SINGLE REVIEW: NIA NICHOLLS - I'M A MARIONNETTE
- CHRIS FARLIE
- Sep 18
- 2 min read
Undoubtedly one of this years most memorable moments was getting to meet Nia Nicholls at The Karma Sanctum. It had been almost 10 years since we had last crossed paths during which #TEAMw21 have chronicled most, if not all of her releases. One of the songs played that night was her forthcoming single, "I'm A Marionnette" which will shortly get its official release.
From the eye catching cover with snippets of lyrics, showing Nia slightly creepily as a life size doll, through to the winding clockwork intro and toy style keyboards, it is immediately clear that Nia and her producer have let their imaginations go wild on this one. More about a friendship break up, than a personal relationship one, the hurt clearly still cuts equally deep.
The opening verse is lyrically clever, as Nia plays with phrases that could apply to toys and in the real world of relationships. There's a nice contrast made between true friends and those fake ones "made of plastic". The harsh discard into a box is also highly descriptive of a child like tantrum or someone fascinated by their new friends to the detriment of their old ones. Nia sings mostly with a clipped tone to match the tight rhythm, only letting loose her disdain on the final two words of the verse.
"I'm a Marionette - she pulls all my strings
And she cuts the ties, when she gets bored of me
I was carved from wood with love
Detail attentive
Then she threw me in a box
Because now she prefers plastic"
It's a difficult thing to repair as Nia makes abundantly clear
"She doesn't get it, she thinks she can retie the strings
At her merest convenience, I fall back into it
I twist myself into knots, she hopes I'll never learn
She's only nice, to receive,
I do it because I love her"
The next verse highlights the one sided nature of this relationship, and a light bulb moment towards the end of the verse, draws a slight chuckle from Nia on the word "She".
"I'm a Marionette, loyal to a fault
She gets tired of me quickly
Then she runs back to her plastic dolls
I never speak a word, as they sink into the ground
When someone shows me their interest
She always comes back around"
There's a nice little comeuppance in the end with a degree of self realisation
"She throws me to the ground, cos I finally learned
They all come to see the Marionette, not her"
There's time for a whistling solo before like the wind up toy, the song slows down and eventually finishes.
It's inventive on many levels, lyrically clever and potentially also opens the way to a new, if slightly disturbing range of merchandise!
