"It's a love song and it's different from 'Roar' - it's not eighth-notey," said Perry. "I think it's a universal love song that everyone's going to be able to relate to no matter the age, no matter male or female. It's my favorite song off the record."
Perry spoke about the song's meaning during an interview with KIIS FM. She explained: "Not only is it about those different varieties of loves, it's about when you are in love with someone and there's full acceptance. The highs and the lows. All the flaws. The zits. The smells. The whole gamet, you know? Sometimes I remember being scared to be accepted in relationships and I know that everybody else goes through that and, 'Will they love my true self? Will they love all the things that I do when nobody's looking?"
Perry added: "You know because we are weirdoes. We pick our nose and we make disgusting noises with our body and we're not always the most presentable things but someone's gotta love us and it's about that unconditional love. It's about that high, almost spiritual type of love."
Perry felt inspired to pen the song as a result of a visit to Madagascar with UNICEF. She decided to write lyrics about what it means to care for someone in the purest form. "We live in such a world that is run by social status and material possession, and it can get really overwhelming and tiring to keep up with that - people are actually turned on by the amount of likes they have; it's crazy that our minds think that way these days," Perry explained.
"And so I went to the top of this mountain, I saw all these children, and the love that they had towards each other, they had no idea what Twitter or Facebook or any of that stuff was, they didn't care about it," she continued. "It was this unconditional love between all of them. It was that kind of pure love that's unaffected by the trends of the world."
Perry singled out this as her favorite Prism track as it passed the "goose bump test." She explained to MTV News: "There's this test that I do in the studio, after a song's complete and you've tracked some vocals. It's kind of like the goose bump test. If, every time you hear it, it gives you goose bumps, it's hitting a chord inside of you that's really important,. It's an emotional chord inside of you."
"I love this song because not only can it be a romantic, intimate song, but it can be about the type of love that a mother has when she sees her first child, or best friends or partners," Perry added. "It's a transcendent love, it's not just relationship status."
The Brent Bonacorso directed video is centered around an elegant Renaissance-era ball. The clip explores the impact of love using dramatic imagery and was influenced by such films as Dangerous Liaisons and Anna Karenina. "It doesn't have a complete narrative. I do that all the time; I usually have quite a big story line," Perry told MTV News. "This time I wanted to give a lot of gorgeous, beautiful looks, which I don't usually go for. But it's mostly just a beautiful video that is supposed to evoke this power of love."
Bonacorso explained to MTV News how he attempted to capture the song's lyrical concepts in the video. "When she sings this song she doesn't sing it lightly. This love that she speaks of is like a force of nature, epic storm and a tempest, and that's definitely something I wanted to capture," he said, adding that he wanted to capture a "more mysterious, elegant and sophisticated world to live in... less about a time period and more about creating an impression and a feeling."
That "feeling" is expressed using various images, including a car crash, which is a visual metaphor for the power of true love. "One of the key images that I think was pivotal in the video and just a very important concept to me. I once described the experience of falling in love like being hit by a car; suddenly your world is just so violently and dramatically changed. It hits you out of the blue," Bonacorso explained. "I shared this with Katy and she really loved that concept and really identified with it immediately, that she felt the same way."
Unconditionally
Katy Perry Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh, did I almost see what's really on the inside?
All your insecurities
All the dirty laundry
Never made me blink one time
Unconditional, unconditionally
I will love you unconditionally
Let go and just be free
I will love you unconditionally
Come just as you are to me
Don't need apologies
Know that you are all worthy
I'll take your bad days with your good
Walk through this storm I would
I'd do it all because I love you, I love you
Unconditional, unconditionally
I will love you unconditionally
There is no fear now
Let go and just be free
I will love you unconditionally
So open up your heart and just let it begin
Open up your heart, and just let it begin
Open up your heart, and just let it begin
Open up your heart
Acceptance is the key to be
To be truly free
Will you do the same for me?
Unconditional, unconditionally
I will love you unconditionally
And there is no fear now
Let go and just be free
'Cause I will love you unconditionally (oh yeah)
I will love you
I will love you
I will love you unconditionally
In the song "Unconditionally," Katy Perry talks about unconditional love, truly accepting someone for who they are, and loving them despite their imperfections. She begins the first verse by questioning if she got too close to someone and if she almost saw what is truly on the inside, along with all their insecurities and "dirty laundry." However, she reassures that none of it will make her love them any less. In the chorus, Katy sings that she loves this person unconditionally, with no fear and freedom to be who they truly are. She asks the person to accept her too because that is the key to being truly free. At the end of the song, Katy emphasizes her love for this person, repeating "I will love you unconditionally."
Line by Line Meaning
Oh no, did I get too close oh?
Did I just get too personal by getting too close to seeing the person on the inside?
Oh, did I almost see what's really on the inside?
Did I almost see the true color of the person's personality?
All your insecurities
All the things that make you feel less confident about yourself
All the dirty laundry
All the flaws, secrets and weaknesses that one might hide
Never made me blink one time
None of these flaws made me doubt my love for you even for a split second
Unconditional, unconditionally
Love without limitations, love that is not subject to any special conditions or requirements
I will love you unconditionally
I will love you without any conditions or boundaries
There is no fear now
There is no fear about how you will react to my love for you
Let go and just be free
Release any anxieties, doubts, or fears and express yourself honestly and authentically
Come just as you are to me
You don't need to hide behind a facade, just be yourself because I love you for who you are
Don't need apologies
You don't need to apologize for who you are, your mistakes, or your shortcomings
Know that you are all worthy
You are deserving of love, respect, and kindness, no matter what
I'll take your bad days with your good
I'll be there for you when you're not feeling your best, as well as when you're happy and feeling great
Walk through this storm I would
I'll stand by you no matter what life throws at us or what difficulties we face
I'd do it all because I love you, I love you
I'll always have your back through thick and thin and will continue to love you every step of the way
So open up your heart and just let it begin
Let your guard down and start accepting and loving yourself and others
Acceptance is the key to be
By accepting yourself and others, you can truly be happy and free from judgment and criticism
To be truly free
True freedom is found through accepting yourself and others unconditionally and without judgment
Will you do the same for me?
Can you also accept me and love me without any conditions or boundaries?
'Cause I will love you unconditionally (oh yeah)
I will continue to love you without limitations, no matter what happens in our relationship
I will love you
I will love you no matter what, without any conditions or boundaries
I will love you unconditionally
I will always love you without any special conditions or requirements
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Henry Russell Walter, Martin Max Sandberg, Lukasz Gottwald, Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@efrainborja278
Oh, no, did I get too close?
Oh, did I almost see what's really on the inside?
All your insecurities
All the dirty laundry
Never made me blink one time
Unconditional, unconditionally
I will love you unconditionally
There is no fear now
Let go and just be free
I will love you unconditionally
Come just as you are to me
Don't need apologies
Know that you are worthy
I'll take your bad days with your good
Walk through the storm, I would
I do it all because I love you
I love you
Unconditional, unconditionally
I will love you unconditionally
There is no fear now
Let go and just be free
I will love you unconditionally
So open up your heart and just let it begin
Open up your heart and just let it begin
Open up your heart and just let it begin
Open up your heart
Acceptance is the key to be
To be truly free
Will you do the same for me?
Unconditional, unconditionally
I will love you unconditionally, yeah
And there is no fear now
Let go and just be free
'Cause I will love you unconditionally, oh, yeah
I will love you (unconditionally)
I will love you
I will love you unconditionally
@juliawentland9386
Oh no, did I get too close?
Oh, did I almost see
What's really on the inside?
All your insecurities
All the dirty laundry
Never made me blink one time
[Chorus]
Unconditional, unconditionally
I will love you unconditionally
There is no fear now
Let go and just be free
I will love you unconditionally
[Verse 2]
Come just as you are to me
Don't need apologies
Know that you are worthy
I'll take your bad days with your good
Walk through the storm I would
I do it all because I love you
I love you
[Chorus]
[Bridge]
So open up your heart and just let it begin
Open up your heart and just let it begin
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Open up your heart and just let it begin
Open up your heart
Acceptance is the key to be
To be truly free
Will you do the same for me?
[Chorus]
[Outro]
I will love you
I will love you
I will love you unconditionally
@StudioAnnLe
She is so gorgeous in this video and the song is beautiful <3
@NikkiHavenStation
totally agree!
@SimplySara85
The song is beautifull and the video is magic...
Old dance, maybe, but elegant and chic.... <3
@adrianaloayza2603
i like more that song evry time i heard it
@annehartog4620
this song is beautiful!!! love this song! <3
@sofiecrews
HAI!!!!!!
@StudioAnnLe
25 million views must have came from me. Can't get enough of this video!
@unicornsparklez.248
She really wasn't being greedy..
@selenag5243
She was just saying how much she loves the song... and saying she ''viewed'' so many times.
@cluelesssbeauty
Love ur channel!