Oh No! By Marina and the Diamonds.

1)Listen to the song and fill in the blanks.

Don't do_____, don't do ______
I'm only after ________
Don't need a ___________
I'll never soften my ________
Don't want _____, don't want _______
Want it fast, want it hard
Don't need ______, don't need ______
I just want to _________ a ________
I just wanna ______
I just wanna ______
I just wanna ______
I just wanna ______
I just wanna ______
[Chorus]
I know exactly what I ______ and who I want to ____
I know exactly why I ______ and talk like a ________
I'm now becoming my own self-fulfilled ________
Oh, oh no, oh no, oh no
One track ______, one track ______
If I fail, I'll _______
Maybe it is all a _____
'Cause I feel like I'm the ______
So I always act like I'm the _____
If you are not very _______
Your possessions will _______ you
TV ______ me how to feel
Now real life has no _______
It has no ______
It has no ______
It has no ______
It has no ______

It has no ______
[Chorus: x2]
I'm
I'm
I'm
I'm

gonna
gonna
gonna
gonna

_____, I'm gonna _____,

______, I'm gonna _____,
_____, I'm gonna _____
_____, gonna ____, _____, _____,______

[Chorus: x2]
Oh, oh no, oh no, oh no

2)Listen again and check your answers.

3)In pairs try to work out the meaning of the words you used to cpmplete the
lyrics.

4)Watch the video again and answer the following questions.

a)What is the singer doing at the beginning of the videoclip?
b)When she sings I'm only after success, there is a cartoon graphic of what?
Does the singer show a look of determination or self-doubt?
c)When Marina says don't need a relationship, what shape has the cartoon
graphic which appears on the screen?
d)What cartoon graphics appear when she says don't want cash and don't
want car?
e)When she first says I just wanna change,what is the singer doing?
f)When she says I'm now becoming my own self-fulfilled prophecy what
phrase does she repeat several times?
g)After she says If I fail I fall apart ,there's a scene where she's
eating pop-corn. What cartoon graphics suddenly pop up?
h)While she's singing I'm gonna live,I'm gonna fly what is dressing?
Where is she laying? What is she surrounded by?

5)With your partner think about the song and videocilp's meaning
and answer the questions.
a)Do you think the singer actually believes what she is saying or she is just
being ironic?
b)Why do you think cartoons are used along the video?Do they transmit the
same or the opposite message the singer wants to convey/transmit?
c)She says she desires to succeed and according to the videoclip for the singer
success means having money.However, she sings don't need money,don't
need fame.Why does she sound so contradictory?Do you think is she being
able to really achieve her goals on life?
d)Is the singer aware of her flaws ? Does she sound desperate or calm about
this situation in her life?

d) This song is a pop song and therefore as you would expect in a pop video
there is lots of bright colours, a dance routine and an emphasise on the lead
singer.So what impression do you get of the videoclip visually?Does it look like
a commercial and supperficial product or a more reflective and calm-paced
one?
e)Do you feel this way sometimes?Why/Why not?
What about the people you know,do they seem to feel this way?Are they aware
of their situation?

Don't do love, don't do friends

I'm only after success
Don't need a relationship
I'll never soften my grip
[SINGULAR]

a firm strong hold

Marguerite took my hand in a surprisingly strong grip.

tighten your grip: Pete tightened his grip on her arm.
release/loosen your grip: She loosened her grip on the steering-wheel.

Don't want cash, don't want car

Want it fast, want it hard
Don't need money, don't need fame
I just want to make a change
I just wanna change
I just wanna change
I just wanna change
I just wanna change
I just wanna change
[Chorus]
I know exactly what I want and who I want to be
I know exactly why I walk and talk like a machine
I'm now becoming my own self-fulfilled
prophecya statement about a future event made by someone withreligious or magic powers
a Biblical prophecy
Merlins prophecies
Synonyms and related words

Magic or supernatural:

[COUNTABLE] a statement made by someone about something thatthey believe will happen
His prophecy that she would one day be a star came true.

Oh, oh no, oh no, oh no

One track mind, one track heart
If I fail, I'll fall
apartto lose control of your emotions and become unable to deal with adifficult situation
Some men would fall apart if their wives left them.

Maybe it is all a test

'Cause I feel like I'm the worst
So I always act like I'm the best
If you are not very careful
Your possessions will possess you
TV taught me how to feel
Now real life has no appeal
a quality that something has that makes people like itor want it
Football has popular appeal (=many people enjoy it).
How do you explain the appeal of horror films?
broaden/widen your appeal (=try to become popular with more
people): The organization is clearly trying to broaden its appeal.
Synonyms and related words
The quality of being attractive:
traction, appeal, character...

It has no appeal
It has no appeal
It has no appeal
It has no appeal
It has no appeal
[Chorus: x2]
I'm
I'm
I'm
I'm

gonna
gonna
gonna
gonna

live, I'm gonna fly,

fail, I'm gonna die,
live, I'm gonna fly
fail, gonna die, die, die, die

[Chorus: x2]
Oh, oh no, oh no, oh no

The visuals in this video do however remind us that the lyrics are meant to be

taken as ironic and 'tounge-in-cheek'. She does not actually believe what she is
saying and the fact the cartoons reminds us that what she is saying is suppose
to be taken as a joke although she is trying to get a message across. As well as
the cartoons that appear in the video there is also an obvious relationship
between music and lyrics, especially in terms on money in the video.
Throughout the video she holds piles of cash, is wearing a dress that is
designed to look like a dollar whilst laying on a bed surrounded by money.
These shots emphasise how the desire for her to succeed, and for her success
means having money.
There is also a relationship between the music and the visuals. This song is a
pop song and therefore as you would expect in a pop video there is lots of
bright colours, a dance routine and an emphasise on the lead singer. The dance
routine also ties in with the fact that this is an upbeat song.
In order to maintain 'star-texts' there is often the demand from the record
company to have a number of close ups of the artist or vocalist. This is also the
case in this video where throughout the video there is a number of close ups of
Marina. These shots remind us of the emphasise there is on how videos are
used to sell the music and the artist as a package. One thing this video doesn't
do, which is often the case with music females in music videos, there is not a
sense of voyeurism, throughout the video she is very aware that she is being
watched and is therefore performing to the cameras. Although the record
company is playing on the lead singers looks and are using female dancers in
short dresses, the voyeurism-perversion, sexual abuse, bondage... is lost
because these women know what is going on and are acting up to it, which is
something that also ties in with lyrics as it is clear that she wants to be noticed
because of what she is singing about.
This video is similar to other Marina and the Diamonds videos, as her music
videos tend to be colourful and bright, particularly her single 'Hollywood'. The
use of close ups is also something used in her other videos, with shots of her
nails also becoming recoccuring. She is also becoming synonymous with
having this look that involves her wearing bright, quirky dresses, which she
carries over into her videos. The look of 'Oh No' is not a one off for Marina and
the Diamonds, but it is instead an image that is being built around her, her
music and her videos. She does also have this appeal of being a bit like a
cartoon character with the clothes she wears, which is being referenced with
the graphics. (Shots from 'Hollywood' on left).
There are many other intertextual references in this video. The main one is the
link between the cartoon graphics and work by artists such as Roy Lichenstein
and Andy Warhol (on right), again something helping build on this image of her
being like a cartoon character(on left).
The opening lines of this ode to the career of Marina Diamandis, a.k.a. Marina
and the Diamonds are, "Don't do love, don't do friends, I'm only after success.
Don't need a relationship, I'll never loosen my grip." They appear to be
Diamandis mocking fellow artists for their ambition, however she admitted
to Spinner UK that the actual meaning is somewhat different. "That's definitely
a part of me, but I hate that part, it's not healthy," she said. "I think every song
on the album is part fantasy and part truth. I didn't want people thinking I don't
know who I want to be, and that song expresses that," she added. "It's just

about fear of feeling that you're not going to achieve the things you want, and
that you'll do anything to get there, no matter what.
I'm very aware of that side of personality, but realising it's there is a good
thing. Getting it out there in a song is me dealing with it and now I've done this,
the feeling is gone. I'm already on my next album."
This song was written by Diamandis during a trip to Los Angeles, a week
after The Family Jewels was mastered. The Greek-Welsh singer explained in
press materials that the song encompasses all of her fears and aspirations for
the future. "The song was written in response to be terrified of not achieving
what I say I want to achieve every time I open my big mouth. It's my part ii to
'Mowgli's Road.' I was paralyzed by fear before my trip to the States and
couldn't stop thinking about being a failure and was convinced that I'd become
a self-fulfilling prophecy if my brain didn't shut up and stop being so negative.
So I put it in a song. Mowgli's questioned who I want to be, 'Oh No!' confirms it.
It made me feel confident again after a shaky 6 months. Life is just a barrel of
laughs at end of day, anyway!"
Diamandis co-wrote the song with Kylie Minogue and Lily Allen collaborator
Greg Kurstin, who also produced the track. She said of working with the
Californian musician in a podcast. "I had really admired his work for a long
time. Seeing as I was in L.A., I asked if he wanted to write together and [the
song] came out really well. He's great actually, very easy to work with. I really
like his production style as well."