"Power And Control"

"Give a little, get a lot,
That’s just how you are with love.
Give a little, get a lot,
Yeah, you may be good looking
But you’re not a piece of art.
   
Power and control,
I’m gonna make you fall.
  

[...]

Women and men we are the same,
But love will always be a game,
We give and take a little more,
Eternal game of tug and war."

"Power And Control" - Marina and The Diamonds

 

For the task of today we had to write about a love song we like, explaining the kind of love it is. I chose "Power And Control", from Marina And The Diamonds' second album Electra Heart (2012), which focuses in dysfunctional love and 'hoolywoodian' female archetypes from the second half of the XX century (especially the '50s and the '70s).

This concrete track is seen from the perspective of a girl engaged in an unhealthy relationship where both her and her pair are trying to get 'power' over each other. Marina said the song was about "the power struggle in relationships [where] there's always one person who wants the upper hand." Love in this ludic and unhealthy relationship is described as "eternal game of tug and war."

The music video illustrates it quite well. Marina is seen in a mansion with her man, with whom she plays mind games. The self-empowering overtaking is represented by a bucket (firstly full of paint, then full of water) thrown at a canvas by him at the first occasion and at him by her at the last chorus.

"Power And Control" is, then, an example of a relationship where the important isn't really love but the power and control one lover can exert on the other, treating it like a game; it is, then, an example of ludic unhealthy love.

Here are the lyrics, translated to Catalan:

ENGLISH CATALAN

(Power and control) (Poder i control)
Give a little, get a lot, Dóna una mica, pren molt,
That’s just how you are with love. És exactament com ets amb l'amor.
Give a little, get a lot, Dóna una mica, pren molt,
Yeah, you may be good looking, Sí, potser ets guapo,
But you’re not a piece of art. Però no ets una obra d'art.

Power and control, Poder i control,
I’m gonna make you fall. Et faré caure.
Power and control, Poder i control,
I’m gonna make you fall. Et faré caure.

Women and men we are the same, Dones i homes som el mateix,
But love will always be a game, Però l'amor sempre serà un joc,
We give and take a little more, Donem i prenem una mica més,
Eternal game of tug and war. Joc etern de conflicte i guerra.

Think you’re funny, think you’re smart, Penses que ets divertit, penses que ets llest,
Think you’re gonna break my heart. Penses que trencaràs el meu cor.
Think you’re funny, think you’re smart, Penses que ets divertit, penses que ets llest,
Yeah, you may be good looking, Sí, potser ets guapo,
But you’re not a piece of art. Però no ets una obra d'art.

Power and control, Poder i control,
I’m gonna make you fall. Et faré caure.
Power and control, Poder i control,
I’m gonna make you fall. Et faré caure.

Women and men we are the same, Dones i homes som el mateix,
But love will always be a game, Però l'amor sempre serà un joc,
A human vulnerability... Una vulnerabilitat humana...
Doesn't mean that I am weak? Això no significa que sóc dèbil?

That I am weak, I am weak, Que sóc dèbil, sóc dèbil,
I am weak, I am weak, weak, Sóc dèbil, sóc dèbil, dèbil,
(Ah-ah, ah ah, ah ah, ah ah), weak, (Ah-ah, ah ah, ah ah, ah ah), dèbil,
(Ah-ah, ah ah, ah ah, ah ah), weak, (Ah-ah, ah ah, ah ah, ah ah), dèbil,
(Ah-ah, ah ah, ah ah, ah ah), weak, (Ah-ah, ah ah, ah ah, ah ah), dèbil,
(Ah-ah, ah ah, ah ah, ah ah), weak, (Ah-ah, ah ah, ah ah, ah ah), dèbil,

Power and control, Poder i control,
I’m gonna make you fall. Et faré caure.
Power and control, Poder i control,
I’m gonna make you fall. Et faré caure.

Women and men we are the same, Dones i homes som el mateix,
But love will always be a game, Però l'amor sempre serà un joc,
We give and take a little more, Donem i prenem una mica més,
Eternal game of tug and war. Joc etern de conflicte i guerra.

Power and control, Poder i control,
I’m gonna make you fall. Et faré caure..
Power and control, Poder i control,
I’m gonna make you fall. Et faré caure.
I’m gonna make you fall, Et faré caure,

We give and take a little more, Donem i prenem una mica més,
‘Cause all my life I’ve been controlled, Perquè tota la meva vida he estat controlada,
You can’t have peace without a war, No pots tenir pau sense una guerra,
Without a war, without a war. Sense una guerra, sense una guerra.