Perri grew up in Bensalem, Pennsylvania (a suburb of Philadelphia) with her older brother, Nick Perri, who formerly played guitar with Shinedown, among other artists. She attended Archbishop Ryan High School, and at age 16 taught herself how to play guitar by watching a videotape of Shannon Hoon from the group Blind Melon performing on VH1.
On her 21st birthday, Perri moved to Los Angeles. Later that year she got married and began to produce music videos. She divorced 18 months later and moved back to Philadelphia toward the end of 2009. During this time, she wrote her first song, "Jar of Hearts." She moved back to Los Angeles, where she spent her time waitressing at the Melrose Cafe during the day and recording music at night.
Perri's song "Jar of Hearts" was featured on "So You Think You Can Dance" during the June 30, 2010 broadcast. The song was featured in a performance by Billy Bell and Kathryn McCormick. Perri's friend Keltie Colleen passed the song to show choreographer Stacey Tookey, and later Perri and Colleen watched the performance in the audience. Following its exposure on the show, "Jar of Hearts" sold 48,000 digital copies, debuting on the Billboard Hot 100 at #63 and reaching #28 on Billboard's Hot Digital Songs. Within a month, it sold more than 100,000 copies. Then, her music video for "Jar of Hearts" landed on the VH1 top 20 music video countdown.
Shortly after, Perri made her debut on national day time and prime time television, performing the song live on the July 10, 2010 episode of "The Early Show" on CBS as well as the July 15, 2010 episode of "So You Think You Can Dance." Perri signed a deal with Atlantic Records in July 2010. Perri recorded a five-single EP named "The Ocean Way Sessions," recorded live and released in November 2010.
Perri's debut album is titled "Lovestrong" and was released on May 10, 2011. It followed the release of its lead single, "Arms."
Lonely Child
Christina Perri Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Just as fast the sun set
You push me away, you push me down
Down, down, down, where my dreams lay
And just as quick as you left
Just as quick as you left my heart undressed
And I fell down, down, down, down
You took my wish back to the well
And I remember all the words that you said
That love is just a spark that starts in your heart
And ends in your head
Darling calm down, calm down
You lose yourself in the clouds
Slow down, slow down
Your world's spinning around
Play your right team, hard stay, restless running wild
Just a lonely, just a lonely lonely child
Just as dark as the night
Just as dark as the night when
I lost my mind, I lost control
Down, down, down
You let me sell my love for my soul
And I remember all the words that you wrote
That love is just the sound that plays in your heart
And gets caught in your throat
Darling calm down, calm down
You lose yourself in the clouds
Slow down, slow down
Your world's spinning around,
Play your right team, hard stay, restless running wild
Just a lonely, just a lonely lonely child
And I remember all the words that you said
That love is just a spark that starts in your heart
And ends in your head
Darling calm down, calm down
You lose yourself in the clouds
Slow down, slow down
Your world's spinning around
Play your right team, hard stay, restless running wild
Just a lonely, just a lonely
Just a lonely, just a lonely lonely child
Cha-cha-cha!
The lyrics of Christina Perri's song "Lonely Child" portray a narrative of a tumultuous relationship where the other person seems to come and go like the changing of the seasons, leaving the singer feeling lost and alone. The song begins with the fast-paced introduction of sentiments where the person came and left promptly, pushing the singer down to where their dreams lay. The pace continues to describe how quickly the person packed up and moved on, leaving the singer undressed, falling down and taking away their wish back to the well.
The following verse echoes the same sentiments but takes a darker turn, where the chorus comes in to calm and slow down the restless running of the singer's mind. The lyrics then suggest how the relationship cost the singer their sane mind, leaving them to sell their love for their soul. Here, the lyrics settle into the realization that the love they were promised is nothing but a fleeting moment that starts in the heart but soon ends in the head, caught in the throat like an afterthought.
Christina Perri's "Lonely Child" is quite an emotive song that balances the fast-paced introduction with slow and calming interludes to accentuate the conflicted emotions of the singer. The lyrics speak of fleeting emotions that come and go and highlighting love as a transient feeling that is hard to catch and just as challenging to retain. Ultimately, "Lonely Child" is a song about the singer's journey towards acceptance that some people come into our lives and leave just as quickly.
Line by Line Meaning
Just as fast as you came
You entered my life suddenly, without warning.
Just as fast the sun set
You left as abruptly as the sun sets at the end of the day.
You push me away, you push me down
You rejected me, pushed me away, and knocked me down.
Down, down, down, where my dreams lay
You pushed me so far down that I felt like I was in the depths of my own subconscious mind where my dreams lay.
And just as quick as you left
You left me just as suddenly as you came.
Just as quick as you left my heart undressed
You left me with my heart exposed, vulnerable and unprotected.
And I fell down, down, down, down
I was left feeling broken and defeated, falling deeper and deeper.
You took my wish back to the well
You crushed my hope and aspiration and took it away from me.
And I remember all the words that you said
That love is just a spark that starts in your heart
And ends in your head
I remember your words, that love is just a fleeting emotion that starts in your heart, but it ultimately comes to an end in your mind.
Darling calm down, calm down
You lose yourself in the clouds
Slow down, slow down
Your world's spinning around
Play your right team, hard stay, restless running wild
Just a lonely, just a lonely lonely child
You need to calm down and get grounded, you're letting your emotions cloud your judgement, slow down and find your footing, stay focused, channel your energy wisely, and realize you're just a lonely and lost child.
Just as dark as the night
Just as dark as the night when
I lost my mind, I lost control
Down, down, down
You let me sell my love for my soul
I felt lost, insane and detached from reality, my emotions spinning out of control. You let me compromise my values and sell my love for the sake of my soul.
And I remember all the words that you wrote
That love is just the sound that plays in your heart
And gets caught in your throat
I remember your words, that love is just an illusion that reverberates inside your heart, but it's something that you cannot express aloud.
Play your right team, hard stay, restless running wild
Just a lonely, just a lonely lonely child
Find those who will support and complement you, keep trying hard and reach your goals, but remember your tendency to be restless and wild, and know that deep down you're just a lonely, lost and confused child.
Cha-cha-cha!
An interjection without any apparent meaning, perhaps added as a musical flourish at the end of the song.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CHRISTINA JUDITH PERRI, KEVIN GRIFFIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
gagawifes
Just as fast as you came
Just as fast the sun set
You push me away, you push me down
Down, down, down, where my dreams lay
And just as quick as you left
Just as quick as you left my heart undressed
And I fell down, down, down, down
You took my wish back to the well
And I remember all the words that you said
That love is just a spark that starts in your heart
And ends in your head
Darling calm down, calm down
You lose yourself in the clouds
Slow down, slow down
Your world’s spinning around
Play your right team, hard stay, restless running wild
Just a lonely, just a lonely lonely child
Just as dark as the night
Just as dark as the night when
I lost my mind, I lost control
Down, down, down
You let me sell my love for my soul
And I remember all the words that you wrote
That love is just the sound that plays in your heart
And gets caught in your throat
Darling calm down, calm down
You lose yourself in the clouds
Slow down, slow down
Your world’s spinning around,
Play your right team, hard stay, restless running wild
Just a lonely, just a lonely lonely child
And I remember all the words that you said
That love is just a spark that starts in your heart
And ends in your head
Darling calm down, calm down
You lose yourself in the clouds
Slow down, slow down
Your world’s spinning around
Play your right team, hard stay, restless running wild
Just a lonely, just a lonely
Just a lonely, just a lonely lonely child
Cha-cha-cha!
gagawifes
Just as fast as you came
Just as fast the sun set
You push me away, you push me down
Down, down, down, where my dreams lay
And just as quick as you left
Just as quick as you left my heart undressed
And I fell down, down, down, down
You took my wish back to the well
And I remember all the words that you said
That love is just a spark that starts in your heart
And ends in your head
Darling calm down, calm down
You lose yourself in the clouds
Slow down, slow down
Your world’s spinning around
Play your right team, hard stay, restless running wild
Just a lonely, just a lonely lonely child
Just as dark as the night
Just as dark as the night when
I lost my mind, I lost control
Down, down, down
You let me sell my love for my soul
And I remember all the words that you wrote
That love is just the sound that plays in your heart
And gets caught in your throat
Darling calm down, calm down
You lose yourself in the clouds
Slow down, slow down
Your world’s spinning around,
Play your right team, hard stay, restless running wild
Just a lonely, just a lonely lonely child
And I remember all the words that you said
That love is just a spark that starts in your heart
And ends in your head
Darling calm down, calm down
You lose yourself in the clouds
Slow down, slow down
Your world’s spinning around
Play your right team, hard stay, restless running wild
Just a lonely, just a lonely
Just a lonely, just a lonely lonely child
Cha-cha-cha!
Lonesome Kiddo
May your untamed heart stay restless running wild*
sel
Yay, I got my Christina Perri playlist, now I'll stay up all night listening to the perfection. :) I'm so happy, all her new songs are so beautiful. Just like her older ones. :D
that girl with the weird name
This is hauntingly beautiful.
Marshall
Lovely vocals to brilliant music, this one's definitely my favourite for this album, but the album is my favourite too :)
The Queen's Chapel
FAVOURITE SONG OFF OF HEAD OR HEART WITHOUT A DOUBT, ITS SO DIFFERENT FROM EVERYTHING. I cannot emphasise anymore this is perfection. This is the kind of the song that I wish I written. It's perfect. Perfect. And the vocals. Perfect. Perfect.
Patty Castellanos
FAVORITE SONG ON THE ALBUM
Mirtha Montas
Mine too
AryaNikoleGiesler
I love her music its inspiring
Nikolaj do Poder
Merece todo sucesso, linda!!