Dark Horse
by Katy Perry

“ Dark Horse ” is a song by American singer Katy Perry featuring rapper Juicy J. It was originally released on September 17, 2013, by Capitol Records as the first promotional single from Perry’s fourth studio album, Prism (2013). Three months later, it was released as the third official single on December 17. Both artists co-wrote the song with its producers, Max Martin, Cirkut, and Dr. Luke, alongside Sarah Hudson. It was conceived by Perry and Hudson during a writing session in Perry’s hometown of Santa Barbara, California, and Juicy J was later commissioned for a verse on the song.
“Dark Horse” combines the genres of trap, hip hop, pop-rap and electropop, replicating what has been described as a “Southern rap-techno mashup”. The track features a minimal production, with a “seductive” and “mature” tone to Perry’s vocals, while Juicy J is featured on the song’s intro and rapped bridge. Perry, in interviews, said she wanted the song to have a “witchy, spell-y kind of black magic-y idea”, so she wrote it from the perspective of a witch warning a man not to fall in love with her because if he does, she will be his last. The song was part of a competition sponsored by Pepsi in which fans could vote via Twitter on whether they would prefer either “Dark Horse” or “Walking on Air” to be released as the first promotional single from Prism.

Lyrics

Dark Horse
I knew you were
You were gonna come to me
And here you are
But you better choose carefully
‘Cause 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 whatcha falling for
Baby do you dare to do this
‘Cause I’m coming atcha like a dark horse
Are you ready for, ready for
A perfect storm, a perfect storm
‘Cause once you’re mine, once you’re mine
There’s no going back
Mark my words
This love will make you levitate
Like a bird
Like a bird without a cage
But 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 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 whatcha falling for
Baby do you dare to do this
‘Cause I’m coming atcha like a dark horse
Are you ready for, ready for
A perfect storm, a perfect storm
‘Cause once you’re mine, once you’re mine
There’s no going back
She’s a beast
I call her Karma
She eat your heart out
Like Jeffrey Dahmer
Be careful
Try not to lead her on
Shawty’s heart was on steroids
‘Cause her love was so strong
You may fall in love
When you meet her
If you get the chance you better keep her
She swears by it but if you break her heart
She turn cold as a freezer
That fairy tale ending with a knight in shining armor
She can be my Sleeping Beauty
I’m gon’ put her in a coma
Woo! Damn I think I love her
Shawty so bad
I’m sprung and I don’t care
She got me like a roller coaster
Turn the bedroom into a fair
Her love is like a drug
I was tryna hit it and quit it
But lil’ mama so dope
I messed around and got addicted
So you wanna play with magic
Boy, you should know whatcha falling for
Baby do you dare to do this
‘Cause I’m coming atcha like a dark horse
Are you ready for, ready for
A perfect storm, a perfect storm
‘Cause once you’re mine, once you’re mine
There’s no going back

Songwriters: Lukasz Gottwald / Jordan Houston / Sarah Hudson / Martin Max / Katy Perry / Henry Russell Walter