When I was 17

I thought everything would start to float up to the sky

Ships and boats, the railway line would wind between the clouds

With bad men screaming out they couldn't get down

Tell me — I'll believe it — I was a piece of clay that you both carved into a girl

Your fears under the spotlight as your fingers moulded mine

When I look down at my hands I can still see myself before I asked for help

Ooh, Marlene, it got better, better, better, better

Ooh, Marlene, it wasn't the life for me

You can have my number

But I won't take the call

I'll dip my toe in just a little

Flirt with fire as it dwindles

My feet mingle with the waves

Let the water meet my knees

I would rather work with sand than clay

There's some things you can't reshape

And ooh, Marlene, it got better, better, better, better

Ooh, Marlene, it wasn't the life for me

I like working at a grocery store

'Cause the stakes are low

I write with a grey-lead pencil

Tuck my hair in after 7

A quarter tab of LSD

I don't wanna climb that family tree

No, it's not the life for me

Ooh, Marlene, it got better, better, better, better

Ooh, Marlene, it wasn't the life for me