Lauren Daigle – Rebel Heart

Popular lyricist and singer Lauren Daigle had a great 2019 run, by worldly standards. She received three Dove, three Billboard, and two Grammy awards for her work on Look Up Child and You Say.  This also includes a Billboard award for “Top Christian Artist” and Dove for “Artist of the Year”.

You Say sat on the Hot Christian Songs as #1 for 60 weeks, Christian Airplay for 17, and peaked at #29 on Billboard Hot 100.   On the Billboard 200, her album Look Up Child is the highest-charting Christian album by a woman since LeAnn Rimes’ You Light Up My Life in 1997.  It was certified Gold on May 29, 2019.

Her song Rebel Heart will join eight other Lauren Daigle reviews, including:

• O’Lord
• Trust in You
• You Say
• Look Up Child
• Rescue
• Come Alive (Dry Bones)
• First
• Light of the World

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.

1. What message does the song communicate?

Lauren Daigle admits that at her core, she is a rebellious individual.  Recognizing that God penetrated her heart, through His sacrificial love at calvary, she surrenders herself to Him and asks Him to change her desires to align with His.

We know that this refers to God given the name “Lord” stated at the beginning and allusion to His spilt blood.

Score: 10/10

2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?

All lines throughout these lyrics align with Scripture.

Lyrics posted with permission.*

[Verse 1]

Lord, I offer up this rebel heart
So stubborn and so restless from the start

Daigle’s heart, which she admits is deceitful and rebellious at its core (Jeremiah 17:9), is what she gives to God.

I don’t want to fight You anymore
So take this rebel heart and make it Yours

She seeks a heart transplant, migrating from wickedness and darkness to holiness and light (Romans 6:1-11, Romans 7:4-6, Galatians 2:19-20, 2 Timothy 2:11, and 1 Peter 2:24).

[Verse 2]

Father, I no longer want to run

See Verse 1, line 3.

You’ve broken my resistance with Your love
And drowned it underneath the crimson spill

It is God’s love that caused Him to pay the penalty for our sins through His shed blood on a Roman cross (Romans 5:6-8).

So bend this rebel heart into Your will

That is, God changes our desires (1 Samuel 10:9, Psalm 51:10, Ezekiel 11:19, Ezekiel 36:26, and 2 Corinthians 5:17).  Also, see commentary on Verse 1, line 4.

[Chorus]

I give it over to You

Daigle surrenders her heart to God (Isaiah 64:8, Matthew 10:38, Matthew 11:28-30, Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34-38, Mark 10:28, Luke 9:23, Luke 14:27, John 15:1-11, Romans 6:13, Romans 12:1-2, Galatians 2:20, Philippians 2:5-8, Hebrews 11:6, James 4:7-10, and 1 Peter 5:6).

I give it over to You

Repeats line 1.

Your love is like an arrow straight and true

God’s love does not change (Lamentations 3:22-23) and cannot lie (Numbers 23:19, Titus 1:2, and Hebrews 6:18).

And now this rebel heart belongs to You

See commentary on line 1.

[Verse 3]

Help me lay the renegade to rest

Daigle is asking God for assistance to remove her sinful desires (Psalm 51:10-13).

Turn the stone inside me back to flesh

A direct reference to Ezekiel 11:19, Ezekiel 36:26, Jeremiah 31:33, and Hebrews 8:10.

And hold me ’til my best defenses fall
And watch this rebel heart surrender all

See commentary on Verse 1, lines 3 and 4, and Chorus, line 1.

[Bridge]

Take my life and let it be Yours

See commentary on Chorus, line 1.

Take my life and let it be Yours
Take my life and let it be Yours
Take my life and let it be Yours

Repeats line 1.

[Outro]

Now this rebel heart belongs to You
Now this rebel heart belongs to You

Repeats Chorus, line 4.

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Daigle uses mostly common language to communicate her message, helping with unbeliever interpretation.  The phrase “crimson spill” requires some knowledge of Christianity to comprehend and contexualize under that worldview.

Score: 8/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It glorifies God by celebrating our surrender to His will.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

Lauren Daigle’s Rebel Heart provides an excellent take on surrender, glorifying God.  Highly Scriptural, its interpretation is easy to follow, at least for those who understand what she means by “crimson blood”.

I recommend this song for corporate worship.

Final Score: 9.5/10

Artist Info

Track: Rebel Heart (listen to the song)

Artist: Lauren Daigle

Album: Look Up Child

Genre: Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)

Release Year: 2018

Duration: 4:06

Agree?  Disagree?  Don’t be shy or have a cow!  Calmly and politely state your case in a comment, below.

*Copyright © 2018 Centricity Music Publishing (ASCAP) CentricSongs (SESAC) See You At The Pub (SESAC) (adm. at CapitolCMGPublishing.com), Flychild Publishing (SESAC) So Essential Tunes (SESAC) (admin at EssentialMusicPublishing.com). All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Updates:

11/30/2021 – Updated corporate worship recommendation to “yes”.  Thanks to Meg Ferrante for bringing this to my attention!

03/25/2021 – Updated per repetition announcement. I raised section 1’s score.  This did not affect the overall rating.