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."
Shot Me in the Heart
Christina Perri Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But we fall down
It's no surprise
It's here we go, fighting
There you go again
Light on your own
Let this love
There we go, fighting
There you go again
Here we go again
So let me go, let me go
I don't know how we grow
Something incredible
Oh, oh oh, oh oh, oh oh
You shot me in the heart this time
I hope you know, hope you know
You let it go
Lost it all, something incredible
Oh, oh oh, oh oh, oh oh
You shot me in the heart this time
Don't call me home
You only gave what you've stole
There I go, hurting
There I go again
Here we go again
So let me go, let me go
I don't know how we grow
Something incredible
Oh oh-oh, oh oh, oh oh
You shot me in the heart this time
I hope you know, hope you know
You let it go
Lost it all, something incredible
Oh, oh oh, oh oh, oh oh
You shot me in the heart this time
Only try to make you
Only try to make you mine
Only try to make you
Only try to make you mine
So let me go, let me go
I don't know how we grow
Something incredible
Oh, oh oh, oh oh, oh oh
You shot me in the heart this time
I hope you know, hope you know
You let it go
Lost it all, something incredible
Oh, oh oh, oh oh, oh oh
You shot me in the heart this time
Shot me in the heart this time
Shot me in the heart this time
In "Shot Me in the Heart," Christina Perri sings about a relationship that has caused her both joy and pain. The song reflects the push-and-pull of a failing relationship, in which the highs are high but the lows are deep. She sings about the power struggle that has developed between two individuals and how the relationship has become tumultuous. The lyrics "High, we get so high, but we fall down" illustrate how they experience moments of happiness, but are often followed by strife. The verse "Light on your own, let this love turn to stone" takes a sharp turn towards acceptance of what has been happening in the relationship, as if there is a realization that this cannot continue. The metaphor of turning love into stone conveys that the love has become cold and unchanging.
The chorus speaks of the heartbreak she has experienced with lines beginning with "So let me go, let me go" expressing her desire to move on and the lines "You shot me in the heart this time" indicate she is blaming her partner for causing the ultimate injury. The last line repeats "Shot me in the heart this time" three times, signifying the gravity of the situation and her view that the relationship is irreparable.
Line by Line Meaning
High, we get so high
We often reach a state of euphoria in our relationship
But we fall down
But inevitably, our relationship crashes and burns
It's no surprise
This is nothing new to us
It's here we go, fighting
Here we are again, arguing and struggling to get along
There you go again
You are the one causing the problems as always
Light on your own
You are alone in this relationship
Let this love
Let this relationship
Turn to stone
Become rigid and loveless
So let me go, let me go
So let me leave this relationship behind
I don't know how we grow
I don't understand how our relationship has evolved to this point
Something incredible
Our relationship was once remarkable and unique
You shot me in the heart this time
But now, you've shattered my heart and soul
I hope you know, hope you know
I hope you understand and realize
You let it go
You were the one who caused this relationship to crumble, not me
Lost it all, something incredible
We lost our amazing relationship, which was once so special
Don't call me home
Don't ask me to come back to this relationship
You only gave what you've stole
You only provided what you took from me
There I go, hurting
I am once again feeling the pain of heartbreak
Only try to make you
I only tried to be with you
Only try to make you mine
I only desired to make you mine, not to hurt you
Shot me in the heart this time
You brought about the end of our relationship, hurting me deeply
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: JAMIE SCOTT, CHRISTINA PERRI
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Alejandra Morales
High, we get so high
But we fall down
It's no surprise
It's here we go, fighting
There you go again
Light on your own
Let this love
Turn to stone
There we go, fighting
There you go again
Here we go again
So let me go, let me go
I don't know how we broke
Something incredible
Oh oh-oh, oh oh oh-oh
You shot me in the heart this time
I hope you know, hope you know
You let it go
Lost it all, something incredible
Oh oh-oh, oh oh oh-oh
You shot me in the heart this time
Don't call me home
You only give what you've stole
There I go, hurting
There I go again
Here we go again
So let me go, let me go
I don't know how we broke
Something incredible
Oh oh-oh, oh oh oh-oh
You shot me in the heart this time
I hope you know, hope you know
You let it go
Lost it all, something incredible
Oh oh-oh, oh oh oh-oh
You shot me in the heart this time
Only try to make you
Only try to make you mine
Only try to make you
Only try to make you mine
So let me go, let me go
I don't know how we broke
Something incredible
Oh oh-oh, oh oh oh-oh
You shot me in the heart this time
I hope you know, hope you know
You let it go
Lost it all, something incredible
Oh oh-oh, oh oh oh-oh
You shot me in the heart this time
Shot me in the heart this time
Shot me in the heart this time
Logan Hunt
This song is amazing live. She honesty sounds better live than on record. It just doesn't do her the justice she deserves. ❤️
Harikleia Tsatsou
You can say that again. Her voice it's much better than others singers who are more popular than her but they don't have a voice so good as Christina. And that's unfair...
Logan Hunt
+Autumn Headwell yeah I know! It was the opening song for my show too. I was at Blossom Music Center for the show and it was the most perfect night of my life.
Audie H
I'd have to agree. I saw her live and this was her opening song. It sounds amazing, and I think it's even better live.
obec_18 luv
I saw her singing live here in Seattle Washington, she was so amazing, so pure and so humble....
Me and my ex-partner were so excited and happy that day, a day he still remember after all these years ♥️🙌🙂
Ivan Rajkumar
I hope she comes back again with more hits😢
Harikleia Tsatsou
We all do!!
Katie Muska
I love how I can download Christina's songs before I even hear them, because I already know they're gonna be amazing.
JayeBird JB
Christina is Unique, I like her voice!
Vigneswar Mambakkam
CHRISTINA PERRI