From Orlando Bloom to Pregnancy: Katy Perry's 'Never Worn White' Song Lyrics Explained

"This was a song I wrote about commitment, and about stepping into commitment," Katy Perry said

Katy Perry is professing her love in song for fiancé Orlando Bloom, with whom she is expecting her first child.

For her latest single, “Never Worn White,” the pregnant singer, 35, belts out wedding-themed lyrics about wanting everlasting love with a partner, presumably her on-off again actor boyfriend since 2016. The couple got engaged on Valentine’s Day 2019 and Perry announced her pregnancy in the “Never Worn White” music video, which was released on Thursday.

From the familiar opening notes to her subtle reference to ex-husband Russell Brand, here’s everything to know about “Never Worn White.”

Katy Perry

If the first 10 seconds of the song sounded familiar, you’ve been to a fair share of wedding as “Never Worn White” opens and ends with “Wedding March,” which is composer Felix Mendelssohn’s well-used melody for wedding recessionals.

In the pre-chorus, Perry references Bloom’s proposal with a unique flower-shaped diamond ring on Feb. 14, 2019, when he pulled off a surprise romantic gesture. Detailing how “you asked the question/ I said yes, but I’m scared” and “you asked the question/ I could tell you were scared,” Perry reflects on their helicopter date, during which he asked her to marry him. In a May 2019 interview on Capital Breakfast with Roman Kemp, the American Idol judge shared that Bloom was “so nervous” before the proposal.

And in the chorus, (‘Cause I’ve never worn white/ But I wanna get it right/ Yeah, I really wanna try with you/ No, I’ve never worn white/ But I’m standin’ here tonight/ ‘Cause I really wanna say ‘I do’ I do), the title of the song is seemingly explained with a hint to her first wedding to ex-husband Russell Brand in October 2010, when she went for a dove gray dress over the traditional white.

Perry’s forthcoming marriage to Bloom will also be the second wedding for the actor, who was previously married to Miranda Kerr. The pair, who separated after three years of marriage, divorced in 2013 and co-parent son Flynn, 9.

Katy Perry (L) and Orlando Bloom. Steve Granitz/WireImage

A day after the song’s release, Perry spoke with SiriusXM’s Mikey Piff about the meaning of the lyrics. “This was a song I wrote about commitment, and about stepping into commitment, and all the feelings that go along with that,” she said. “Whether they’re excited and happy, but also vulnerable and scared. You want to get it right. The song totally fell out of my mouth. I was next to my songwriter on the piano and I was like, ‘Play the “Wedding March” song,’ and that’s literally how it happened.”

Perry added, “The main part of the song is ‘I’ve never worn white/ But I wanna get it right/ Yeah, I really wanna try with you’ and it does allude to the fact that I have done this before. The funny thing is that I didn’t even wear white before, I wore dove gray. I possibly get the chance to get it right this time, and wear white. Do the whole thing right, maybe.”

Below are all the lyrics of “Never Worn White”:

You love the hell out of me
And heaven’s what we could be
I’ve stood on the edge of love
But never took the leap

And you took my armor off
Did it delicately
And I let my guard down
To show you what’s underneath

Thank God that you were man enough to come
Answer my mamma’s prayers
You asked the question
I said yes, but I’m scared

‘Cause I’ve never worn white
But I wanna get it right
Yeah, I really wanna try with you
No, I’ve never worn white
But I’m standing here tonight
‘Cause I really wanna say, I do…I do

See us in sixty years with a full family tree
Give my blood, sweat, and tears to reach our destiny
‘Cause love is a minefield, let’s take this walk, baby
‘Cause at the end of it all, I choose and you choose me

Thank God I was woman enough to come
Answer your father’s prayers
You asked the question
I could tell you were scared

‘Cause I’ve never worn white
But I wanna get it right
Yeah, I really wanna try with you
No, I’ve never worn white
But I’m standing here tonight
‘Cause I really wanna say, I do…I do

Now let’s dance with each other
Mixing all of our colors
It’s so easy to surrender
When you finally find forever

No, I’ve never worn white, no
But I really wanna try with you, yeah

I’ve never worn white
But I wanna get it right
‘Cause I really wanna say, I do

‘Cause I do
Oh, I do, yeah, yeah

I do