Yeah, you can't pin me down.
Yeah, you can't pin me down.

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Edit lightly

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When in doubt, ask the crowd

Not sure what they’re singing in that fuzzy bridge? Drop a question in the comments and let the music nerds swarm. Someone always knows.

dlsfjdsfdsfsadfd

Submitter

2015-03-18 23:00:05

4 Meanings

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by GoddessofLove

11y ago

This is probably my favorite song off of FROOT. Marina is a very big feminist in real life, and is very vocal about feminism and to me, this is Marina telling her lover and to society that she's a strong, independent woman who doesn't need a man to pin her down and keep her grounded.

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by tipsyGnostalgi

11y ago

I always thought that this song was speaking more to her portrayal by the media, rather than a lover. The media can always portray her one way ("you may think I'm one thing") , but they won't really know her ("but I am another"). They 'paint' her to be a feminist, but in reality, she's got no problem with cooking dinner for her man. The media can't pin her down because they won't ever really know her.

My Interpretation

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by gernerz

10y ago

I think GoddessofLove and tipsyGnostalgion are both close, but wrong on the meaning of this song. It IS about the media labeling her things that she feels that she is not. However, it isn't about feminism it is about labels in general. Something to the effect that you can label you me what you want, but I wont conform to that, ill continue being myself.

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by rachiedoubt

8y ago

I believe it's about wanting to not be defined by others, Marina did say so herself. I don't think it's about one specific type of person defining you, but rather can apply to any situation where others are trying to define you. For Marina, the media is an easy example but it goes further than that. I also could have sworn she said she wrote this because of something her mother did to inspire her.

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