Katy Perry Songs - Dark Horse Lyrics

Katy Perry - Dark Horse

Katy Perry - Dark Horse Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Prism
Released: 2013

Dark Horse Lyrics

Yeah, y'all know what it is
Katy Perry, Juicy J, Mr. Worldwide
Uh huh, let's rage

I knew you were
You were gonna come to me
And here you are,
But you better choose carefully
'Cause I, I'm capable of anything
Of anything, and everything
Make me your Aphrodite
Make me your one and only
But don't, make me your enemy
Your enemy
Your enemy

So you wanna play with magic?
Boy, you should know what you're falling for
Baby, do you dare to do this?
'Cause I'm coming at you like a Dark Horse
Are you ready for, ready for
A perfect storm, perfect storm?
'Cause once you're mine, once you're mine
There's no going back! (Hey!)

Mark my words
This love will make you levitate
Like a bird, like a bird without a cage
We're down to earth,
If you choose to walk away
Don't walk away.
It's in the palm of your hand now baby
It's a yes or a no
No maybe, so just be sure
Before you give it up to me
Up to me, give it up to me

So you wanna play with magic?
Boy, you should know what you're falling for
Baby, do you dare to do this?
Cause I'm coming at you like a dark horse
Are you ready for, ready for
A perfect storm, perfect storm?
'Cause once you're mine, once you're mine
There's no going back!

I'm an outcast, I got that!
Southernplayalisticadillacmuzik,
And that's just a start
My life, I took it from the back to the front, Rosa Park
Who cares what they bank or they bought
Who cares what they think or they thought
Baby, we can do it in the car
In the kitchen, on the floor
In the middle of the park (Woo)
I'm here to play with that little bit of thing
That pump blood through your veins, your heart
And all these petty little players acting like they can hang
But they can not,
Can't, won't, don't, never!
Will! You! Be! Real!
One, two, three, four times, Cypress Hill
Hey Ms. Perry,
Looking sexy with your fine self
Want a little bit of magic?
I'm Maverick top gun
If you lookin' and you look no further, you got one!
He! I got 'em confused
Is he Hispanic? or is he Caucasian?!
No worry about where I'm from,
Just know one thing, I'm amazing

So you wanna play with magic?
Boy, you should know what you're falling for
Baby, do you dare to do this?
Cause I'm coming at you like a dark horse
Are you ready for, ready for
A perfect storm, perfect storm?
'Cause once you're mine, once you're mine
There's no going back!

Writer/s: Armando Perez, Henry Walter, Jared Houston, Katy Perry, Lukasz Gottwald, Martin Max, Sarah Hudson
Publisher: BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Dark Horse

This Dr. Luke produced ballad finds Katy with her sights set on a guy, and she won't take no for an answer. It was selected as a promotional single from Prism after the singer asked fans to choose between this song or the dance club heavy "Walking On Air."

The song features a verse from Juicy J. The Memphis rapper told RapFix Live host Sway Calloway about their collaboration: "Dr. Luke gave me a call and was like, 'Hey man, Katy Perry wants you to feature on one of her songs for her album' and I was like, 'Wow.' I couldn't believe," he said. "He sent me the track over, I did the verse and like a week later he called me again and he was like, 'She wants to meet you she wants you to come to the studio.'"

The recording process was something new for the rapper. "It was a little different. I did a lot of different versions to it. I recorded almost three verses because I wanted to make sure everything fit with the song and that she was satisfied," Juicy J said. "So it was a little challenging to make, but I've been doing this for a long time and I had fun doing it so it wasn't a problem."

Dr. Luke also served as executive producer on Juicy J's Stay Trippy album.

The term "Dark Horse" is used to describe a person whose abilities or possible course of action are unknown, or to a somebody who reveals unsuspected talent. The earliest-known use of the phrase was in novelist and future Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli's 1831 novel The Young Duke: A Moral Tale Through Gay. He described a horse race where, "a dark horse, which had never been thought of... rushed past the grandstand in sweeping triumph."

Uses of the term "Dark Horse" in popular music include a 1974 single, album and tour by George Harrison named after the phrase. The former Beatle also named his record label Dark Horse Records. In addition, Canadian rockers Nickelback gave their 2008 album the moniker of Dark Horse and Alternative rock band Switchfoot titled the first single off their 2011 Vice Verses "Dark Horses."

This song was co-penned by Sarah Hudson, who is a singer-songwriter and a member of the pop group Ultraviolet Sound. She isn't related to Katy (whose real name is Katy Hudson), however Sarah is the first cousin of another famous person with the same name: the actress Kate Hudson.

Other writers listed on the track are Perry, Dr. Luke, Max Martin, Juicy J, and Cirkut.

Perry revealed at a special album release party with iHeartRadio that the song was inspired by the 1996 movie The Craft, which is, "about warning a guy that if you're going to fall in love with me, make sure you're sure because if not, it's gonna be your last." The singer added that it reminded her of the moment she heard the Teenage Dream single "E.T.."

The song finds Perry playing seductress and putting a potential lover under her spell. She described the lyrics to MTV News as "kind of witchy and dark, as if I was a witch warning this man not to fall in love with me, and if you do know I'm going to be your last." Perry went on to describe the tune as having a "witchy, spell-y kind of black magic-y idea."

Along with Juicy J, Perry performed this song at the Grammy awards in 2014. She went with a witchcraft/enchanted forest theme, staging an elaborate spectacle where she emerged from a giant crystal ball and sang to an anthropomorphic horse. Those who believe in Illuminati found lots of evidence of Perry's involvement with the group in her performance.

The song hit the top of the Hot 100 after Perry performed it on the Grammy Awards on the previous Sunday. "This #1 is the most unexpected one I've ever had," said the singer. "'Dark Horse' has been a dark horse of a song, since August when the KatyCats voted to release it early on iTunes, before PRISM even came out."

Perry enlisted Matthew Cullen to helm the video in which she plays a mystic queen in ancient Egypt. The pair previously worked together before, on her "California Gurls" clip. Juicy J also appears in the visual, emerging from a mummy's sarcophagus.

Members of the Muslim community criticized the video, citing the part around the 1:15 mark when Perry kills a a male subject, who is wearing a pendant that forms the word "Allah," the Arabic word for God. The jewelry is also destroyed.

Following a petition, which was signed by more than 65,000 people, the pendant was digitally removed from the scene.

Perry and the other songwriters were taken to court by Christian hip hoppers Flame, Lecrae and John Reilly for allegedly stealing the beat from their 2008 single "Joyful Noise" for this tune.

The lawsuit claimed that the songwriters stole the track and presented it as their own. It was also alleged that Perry ruined the faith-based message of the song by creating a blasphemous video containing uses of witchcraft, idols and black magic. "The devoutly religious message of 'Joyful Nose' has been irreparably tarnished by its association with the witchcraft, paganism, black magic and Illuminati imagery evoked by the same music in 'Dark Horse,'" read the suit. "Indeed, the music video of 'Dark Horse' generated widespread accusations of blasphemy and an online petition signed by more than 60,000 demanding removal of an offensive religious image from the video."

Flame took home a Gospel Music Association Dove Award for "Joyful Noise" while the LP it's from, Our World: Redeemed, won the Grammy for best rock or rap gospel album.

A YouTube video showing how this song stopped a baby crying went viral in August 2014 and renewed interest in the tune.

This won Best Single at the 2014 American Music Awards. Perry also claimed the gongs for Favorite Pop/Rock Female Solo Artist and Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist at the same ceremony.

The song's video was the most popular music clip on YouTube in 2014, with 715 million views. It was also the most-streamed song of the year if YouTube views are factored in.

Sans Juicy J, Perry performed this song at the Super Bowl in 2015 when she was the halftime entertainment. For this part of the show, the stage was transformed into a giant chessboard, with Perry singing among an array of dancers in a postmodern, equine motif.