Released: April 4, 2019

Songwriter: MARINA

Producer: Joel Little

[Verse 1]
The pagodas and the palaces
Dressed in gold leaf, hide the damages
Spot the Geisha as she balances
Life's a cakewalk, full of challenges
Go to Russia, see the Red Square
Lenin's body lying dead there
From Kyoto, Hiroshima
Watch the black cloud crawling nearer

[Pre-Chorus 1]
There were riots in America
Just when things were getting better
All the things I've done and seen
Still I don't know what life means

[Chorus]
All the people living in, living in the world today
We're united by our love, we're united by our pain (Ooh)
All the things that I've done and I've seen
Still, I don't know, don't know what it means

[Verse 2]
Fly to Athens, pass the Parthenon
See the village where my father's from
To Chicago from Angola
São Paulo to Verona

[Pre-Chorus 2]
And anywhere you go, you'll see (Ooh)
People are just like you and me (Ooh)
All the things I've done and seen
Still, I don't know what life means

[Chorus]
All the people living in, living in the world today
We're united by our love, we're united by our pain (Ooh)
All the things that I've done and I've seen
Still, I don't know, don't know what it means
To be human
(Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh)
(Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh)
Still, I don't know, don't know what it means
To be human, a real human being

[Bridge]
I like to think about how we all look from afar
People driving fancy cars look like beetles to the stars
The missiles and the bombs sound like symphonies gone wrong
And if there is a God, they'll know why it's so hard

[Chorus]
To be human
(Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh)
(Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh, oh-oh)
To be human
Still, I don't know, don't know what it means
To be human, a real human being

[Outro]
(To be human)
I want connection, ooh
I wanna feel human again
(To be human)
Lost my direction, ooh
I wanna feel human again
To be human, to be human
To be human, to be human

Marina Diamandis

Marina Lambrini Diamandis, better known as MARINA (formerly Marina and the Diamonds), is a Welsh singer-songwriter and musician.

Growing up in Wales, England and Greece, Marina became “obsessed with becoming a singer, almost as if it was a disease.” After moving to London, it took four years before she established herself as a singer-songwriter. After several independently-released EPs, she placed second on the BBC Sound of 2010 list. In 2010, her debut album, The Family Jewels, was released to critical acclaim and chart success, eventually being certified Gold in the UK.

Her 2012 sophomore album, Electra Heart, was a concept album in which she embraced the titular persona—a vapid, blonde “straight-up pop star” who arose out of her label’s demands for a more commercial pop sound and Marina’s desire to maintain artistic integrity. It became her most successful album, debuting atop the UK, Scotland and Ireland album charts.