Yeah, eh yeah yeah

I can feel a phoenix inside of me,
As I march alone to a different beat,
Slowly slowing down my fear,
Yeah, yeah

I am ready for the road less traveled,
Suiting up for my crowning battle,
This test is my own cross to bare,
But I will get there

It's never easy to be chosen,
Never easy to be called,
Standing on the front line when the bombs start to fall,
I can see the Heavens,
But I still hear the flames calling out my name

I can see the writing on the wall,
I can't ignore this war,
At the end of it all,
Who am I living for?

I can feel this light that's inside of me,
Growing fast into a bolt of lightning,
I know one spark will shock the world,
Yeah, yeah

So I pray for favor like Ester,
I need Your strength to handle the pressure,
I know there will be sacrifice,
But that's the price

It's never easy to be chosen,
Never easy to be called,
Standing on the front line when the bombs start to fall,
I can see the Heavens,
But I still hear the flames calling out my name

I can see the writing on the wall,
I can't ignore this war,
At the end of it all,
Who am I living for?

I can see the writing on the wall,
I can't ignore this war,
At the end of it all,
Who am I living for?

At the end, at the end,
Who am I living for?

At the end, at the end,
Who am I living for?

Heavy is the head that wears the crown,
Don't let the greatness get you down
Heavy is the head that wears the crown,
Don't let the greatness get you down

Oh yeah

I can see the writing on the wall,
I can't ignore this war,
At the end of it all,
Who am I living for?

I can see the writing on the wall,
I can't ignore this war,
At the end of it all,
Who am I living for?

At the end, at the end,
Who am I living for?
At the end, at the end,
Who am I living for?



Lyrics submitted by thoseguiltyeyes

Track duration: 04:09

"Who Am I Living For?" as written by Katy/stewart Perry

Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind


Who Am I Living For? song meanings
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20 Comments

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  • -2
    General Comment:Hahaha....oh how young and naiive you all are. First of all, Katy Perry doesn't write any of her songs, sorry to break your little heats. And secondly, Katy Perry isn't scared, and this song isn't "spiritual", and she's not warning her fans shit. This is just Capitol Records making her out to look like she's religious/semi-religious, which gives parents the idea that Katy Perry is perfectly okay for their 9-year-old to listen to, which, in turn, maintains the biggest possible fanbase for her. The theatrical stuff she does during her shows, while it does make for a more entertaining performance to the fans, is the same idea, in that none of it is really her idea.

    Capitol gives her the music, the lyrics, the personality, the appearance, and they just tell her to sing so that she makes money for them. C'mon now...wake up. This has been the music scene for years now. Blockbuster pop singers make record companies, tv stations, radio stations, and production sudios millions upon millions, and they turn around and write a Christian song for the singer so that they'll also be able to maintain the really young fans who have cautious religious parents. It was like this from the early 90's....Backstreet Boys, NSYNC, Britney, Christinia Agulera. Not so much in their actual songs back then, but every damn interview you saw with any them, "I have strong faith that God will help me through my life..."

    Nowadays, it's the same shit, but now it's the songs that are in your face. Didn't you learn from "Jesus Walks" by Kanye? Everyone was all, "Kanye is a man of God, blah blah blah." WAKE UP.

    All pop is garbage anyway, and yes I'm grouping Kanye into pop because today's hip-hop IS pop, period. Hip-hop is dead. Anyway, I'm rambling now, but yeah, she's pretty talentless, and this song is garbage. I don't know how old you all are, but it's silly that you're sucked in to all these fake "faith" songs.

    But yeah, on a superficial level, it's correct in saying that this "song" is "supposed" to have spiritual meanings to it.

    I'm not bashing Katy Perry as a singer. I'm just saying that this song is not what you people think it is at all. At all. I'm also saying she's not an artist, becuase she writes nothing, she just sings. She's a performer.

    That being said, although I hate the pop genre, there are actually some songs out there that I like. I mean, I listen to metal, metalcore, post-hardcore, pop-punk, and alternative rock. But there are SOME songs that I can enjoy and that are "hot tracks", if you will.

    And I'd have to say that Katy Perry is one of the better singers in the pop industry today. She's got a pretty good voice, plus she's one of the least-autotuned singers out there in the genre today. Maybe if she was in a real genre of music, I'd like her, but pop sucks, as we all know.

    That is all.
    Flag jdjd021on February 27, 2013   Link
  • -1
    Song Meaning:this song is basically her screaming for help and understanding as she is about to make the most exiting in my opinion yet life changing decision of her life. LEAVING HER CAREER FOR CHRIST.
    SHE'S WARNING THE HER FANS AND THE WORLD OF THE STRUGGLE AND DECISION SHE IS STILL DEBATING ON BUT BY FAITH I KNOW SHE WILL MAKE.

    SHE IS SCARED BUT SHE WANTS TO DO IT.
    EVEN WHEN SHE PERFORMS IT LIVE SHE USES THE ILLUSTRATION OF HER BEING CHAINED UP AND WANTING FREEDOM...
    Flagged kayjaymayon August 07, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Katniss Everdeen in the Hunger Games' Mockingjay. Thats what this song should be about! Its so amazing
    Flagged juniorloveson April 20, 2012   Link
  • -1
    Song Meaning:So if anyone has heard her first album, Katy Hudson, the Christian/gospel album she released about 10 years ago, it's easy to see that this too, is of the same nature. This song is basically a "throwback" to her old genre, to the music she used to write and listen to. As in, Katy wrote this as an inspirational song to say the least, with many Christian elements, a religious song to bring more depth to her album. She is a spiritual person, and this song is a result of such reflections, multiple biblical references in one song are not a coincidence.

    "Who am I Living For" describes Katy's battle between her goals and her morals, each of which holds back the other. She is America's image of sexy, yet she rests her faith in God. Her ultimate goal is to live her dream of being a performer, but her religion frowns upon everything that links with it. It is not her saying she should be living for one side or the other, but it is her describing the battle within, forcing her to choose one side or the other, when it would be ultimately her goal to have the both.

    It goes along with Katy's whole mantra that it is important to be true to who she is, that she will not be beaten down by others or ashamed of the decisions she has made, for she is continuously being spiritually (and musically) reborn, and life is a continuous path of learning. Although, there are quite a few times in the song where you can infer that she questions what she does, and feels she should be living for God.

    In the end, the message is to be true to yourself, your morals, and your goals, and be resilient about that.
    Flagged 6she2lbyon November 25, 2011   Link
  • +1
    General Comment:I think that this song means to be true to yourself. There are religious references in the song, which I think are meant to be taken in a spiritual manner rather than in a religious sense. A spiritual teaching in Christianity that comes through in this song for me is the personal victory in faith, in heeding how one is chosen or called. She is called to the road less traveled, to strive in making a real difference in originality. It seems she feels that to be true to herself, she lets go of any control others may have on her art, be it organized religion, or the music industry itself, though none of us live in a vacuum or are completely alone and these people exist in relation to the artist. The war is both the circumstances of living in the world and its pressures as well as the personal struggle she mentions of facing one's own fear, the personal cross to bear. Heavy is the head that wears the crown is similar to a line in Shakespeare's Henry IV, "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown," and refers to the responsibility of leadership and it's affect on others. It shows she takes the influence of her art seriously, and I think she believes letting her light shine in her own way is the best influence right now even though it has the power to shock. She'll go with this for now, though it's all in the sea of relationships with fans, organizations in society like religion and the media industry, so her question remains, "Who am I living for?"
    Flag Spiritvoiceon November 24, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I believe the "road less traveled" part is referencing Robert Frost's poem, "The Road Not Taken."

    The last stanza of that poem:

    "I shall be telling this with a sigh
    Somewhere ages and ages hence:
    Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
    I took the one less traveled by,
    And that has made all the difference."

    The reader can't tell if the "sigh" is of relief/accomplishment or distress or if "the difference" is good or bad. Also, earlier in the poem, Frost mentions that he likely won't go back to the fork in the road to change his mind and choose the other path.

    In reference to this, Katy is saying that she's chosen her path and set in her ways, but she's not sure if it's good or bad. Even so, she is determined to "get there" and make it to the end.
    Flag disembodypartson August 03, 2011   Link
  • 0
    My Opinion:I agree with the belief that Perry is singing about her struggle between her lifestyle and a Christian lifestyle, but I disagree with the interpretations of the lines, "Heavy is the head that wears the crown, don't let the greatness get you down." I think this is making a reference to Jesus' crucifixion. When Jesus was crucified, the crowd mocked him and the officials placed on his head a crown of thorns. Jesus had a great responsibility, and while he was God in flesh, he still was that: flesh. I think what this line means is that if you live a true Christian life, you will be mocked. It's a great responsibility. You have to make sacrifices and it might hurt a little or be uncomfortable but, you are greater for dong so. The payoff is so great. So, what I think Perry is saying here is that living a Christian life is hard and can hurt, but you can't let it get you down because the reward is infinitely great.

    Keep in mind, I'm not trying to offend anyone with my beliefs. While I'm a Christian, I'm not looking to force my belief system on anyone else. Jesus is my role model and I try to live a life that would please God, plain and simple. If you want to learn about Jesus, you know my name. (:

    -ernyc
    Flag ernycon July 21, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think it's about heaven and hell, and how she doesn't know which one she's living for.

    Flag bsfan18on June 09, 2011   Link
  • +2
    General Comment:I liked this song better when I didn't read all these comments talking about religion.
    Flag charcharadeon May 15, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I believe this song is about her personal struggle with her religion and her career. Not necessarily her belief in God, but basically, what's expected of her as a Christian, but what the media expects of her as an artist, and the kind of artist she actually wants to be. It's not so much that she doesn't want to be singing about kissing girls and big cocks and is forced to so as to stay relevant in the industry, she actually ENJOYS what she's doing, she likes the music she sings, and likes being a provactive and edgy artist. It's that she feels conflicted because of how she was raised and probably worries that this isn't what God would want for her.

    She wants to please God, the church, her family, ect. but she also wants to be herself, and LIVE for herself. Which begs the title question...who is she living for?
    Flag PurplePantheron April 18, 2011   Link

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