By the Grace of God (song)

"By the Grace of God" is a song by American singer Katy Perry from her fourth studio album, Prism (2013), included as the standard edition's final track.

After English actor and comedian Russell Brand divorced Perry in late December 2011, she was so distraught over the event that she considered committing suicide.

[1] Greg Wells, who assisted Perry with the composition of "By the Grace of God", commented on the situation: "I think she felt so kicked in the head and so publicly embarrassed at being divorced by a text message".

[3] Instead, she channelled the entire divorce event into "By the Grace of God", in which its lyrics depict Perry battling against her suicidal thoughts while lying on her bathroom floor.

"[4] "By the Grace of God" was unveiled to industry insiders during a listening party for Prism held in Manhattan,[5] while its inclusion on the album track list was confirmed on October 1, 2013.

[4] However, the song "Ghost", also present on Prism, includes references to the divorce, particularly the lyric "You sent a text, it was like the wind changed your mind", although Perry stated that the track was not about the split.

[16] Josh Duboff from Vanity Fair highlighted the titles of "By the Grace of God" and deluxe edition song "Spiritual", concluding that the religious undertones were "more prominent" in Prism.

[12] Philip Matusavage from musicOMH considered that "the fact that ["By the Grace of God"] is the album highlight and is the only song written by less than three people" is an indicator of what Perry should do next.

[20] In his review of Prism, Sam Lansky from Idolator showed himself divided relatively to the song: he classified it as the "most sonically conventional thing [in the album]" although he immediately stated it was "also the most emotionally gripping" in it.

[21] Randall Roberts from the Los Angeles Times affirmed that the song was "cosmic" and that it had a "humming, dark tension in which Perry and melody float like red balloons".

[18] Allison Stewart from The Washington Post said that "By the Grace of God" ranked "among Perry's strongest (tracks)", and that it was "her most strangely sensible and affecting song ever, one that distances her from her suddenly-more-callow-seeming peers and also from Brand".

[23] John Walker from MTV highlighted the fact that the song is "light on figures of speech and all-too accessible platitudes", as compared to the metaphors present on the lyrics of "Wide Awake".

[16] Mesfin Fekadu from ABC News thought both tracks were "good", but stated that they "could be great if Perry didn't hold back and explored more lyrically and sonically".

[32] "By the Grace of God" was debuted during Perry's headlining set at the Roundhouse in London, England for her Apple Music Festival, held on September 30, 2013.

Before she appeared on stage, a prerecorded video message from U.S. President Barack Obama was screened, which featured him encouraging musicians to support the "#ItsOnUs" sexual assault campaign.