What is the song who are you living for by Katy Perry about?

Answer 1

This song is full of Biblical allusions and I think that knowing her past might lead to what this song is about. She grew up in the church so she most likely heard all of the stories and I'm pretty sure her father was even the pastor. But she left the church when she began her career because her lyrics were counter to the things of the church. So from what the lyrics of this song, I think she is not questioning whether she is living for herself or living for the God of The Bible but battling over who to live for. So I'm gonna try to break it down so you can see where I'm coming from.

-"I can feel a phoenix inside of me

As I march alone to a different beat

Slowly swallowing down my fear, yeah, yeah"

According to dictionary.com, a phoenix is a mythical bird of great beauty fabled to live 500 or 600 years in the Arabian wilderness, to burn itself on a funeral pyre, and to rise from its ashes in the freshness of youth and live through another cycle of years: often an emblem of immortality or of reborn idealism or hope.

So this could be that she feels something inside of her that brings life that is putting to death the old self and rising again immortally. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.The old has pass away; behold, the new has come." The other lines could mean that she is doing her own thing but basically has to swallow her pride and admit she made a mistake.

-"I am ready for the road less traveled

Suiting up for my crowning battle

This is test is my own cross to bear

But I will get there"

The road less traveled many times refers to the christian life and I don't think its too far to say that because of all the other Biblical/Christian allusion in here. She is battling over a life changing choice and it is only a choice that she can bear or make.

-"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 heavens

But I still hear the flames

Calling out my name"

There are countless stories in the Bible where God called or chose someone to do something and they were never easy just as she is saying here. I think with her past knowledge of the Bible, she knows how she is living is not right and God is calling her to something even greater but it might cost her her career. She knows she has to make a choice and she knows that she can choose God and heaven but the world keeps pushing her and telling her to live an immoral life and reject God leading to the flames of hell.

-"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?"

Daniel 5 talks about writing on the wall but its too long to copy to here so you can go read it on biblegateway.com but part of what was written on the wall was You have been weighed on the scales and found wanting. So possibly she could feel that her life has been weighed and still there is something lacking and that it is not something that she can just simply ignore.

-"Heavy is head that wears the crown

Don't let the greatness get you down

Heavy is head that wears the crown

Don't let the greatness get you down"

Heavy headed means to be dumb or obstinate and I think it means that the person who rules his life is foolish and that perceived greatness will in turn cause you to lose everything.

-"(At the end, at the end)

Who am I living for?

(At the end, at the end)

Who am I living for?

In the end when Christ comes again there will be a judgement talked about in Revelation of the Bible and truly at that point at the end its when those that lived for Christ will be rewarded with heaven and those that chose to live for themselves will have chosen hell. So it is critacally important who you live for