bonnie mckee
Singer-songwriter Bonnie McKee, who attended the 24th Annual Elton John AIDS Foundation’s Oscar Viewing Party at The City of West Hollywood Park on Feb. 28, 2016 in California, has shared the original lyrics to Katy Perry’s “Wide Awake.” Getty Images

Wake up, it’s time to revisit an important moment in pop history – the creation of Katy Perry’s hit 2012 song, “Wide Awake.”

Bonnie McKee, who co-wrote this massive track with Perry, Max Martin, Dr. Luke and Cirkut, happened upon the original lyrics sheet and decided to kindly share it with the rest of us.

The songwriter, who just dropped a new single of her own called “Thorns,” posted a video to Twitter on Wednesday, showing off the lyric sheet and breaking down what lyrics changed from the original version to the final cut, and why.

“Guys, I just found a really fun piece of pop culture history, laying around my house,” McKee started off the video. “Check it out. This is the original version of ‘Wide Awake.’”

The track was written for the re-issue of Perry’s third album, “Teenage Dream: The Complete Confection,” which was released as part of Perry’s documentary, “Katy Perry: Part of Me.” As the power ballad came out over five years ago, apparently McKee really likes to keep all evidence of her creative process. Lucky for us.

“So, in the original demo, Max Martin sang a melody in, and originally it was ‘No matter what’ instead of ‘I’m wide awake,’” McKee revealed. “So this was that version.”

McKee continued by singing the original version for fans to hear how it first sounded, and this version is just as catchy.

“’No matter what, the sun is gonna rise, the stars are gonna fall, without you by my side, no matter what, the world is gonna carry on,’” she sang.

The 33-year-old shared that Perry’s breakup to Russell Brand in 2012 majorly contributed to the songwriting process, saying, “She was basically taking it [the lyrics] straight out of her journal.”

These little tidbits of information really help get fans in the mindset of what went down when writing this dance-pop song. The idea that Perry’s breakup helped mold this song is very evident in the lyrics McKee sang next.

“The second half of that verse was, ‘No matter what, you said it’s you and me, ‘til the end of time, to eternity, no matter what, I guess forever ain’t that long,’” the “American Girl” singer shared.

So, how did the track go from “No matter what” to “Wide awake?” It was all about the visual element. The writers thought the original lyric was strong, but they wanted the words to paint more of a picture for listeners. From that, “Wide awake,” was born.

“After writing all of this, we stumbled upon, ‘I’m wide awake, yeah I am born again, out of the lion’s den, I don’t have to pretend,’” McKee revealed.

But before she wrapped things up, she had just one last thing to note.

“Also, another word that Katy suggested was ‘Unconditional,’ as you can see there,” McKee says while pointing to a spot in her notebook. “And that went on to be a different song that she wrote.”

From working out one song to getting an idea for another in the process, songwriting is clearly a long, but fun, creative progression. No wonder McKee wanted to share this “brief moment in pop culture history.”

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