Perfect Lyrics

[Chorus: Sam Smith]
I'm not perfect, but I'm worth it
I'm not perfect, but I'm workin' on it
I go up, I go down, I go all the way around
I'm not perfect, but I'm worth it

[Verse 1: Sam Smith]
I used to love the night life
Till the night life got too lonely
Might be time for the right guy
Got a feeling that it could be you
You like them crazy, do you?
I'm crazy through and through
I wear my flaws like jewellery
And I'm dripping

[Verse 2: Jessie Reyez]
Yeah, I used to love the night life
Till the night life got too boring
Might be time for the right guy, yeah
Got a feeling that it could be you
Could be you, should be you
Two plus two makes one in love
It could be us, baby, touch
I'm soft to touch, yeah
[Chorus: Sam Smith]
I'm not perfect, but I'm worth it
I'm not perfect, but I'm workin' on it
I go up, I go down, I go all the way around
I'm not perfect, but I'm worth it

[Verse 3: Sam Smith, Jessie Reyez, Both]
Big lips just how I like
Be brave, boy, put them on me
I go crazy in the twilight (Loca)
Got a feeling that you do too (Yeah)
You love that trouble, do you?
I'm trouble through and through (I'm trouble)
I wear my flaws like jewellery (Geez)
And I'm dripping
You like them crazy, do you? (Crazy)
I'm crazy through and through (Through and through)
I wear my flaws like jewellery
And I'm dripping


[Chorus: Both, Sam Smith, Jessie Reyez]
I'm not perfect, but I'm worth it
I'm not perfect, but I'm workin' on it
I go up, I go down (I go down), I go all the way around (I go all the way around)
I'm not perfect, but I'm worth it
[Outro: Sam Smith, Jessie Reyez, Both]
But I'm worth it, oh (Yeah, yeah, yeah)
(Yeah, yeah, yeah)
Oh (Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)
Now you know I'm not perfect
But you're the one that's worth it

Yeah, you know, yeah, you know
Yeah, you know, yeah, you know

I'm worth it, you know I'm worth it
You know I'm worth it
You know I'm worth it, yeah
You know I'm worth it, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

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About

Genius Annotation

This is a song about growing maturity, a yearning for a meaningful relationship and weariness with night life. A constant theme in Sam Smith’s music is loneliness, and this is emerges again in “the night life got too lonely”.

The jazz-influenced slow but emphatic rhythm has maturity and confidence. Sam asserts that “I’m not perfect, but I’m worth it”, clearly not prepared to compromise on anything less than the right person.

The collaboration with Jessie Reyez has proved positive and productive. The contrasting voices are absolutely right for this song.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did Sam Smith say about "Perfect"?
Verified Commentary
Sam Smith
via Apple Music
Genius Answer

This is where sex starts to come into the record. I feel like I’ve been a bit desexualised during my career, and I was very young when I started. Being 20 years old and moving onstage in the way I would in a gay bar was petrifying. Jessie really taught me to be brave: I would say things to her in the studio and she wouldn’t laugh or feel uncomfortable. The whole concept of the song is saying, ‘I’m a hot mess,’ and feeling yourself in a really imperfect way. This song is the Rihanna moment—we worked with Stargate on it, who worked on one of my favourite Rihanna records. Stargate got hold of Nuno Bettencourt, who does guitar solos on and he just ripped all over the song—I love it so much.

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