Renaissance
I love Mat Kearney’s music, his lyrics aren’t abstract but they are full of meaning. His music speaks to me and feels more like a voice of encouragement or a call to action rather than just words in a song. Through his song Renaissance Mat shows how when everything is going wrong and you feel completely alone, someone is in fact still there for you. The word renaissance means a renewal of life, interest; rebirth: revival. Sometimes you have to hit an all-time low or lose something to be able have your life changed. It seems that when you hit that low point you are able to find or even re-find God.
The song starts out in first-person as someone in a bad car accident and then in the second verse moves to someone who gets dumped by his girlfriend. Basically it is showing hardships happening, things that aren’t easy to deal with. Mat’s whole purpose is to show that you don’t have to deal with whatever struggle you are facing on your own. “I can be the wall when you fall down, Find me on the rocks when you break down,” Mat sings, referring to if you could hear God talking at your moment of need. At that breaking point something has to change, whether it is seeking God or something else. At our worst moment we need a renaissance; a rebirth, something needs to change because you don’t want to be at that low point again.
I’ve always been a big fan of Mat Kearney I like his original style. He often uses what is called spoken word, which is kind of like rapping but with more emphasis on the poetic aspect and without the hip-hop influence. Mat has always inspired me through song; he tries to write things people can relate to and really wants his music to be something more than just sounds. I found something online where Mat talked about the meaning of his song renaissance. He says, "The song is about a friend that was in a car wreck and another who got dumped by his girlfriend. The lyrics touch on these moments in people's lives when they hit rock bottom and question what's going on and what they are about. In that place of total uncertainty, they start to look for something real." He writes songs under a secular label, I think because he knows more than just Christians can relate to this and more than just Christians need to hear it.
I can speak from experience that if you put things ahead of God like in my case, a girlfriend and sports, you will at some point get let down. Thinking that a girl or baseball could fill my every need eventually put me in a low place when I found out they could both let me down. The thing about God is that he doesn’t let me down, so I’ve had to have a Renaissance or two in my lifetime. Hard things need to happen in our lives in order for us to realize we need God. If nothing bad or challenging ever happens to us we could easily lose sight of God’s importance. Why would we need him if our world is doing great? Bad things that happen to us aren't usually what God wants for us, they are a product of our fallen world. But God can use any kind of situation for His good, it all depends on how we react to it. "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance"(James 1:1-3). This song is trying to get at how important it is to trust God because when it really comes down to it, “[He] can be the wall when you fall down” and he will never leave you no matter how hard or messy things get. "The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold"(Psalm 18:2).
At our worst moment, at our lowest point maybe no one is there for you, but no matter what God is still there. "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest"(Matthew 11:28). I find comfort in that, that God is always there because sometimes it is hard to press on, hard to know why you are on this earth. But God knows why and there is a good reason to why we just don’t know it yet. Through Mat’s deep musical talent and his love and understanding for God he has created more than a song but a note of encouragement. Something that speaks to me that and says, no matter where you are at it is okay, you will be okay because God is right next to you.
"Renaissance"
Mat Kearney
This is my renaissance
This is my one response
This is the way I say I love you
This is my second chance
This is my one romance
This is the cutting line
On which I stand to show you
It happened fast in a flash just this evening
I hit the gas, horn blast, brakes screaming
Car crash, broken glass, broke my dreaming
I hit the dash so fast my ears are ringing
My sister's on the right side just slightly leaning
I grabbed her hand hard until she started breathing
My brothers in the back jaw cracked from the beating
The breath in my chest has slipped and I'm sinking
Blinking through diamond spider webs of cracked glass
I'm trying to remember all the words you said in the past
Through the ash, siren screams and red beams
I hear you sing softly to me
[chorus]
I can be the wall when you fall down
Find me on the rocks when you break down
I heard it in the song when you call out
But I got to say now it's got to change
This is my bleeding start
This is my broken heart
This is the way I've come to know you
This is my winding road
This is my way back home
This is the narrow door you know that I will walk through
I got a letter today of why she went away
She said 'it's better this way, you knew I never could stay'
Half empty closets and frames, all that's left to my name
As she left in the rain and left my heart on a chain
Three years I've built this two face tower for hours on a lease
You gave me one yellow flower that said rest in peace
IN pieces I've broken open to think too much or just enough
Alone to trust midst the rubble and the dust
Humbled, it took this much to break down and understand
Spent half my life on castles made of sand
Tossed in the breakers in the palm of your hand
Now I can finally stand
[chorus]
This is my renaissance
This is my one response
This is the way I say I love you
