Matthew West – Hello, My Name Is

American songwriter and artist Matthew West began in 1997 with his album September Sun.  I’ve talked about his other eleven albums and one EP release in my review of Day One.

I didn’t mention that West required vocal surgery in May 2007 and remained silent for two months, potentially ending his career, documented in the Benjamin Eisner film Nothing to Say. He also acted in the 2011 Christmas film, The Heart of Christmas.  He played Mark Hurtgren.

Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Matthew-west-hello-my-name-is-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?

Satan attempts to attack West by reminding him of his past, as if that’s his identity.  West initially believes it, but decides enough is enough!  He is an adopted son of God!  He is a new creature. West offers his life as proof that God changes people.

Score: 10/10

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

All of it is in alignment with God’s inspired Word.

[Verse 1]

Lines 1-10: This is one of Satan’s tactics, to remind West of the things he’s done wrong (Zechariah 3:1-2 and Revelation 12:10) to prevent him from seeking Christ for rest (Matthew 11:28-30).  Satan wants sorrow and loss to be West’s life.

[Pre-Chorus]

Lines 1-4: West ceases to allow his past to define him, refusing to surrender to Satan’s continual lies.

[Hook]

Line 1: West’s new identity is an adopted son of God (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).

Line 2: God changed West, removing him from his deadness in sin.  He is now made alive in Christ (Romans 6:1-11, Romans 7:4-6, Galatians 2:19-20, 2 Timothy 2:11, and 1 Peter 2:24).

Line 3: Grace, meaning “undeserved favor”, is a major theme within the entire Bible. For the sake of brevity, I will only mention two characters: Abraham and Paul.

Abraham is a major historical figure whose righteousness was credited to him by grace through faith, as quoted in Genesis (Genesis 15:6) and three times in the New Testament (Romans 4:3, Galatians 3:6, and James 2:23).

As for Paul, grace is a major theme throughout his writings, particularly in the book of Romans. See Romans 3:21-24, Romans 4:3-8, Romans 5:1-2, Romans 5:6-8, Romans 5:15-21, Romans 6:14, Romans 8:1-4, Romans 9:14-16, Romans 11:5-6, Galatians 2:21, Galatians 5:4, Ephesians 1:7, Ephesians 2:4-9, 2 Thessalonians 2:16, Titus 2:11, and 1 Timothy 1:15-16 for further study.

This also references the famous John Newton song Amazing Grace, which I’ve already reviewed.

Line 4: Repeats line 1.

[Verse 2]

Lines 1 and 2: See commentary on Pre-Chorus, lines 1-4.

Lines 3-5: West’s altered life is evidence that God changes people.  See commentary on Hook, line 2.

[Bridge]

Lines 1 and 2: Quotes part of 1 John 3:1, which I listed as Scripture that supports Hook, line 1.

Line 3: Essentially repeats Hook, line 1.

Lines 4 and 5: Repeats lines 1 and 2.

[Outro]

Line 1: Repeats Bridge, line 3.

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Those outside Christianity will easily see West’s identify shifting from sinful rebellion to a child of the one true King.  The nods to salvation and reference to amazing grace lends to a deistic conclusion.

West uses common language and concepts that unbelievers can easily identify.  They carry regrets too.  They know defeat.  Perhaps they will consider becoming a child of God.

Score: 10/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It brings glory to God that West considers himself an adopted child of God, forsaking his old self and embracing his new life as a follower of Jesus.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

Matthew West’s Hello, My Name Is is inspiring.  West believed the lies of Satan, that his life is worthless, unable to escape past transgressions.  Yet, West chose to ignore the Devil.  He no longer identifies with his old life.  He is God’s child now, transformed into righteousness, bringing God glory.  Those who do not yet know Jesus will easily interpret and relate to West’s message, particularly their current self as West’s old self.

Though encouraging, it doesn’t scream “worship” when sung in the context of the gathering of believers.  Therefore, I cannot recommend it for corporate worship.

Final Score: 10/10

Artist Info

Track: Hello, My Name Is (listen to the song)

Artist: Matthew West

Album: Into The Light

Genre: Rock

Release Year: 2012

Duration: 3:43

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Updates:

03/25/2021 – Updated per repetition announcement.