People Like You is yet another spectacular song from my favourite balladeer Christina Perri. It is a form of art-music in its minimalist and modest approach, but elicits profound emotions which few music artists even with the luxury of employing big studio materials could ever hope to emulate.
I sent the lyrics from today’s featured track to a friend whose opinion I regard highly, and I asked them: ‘Who do you think wrote this song‘? They responded – ‘Leonard Cohen‘. No… this 30 something year-old American Christina Perri wrote it.
People Like You is from her third studio album Lighter Shade of Blue which I consider the most enriching album of ballads and transcendental love songs I’ve ever had the privilege to listen to. It encapsulates Christina Perri’s artistry in a way that reflects her journey in life and motherhood and is also a compelling reflection on grief. Lighter Shade of Blue feels more organic than her previous records.
Giving up on the life and career she’d fought so hard to build following the devastating loss of her daughter Rosie in 2020 simply wasn’t an option.
“It’s not that I’ve recovered, it’s that I’m recovering and I always will be.…There’s a real honesty to be found in walking through your pain.…’
There’s a freedom in the freefall,” sings Perri.. “Wanna scream, but I whisper.”
Despite feeling crippled by such distressing and debilitating waves of grief, Perri says she purposefully chose to turn away from the dark, and vowed only to look towards the light.
[Verse 1]
I wish I could love you like
Wish I could love you like I’ll stay
I keep makin’ promises
I keep makin’ promises I’ll break
If I’m bein’ honest
Do you want me to be honest?
Do you want me to pretend that we’re okay?
I wish I could love you like
Wish I could love you like I’ll stay
[Chorus]
People like me don’t get people like you
‘Cause people like you get hurt
People like you don’t get people like me
‘Causе people like mе get worse
So I keep you holdin’ on
Just in case I got it wrong
And I know your perfect heart is gonna break
But you love me anyway
[Verse 2]
I wish I could love just like
Wish I could love just like you do
I build walls around my heart
The kind of walls you don’t get through
Should we turn this ship around
Before we both go down?
Should we just float here forever in the blue?
I wish I could love just like
Wish I could love just like you do
“When Rosie passed away I just thought: ‘well, surely I’m going to move away to Hawaii and live in a hut somewhere’ because in that moment of being consumed by such strong feelings of sadness and grief, I didn’t see how I could continue to live the same life I did before – I truly couldn’t imagine the future. It’s like you want everything to go back to how it was before, and to feel at peace, and protected from ever having to experience anything so painful again. But unfortunately, that’s not how life works is it? And so you have somehow figure out a way to move forward and adjust to your new normal.”
Think of Christina’s words above when she brings this immense song home at 2:49 singing:
You love me anyway
You love me anyway
Love me anyway
References:
1. Christina Perri – Celebmix
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
Observation Blogger 
I mostly know Christina Perri by name and her hit “A Thousand Years”. She has a pretty voice, also on this song.
Christina is by far my favourite female contemporary music artist. Her music has appeared here more than twice as much (20 articles) as any other female artist. In my humble opinion, I hold her musical contributions up there with Dylan, Springsteen and Cohen in terms of how her music and lyric have impacted me personally. I know it’s all subjective Christian, but that’s just where I have her. Thanks for commenting.
Another great song by her!
To quote Depeche Mode: ‘I Just Can’t Get Enough’ ;-P
I am really starting to get it. She is one of a kind…..
Don’t get me started man! Haha This song like many other songs by her which I present here gets very little love.
Even if there’s just one who gets her stuff, I’m sure excited it’s you buddy lol
A beautiful and haunting song. I wasn’t aware that one of Perri’s children was stillborn.
Yeh Rosie. I can’t imagine what Christina went through.