Photo by Greg Rosenke
Brandon Lake is an American worship leader who formerly worked for Bethel Music and Maverick City Music. He released four albums and one EP, including:
- Closer (2016)
- House of Miracles (2020)
- House of Miracles (Live) (2021)
- Almond Eyes (EP, 2021)
- Help! (2022)
- Coat of Many Colors (2023)
He won 21 different awards, more than I care to list out.
Also, check out my other Brandon Lake reviews.
Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Brandon-lake-coat-of-many-colors-lyrics.
Note to new users: This is a different kind of review site! Read About the Berean Test and Evaluation Criteria prior to reading this review. I strongly encourage you to consider the potential blessings and dangers of this artist‘s theology by visiting Resources.
1. What message does the song communicate?
The account of Joseph, his multicolored coat, dreams, and brothers’ retaliation serves as the backdrop for another “coat” that Lake wears that contains three colors: Red for Jesus’ blood, white for His illumination, and gold for the crown that He places on Lake. Lake responds to God’s lovingkindness by obeying His commandment to tell others about Him.
Side Note: To those annoyed by massive repetition, Bridge repeats the same two lines four times in a row.
Score: 10/10
2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?
The entire song lines up.
[Verse 1]
Line 1: Likely borrows from Genesis 37:3 to compare Joseph’s coat to a different one that Lake wears, as described in Chorus.
Line 2: It is a light that God has bestowed upon Lake (Matthew 5:14-16, Ephesians 5:8, 1 Peter 2:9, 1 John 1:5-7, and 1 John 2:7-11).
Line 3: That is, God is Lake’s sanctuary (Ruth 2:12, 2 Samuel 22:3-4, Psalm 3:3, Psalm 5:11, Psalm 18:30, Psalm 27:1, Psalm 32:7, Psalm 34:22, Psalm 41:2, Psalm 46:1, Psalm 57:1, Psalm 59:1, Psalm 61:3, Psalm 91:1-16, Psalm 118:8, Psalm 121:7-8, Psalm 138:7, Proverbs 18:10, Proverbs 30:5, Nahum 1:7, 2 Thessalonians 3:3, and 1 John 5:18).
[Pre-Chorus]
Lines 1 and 2: Describes Lake’s trajectory from deadness in lawbreaking and sin to life with Jesus (Romans 6:1-11, Romans 7:4-6, Galatians 2:19-20, 2 Timothy 2:11, and 1 Peter 2:24).
[Chorus]
Line 1: The first color is red. This represents the shed blood of Jesus when He paid for Lake’s sins on the cross (Isaiah 53:1-12, Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45, John 1:29, John 3:16, John 19:30, Acts 4:12, Acts 20:28, Romans 5:6-10, Romans 6:23, 1 Corinthians 1:30, 1 Corinthians 6:20, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Galatians 1:3-4, Galatians 3:13, Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 2:14, 1 Timothy 2:6, Titus 2:14, Hebrews 9:12, Hebrews 9:15-26, 1 Peter 1:17-21, 1 Peter 2:24, 1 John 1:7, 1 John 2:1-2, and Revelation 5:9).
Line 2: The second color is white. This represents the light that drove the darkness out from within Lake (Psalm 107:10-16, Luke 1:79, John 1:1-13, John 12:46, Ephesians 5:8, Colossians 1:13, and 1 Peter 2:9).
Line 3: The third and final color is gold. This presents the crown that God places on Lake’s head (James 1:12).
Lines 4-9: Describes the Great Exchange, where Lake gave Christ his wicked heart and received mercy and forgiveness (Romans 6:1-11, Romans 7:4-6, Galatians 2:19-20, 2 Timothy 2:11, and 1 Peter 2:24).
Side Note: Line 9 gets repeated numerous times on subsequent iterations of Chorus.
[Verse 2]
Line 1: Going back to the multicolor coat theme, Joseph was betrayed by his brothers (Genesis 37:18-28). This can be true for us today.
Line 2: Jesus was betrayed by His “brother” Judas (Matthew 26:14-19, Matthew 26:47-50, Mark 14:10-11, Mark 14:43-46, Luke 22:47-48, and John 18:1-5). Thus, He understands what betrayal feels like.
Line 3: Joseph’s dreams got him in trouble with his brothers (Genesis 37:5-11). That could happen to us too.
[Bridge]
Lines 1 and 2: That is, Lake is modeling Jesus’ command to tell others about what He has done, thus, making disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20).
Lines 3-8: Repeats lines 1 and 2.
Score: 10/10
3. How would an outsider interpret the song?
This song is thick with Christianese language; However, unbelievers should be familiar enough with the account of Joseph to remember that he had a coat of many colors and a few dreams that made his brothers angry. They will likely conclude that Lake’s usage of this account is figurative, especially since he explicitly explains what the colors represent in Chorus. The “blood that saved me” in Chorus is an obvious reference to Jesus, leading those outside the Christian faith to interpret this song with a Christian lens. Thus, interpretation becomes easy.
Score: 10/10
4. What does this song glorify?
It glorifies Jesus, though not explicitly by name but by deed, His blood saves Lake, His brightness shines out the shadows within, and He provides Lake with a crown to wear. It also brings Him glory that Lake preaches His message to the masses.
Score: 10/10
Closing Comments
Brandon Lake’s Coat of Many Colors is colorful. Red, white, and no not blue. This isn’t the American flag! Gold is the third color. Each represent different aspects of Jesus’ acts, including His blood that was spilled for our redeption, His light that quenches darkness, and His crown that is given to those who are His. In turn, Lake wears this coat and expects us to do the same, that is, to make disciples of other nations by sharing and modeling Christ’s love to others. These points glorify Him. Unbelievers should have enough basic knowledge about Joseph and Jesus to piece together Lake’s intended message.
In terms of corporate worship, I’m on the fence. There are parts of it that proclaims God’s value and worth, but the vast majority is about the coat that Lake is wearing, I’ll just mark this one as a solid “maybe” and move onto the next review.
Final Score: 10/10
Artist Info
Track: Coat of Many Colors (listen to the song)
Artist: Brandon Lake
Album: Coat of Many Colors
Genre: Rock
Release Year: 2023
Duration: 4:36
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