Lauren Daigle – You Say

This is the last song that I put in the queue before I started utilizing the polling system.  It was requested by three separate people, so I promised myself I would cover Lauren Daigle’s You Say at the start of the new year.  From here on out, your votes will determine the bulk of my reviews, with a smattering of my own selections.

I try to have a new poll out at least once a month, so keep coming back to vote on your favorites (or at least ones that you want me to review).  I’m also hoping to have some fun things to vote on also.  If you have some interesting ideas for a poll, send me a message.  You’ll get full credit!

As of this writing, I have done two Lauren Daigle reviews: O’Lord and Trust in You, both with highly favorable scores.  Thanks to your votes, I will also cover Look Up Child later this month.  This will be the third and fourth of what will probably be many more reviews from this artist.

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?

There are several themes propagated throughout these lyrics:

1. The struggle between the verbal carpet bomb assaults of Satan with the comforting voice of God;
2.  A declaration of our worth to God; and
3. Man’s surrender to God’s ways.

In terms of the identity of “You”, Daigle is lucky that she explicitly mentioned God.  There is nothing else in the lyrics that would have pointed us to God, which would have resulted in an easy boyfriend/girlfriend interpretation.

Score: 8/10

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

The entire song is in agreement with the Word of God.

Lyrics posted with permission.*

[Verse 1]

I keep fighting voices in my mind that say I’m not enough
Every single lie that tells me I will never measure up

These “voices” are the demonic utterings of Satan, the father of lies (John 8:44).

Am I more than just the sum of every high and every low?

A rhetorical question with an obvious answer.

Remind me once again just who I am, because I need to know

A lead-in to the Chorus.

[Chorus]

You say I am loved when I can’t feel a thing

The bridge tells us that “You” refers to God.  A great summary passage is 1 John 4:8, which tells us that God is love, as demonstrated to His followers, apexed (my word) through the cross (see Nehemiah 9:17, Psalm 17:7, Psalm 36:5-7, Psalm 63:3, Psalm 69:16, Psalm 117:2, Isaiah 54:8, John 3:16, John 13:34, John 15:13, Romans 5:6-8, Romans 8:37-39, Galatians 2:20, Ephesians 2:4-5, Ephesians 5:25, Titus 3:4, and 1 John 4:16-19).

You say I am strong when I think I am weak

God give strength to us when we feel weak (Psalm 22:19, Psalm 28:7-8, Psalm 46:1, Psalm 118:14, Isaiah 12:2, Isaiah 33:2, Isaiah 40:29-31, Habakkuk 3:19, 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, and Ephesians 3:16).  Though I thought this was a self-righteous statement by Daigle, Verse 2 contradicts my prior opinion.

You say I am held when I am falling short

According to Psalm 34:18, God is close to the broken-hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

When I don’t belong, You say I am Yours

We don’t belong to the world.  If it did, it would love us, but it doesn’t (John 15:19).  We belong to God, adopted as His sons and daughters (see John 1:12-13, John 14:18, Romans 8:14-17, Romans 8:23, Romans 9:1-8, Galatians 3:26, Galatians 4:5-7, Ephesians 1:3-14, Ephesians 2:11-22, Hebrews 9:15, and 1 John 3:1-3).

And I believe, I believe
What You say of me
I believe

Daigle’s response to these declarations is belief.

[Verse 2]

The only thing that matters now is everything You think of me
In You I find my worth, in You I find my identity

As creatures created in God’s image (Genesis 1:27), our entire identity, as Daigle correctly pointed out, is Christian, which literally means “follower of Christ”.  We become a holy priesthood (1 Peter 2:9), the Church (ekklēsia; the believing ones; Romans 12:5,1 Corinthians 12:12–27, Ephesians 3:6 and 5:23, Colossians 1:18 and Colossians 1:24), the “bride of Christ” (Ephesians 5:22-33).

[Bridge]

Taking all I have and now I’m laying it at Your feet
You have every failure, God
You’ll have every victory

This describes an act of submission to God, sacrificially abandoning our own free will to serve God (see 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).  Daigle recognizes that our pursuit results both in failure and victory, both given to God for His glory: the error paid for by Jesus and the success given proper credit to God.

[Outro]

Oh, I believe
Yes, I believe
What You say of me
Oh, I believe

A slight derivative of the last three lines of Chorus.

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

There is one explicit reference to God that sets the context for the entire song.  As mentioned in section 1, nothing else in these lyrics point us to God in either an overt or subtle manner.  Non-christian interpretation rests upon a single word that, if missed, makes unbeliever interpretation more sparse than Daigle intended.  Perhaps as a boyfriend/girlfriend.

I listened to it the first time without paying much attention to see how easy it is to miss this single word.  It’s pretty easy if you’re not looking for it!  This gives me less confidence that those who do not follow Jesus will share the same interpretation as me.

Score: 6/10

4. What does this song glorify?

While You Say does agree with Scripture and its message of self-worth glorifies God, its lack of pointers to God (aside from one name-drop) makes it hard to justify that it completely brings Him glory.

Score: 8/10

Closing Comments

Despite the green rating, I have mixed feelings about Lauren Daigle’s You Say.  Its themes of personal struggle, value evaluation, and surrender are highly biblical and found hidden underneath the surface.  However, its sparse theological depth and lack of pointers to God hinder the effectiveness of her message and glory to God.

Some will no doubt find comfort and rest in her lyrics, and to them, I say very well.  Yet, surely Daigle could have at least included some attributes of God?  That would have been a huge improvement.

Final Score: 8.5/10

Artist Info

Track: You Say (listen to the song)

Artist: Lauren Daigle

Album: Look Up Child

Genre: Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)

Release Year: 2018

Duration: 4:34

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

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

Updates:

06/30/2020 – Steve Barhydt convinced me that Daigle’s line “You say I am strong when I think I am weak” was not self-righteous. Therefore, I gave section 2 a perfect 10, bumping up its overall rating from 7.5/10 to 8.5/10.

05/13/2020 – In reaction to bob polo’s comments, I clarified my statements in sections 1 and 3 and adjusted scoring based on a less stringent reaction to lack of attributes/acts of God.  I also removed my commentary regarding theological depth/sparseness, restoring the original score back to 7.5/10.

10/15/2019 – After reading Jeff’s comment, I updated my commentary on the line “You say I am strong when I think I am weak”, altering my perception of this phrase and my score from 7.5/10 to 6.5/10.