Marie Barnett – Breathe

Marie Barnett is the wife of well-known pastor and songwriter John Barnett.  Though she does not carry a more official role of “songwriter” as her husband does, she and her husband sung to John Wimber’s song Isn’t He.  Transfixed on Jesus, she heard these words in her head: “this is the air I breathe, this is my daily bread” and started singing them and committed it to paper.  Thus, the origins of her hit song Breathe occurred.

She penned the lyrics in 1995, appearing on Vineyard Worship’s worship album Touching the Father’s Heart No. 25, where it found a wider audience. It started appearing in radio and church worship and would later be named ASCAP’s most recorded song of the year in 2002, recorded by major artists such as Michael W. Smith and Rebecca St. James.  Barnett later recorded her own version in 2002 under the album The Air I Breathe.

Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Marie-barnett-breathe-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.

1. What message does the song communicate?

The message is simple: Acknowledging her lost-ness and hopelessness without the Holy Spirit, He lives within her, providing a daily spiritual diet. The song ends where it began: a place of desperation and anguish, reminiscent of Psalm 88.

Score: 10/10

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

All the lines agree with the Bible.

Since there is no formatting, I will refer to each paragraph as a stanza in numerical order.

[Stanza 1]

Lines 1-4: Not literal air, but the Holy Spirit’s presence.  Curiously, Jesus breathed upon His Apostles, commanding them to receive the Holy Spirit in John 20:22, connecting breath to the Holy Ghost.

[Stanza 2]

Repeats stanza 1.

[Stanza 3]

Lines 1 and 2: Moved by despair, Barnett expressed hopelessness without the Holy Spirit, consistent with Jesus’ words in John 3:3.

Lines 3 and 4: Derivative of line 2.

Line 5: Stanza 4 gives more explanation and context behind this line.

[Stanza 4]

Lines 1-4: Daily bread is part of the Lord’s prayer, found in
Matthew 6:9-13 and Luke 11:2-4, describing the sustenance received throughout the day.  No doubt, physical needs are part of the package; However, we also require spiritual nourishment.  It is this latter portion received that Barnett includes God’s daily spoken word, no doubt received through daily Scriptural reading.

[Stanza 5]

Line 1: Repeats line 1 in Stanza 4.

Line 2: This additional line paints God Himself as Barnett’s daily regimen of Spiritual food, received through prayer and spending time with God.  Jesus Himself left us an example in Luke 5:16, to go alone and spend time with the Father.

Lines 3-5: Repeats lines 2-4 in Stanza 4.

[Stanza 6]

Lines 1-3: Repeats lines 1-3 in Stanza 3.

[Stanza 7]

Lines 1-4: Repeats lines 1-4 in Stanza 3.

Line 5: Barnett goes further than lost-ness, adding the words of Jesus in John 15:5 as her curtain call.

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

I have a tough time believing that unbelievers will understand this song without thinking about eastern mysticism.  Stanza 4 could jerk them into the direction of Christianity, but only if they are familiar with the Lord’s prayer.  It’s littered with Christian-ese terminology that makes understanding seem impregnable without further study.

Score: 2/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It glorifies the Holy Spirit.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

Barie Barnett’s Breathe is a good song for Christians.  This song is a deparate cry for help in a dark place, acknowleding that life without God is lostness, bringing Him glory.  Unbelievers will probably find the song confusing, making interpretation difficult without a basic understanding of Christianity.

Consider this one if you’re looking for a classic with a simple message.

Final Score: 8.5/10

Artist Info

Track: Breathe (listen to the song)

Artist: Marie Barnett

Album: The Air I Breathe

Genre: Contemporary Christian Music (CCM)

Release Year: 2002 (earliest recording 1996)

Duration: 5:52

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

Updates:

03/25/2021 – Updated per repetition announcement.  I increased section 1’s score, raising it from 8/10 to 8.5/10.

03/30/2020 – Neal’s commentary caused me to rethink my review and ultimately, update section 1, section 4, and the conclusion.  I also changed my mind about the “Holy Spirit as my boyfriend” plea.  This bumped up its score from 7.5/10 to 8/10.