Christina Perri tattoos are spread across her arms and chest, but the designs don’t all come from the same place. They point to family, books, music, old friends and small details she has carried with her. Among the pieces fans notice are her dog portrait, the Johnny Cash reference, the line “to thine own self be true,” and the Stargirl tattoo. She has also talked about covering older work as her taste changed. Her collection has grown in layers. New pieces sit beside older ones, and some designs have changed along the way.

Christina Perri’s dog tattoo

A portrait of her dog is one of the more personal images in Perri’s collection. It’s described as a tribute to her pet, though the public details don’t give a date or explain the story behind it. In a full-arm photo the portrait can be easy to miss; a closer view brings the face into focus. It sits among other tattoos, alongside larger images and smaller marks.

The Johnny Cash tattoo

Perri also has a tattoo connected to Johnny Cash, one of the artists who influenced her. The reference joins the music-related pieces in her collection. It’s tempting to connect Cash’s plain-spoken songs with Perri’s own writing, but that’s an outside reading; the tattoo itself is the clearest evidence of the connection. The exact personal story behind her choice isn’t spelled out here.

“To thine own self be true”

The phrase comes from Shakespeare’s Hamlet and is one of Perri’s most recognizable tattoos. It runs in script along her arm and often shows in sleeveless performance photos. Its message about being honest with yourself is direct, and it fits the openness of her songwriting without much explanation. The lettering stretches along her arm, so it’s both a readable sentence and part of the larger patchwork around it.

Her apple tattoo

A small apple adds a lighter note. Perri hasn’t offered a single public explanation for it, and there’s no need to assign it one. It appears among the other small designs rather than taking center stage; in a busy photo, you may spot it only after looking again.

The “CAPO NODO” finger tattoo

The letters “CAPO NODO” appear across Perri’s fingers. The Italian phrase is commonly translated as “head knot” or “main knot,” but that translation alone doesn’t settle what she means by it. The placement makes the tattoo hard to miss when she holds a microphone or reaches for a guitar. It adds another piece of lettering to a collection where words, names and pictures share space without forming one long quote sleeve.

The Stargirl tattoo

Perri’s Stargirl tattoo refers to Jerry Spinelli’s novel, which she has described as meaningful to her. It’s another book reference among pieces tied to music and personal memories. Readers may connect the story with being different without apology, but that doesn’t establish Perri’s own reason for choosing the design. The title gives her collection a link to a book as well as to songs and people.

The crescent moon tattoo

A crescent moon is another small design in the mix. Perri hasn’t publicly explained every symbol, so its exact meaning isn’t clear. In photos, the curved shape sits near longer script and darker images, giving the eye another shape to pick out among those denser pieces.

Why Christina’s tattoos feel like a scrapbook

Dog, book, music, Shakespeare and an apple: the references point in different directions, with no single style tying them together. Perri has also talked about covering older tattoos as her taste changed. Over time, some designs stop feeling right, while others take on more meaning. That changing mix is what makes the collection feel like a scrapbook: each piece can be read on its own, and the tattoos have shifted as she has.

Watch a Christina Perri tattoo video

The video below offers a closer look at Christina’s tattoo designs and how the smaller symbols sit among the larger pieces.