Venus Fly Trap

Album: Ancient Dreams In A Modern Land (2021)
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Songfacts®:

  • The Venus flytrap is an insectivorous plant in which the leaves fold together to trap insects. Marina wrote this sassy, funk-driven pop track as a celebration of being wild, free and not accepting norms, just like the carnivorous flora.
  • This self-empowerment tune finds Marina refusing to repress herself in order to gain acceptance in the music industry.

    They'll shame you, blame you, pretend to even hate you
    Take away your rights, pacify you with their lies
    Whatever you give life, you will get back
    Why be a wallflower when you can be a Venus fly trap?


    Marina prefers to be independent and confident, like a Venus flytrap, rather than shy and withdrawn like a wallflower.
  • Marina admitted to Vogue that she sees herself as being in between a Venus flytrap and a wallflower. For years, she struggled with carrying shame in her life, but now the Welsh singer is free of her self-consciousness, she feels proud that she hasn't had to compromise that much in her career. "All artists have to compromise a little, but it's amazing that I've had the creative freedom to write the records that I want," Marina added. "You don't have to conform in order to see success in your creative life."
  • Marina released "Venus Fly Trap" as the fourth single from Ancient Dreams In A Modern Land. It ties in with the album's themes of celebrating individuality and denouncing the mistreatment of women.
  • Marina wrote the song on her own and co-produced it with James Flannigan. The British songwriter/producer contributed to seven out of the 10 Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land tracks. He has also worked with Lucy Spraggan ("Lighthouse") and Carly Rae Jepsen ("Now That I Found You").
  • Fun fact: The Venus flytrap is native only to one area of the world: the coastal bogs of North and South Carolina in the United States. Specifically, they are only found within a 60-mile (100-kilometer) radius of Wilmington, North Carolina.

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