“The One That Got Away” by Katy Perry
Sometimes, looking back to the past brings about an intense amount of heartache especially when you’ve lost the love of your life. “The One That Got Away” tells the story of someone in their old age reminiscing the love they once shared when they were younger – intense and fun – until they decided to opt for a luxurious, comfortable life.
Verse 1
Perry recollects meeting her beau one “summer after high school” and making out in their car. Being young in love, they both did fun things together such as getting “matching tattoos”. They also shared hopes of having a future together. To her dismay, she lost this person.
Verse 2
Comparing their young love to a very romantic celebrity couple, Johnny Cash and June, Perry was never seen without her significant other. Now that they’re no longer together, she still listens to the songs they once heard together. Adding salt to the wounds, the songstress also heard that her former lover has removed their matching tattoo from his body. This would be painful news to hear especially if one still has love for their former partner as the removal means they’re done and there’s no coming back.
Bridge
Looking back after living a luxurious life (that was probably filled with unhappiness), the songstress realizes that despite having all the money in the world, time cannot be rewound. Guilt fills her as she could have confessed to them her true feelings but now, will never have that chance ever again.
Chorus
The only hope she has now is that in her next life, they would cross paths again. And this time, she’s never going to let him go.
Who Is the Song About?
On “The Late Late Show With James Corden”, Perry confessed that “The One That Got Away” was about singer Josh Groban. The pair had briefly dated for a while.
In fact, in 2009, Perry once had a fake tattoo above her right breast that read “Josh Grobin”.
In another interview, the songstress said her inspiration behind the song was Tom Waits’ “Martha”. “Martha” was about a man calling up his former love years later, confessing that he still loves her despite both being married.
Credits for “The One That Got Away”
Katy Perry shares writing credits for “The One That Got Away” with the following:
- American record producer and songwriter Dr. Luke
- Swedish record producer and songwriter Max Martin
Luke and Martin also produced the track. The pair was also part of the production team that produced the song’s entire album.
When was “The One That Got Away” released?
This was released as a single on 24th August, 2010. It was part of Perry’s third album titled “Teenage Dream”. Capitol Records was the label behind this project.
American rapper B.o.B collaborated with Perry to produce a remix version of this song. This version saw two new verses being added. The remix officially came out on 20th December 2011.
How Well Did this Song Chart?
“The One That Got Away” was a very successful song for Perry. It hit the 3rd and 18th positions on the US Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles, respectively.
Furthermore, it was a top-10 hit in the following countries:
- Canada (#2)
- Hungary (#3)
- Slovakia (#7)
- South Korea (#2)
- Venezuela (#5)
Despite not being a #1 hit in the UK and US, the single received Platinum sales certifications in these places. For example, in the United States it went multi platinum with sales which currently stand at over 5 million units.
Notable Covers of “The One That Got Away”
- American singer-songwriter Tiffany Alvord and American singer Chester See uploaded their rendition of the song on YouTube in 2011.
- The cover band Boyce Avenue uploaded their version on 11th December 2011.
- In 2015, American singer Brielle Von Hugel published a black and white music video of a mellowed version of this song.
- Olivia Rodrigo and Conan Gray performed a duet cover of “The One That Got Away” at Rodrigo’s Sour Tour when they both were at Vancouver.
