Red – Perfect Life

Nashville-based Christian Hard Rock band Red started their career in 2002.  They released numerous seven albums, including:

• End of Silence (2006)
• Innocence & Instinct (2009)
• Until We Have Faces (2011)
• Release the Panic (2013)
• Of Beauty and Rage (2015)
• Gone (2017)
• Declaration (2020)

Red won six GMA Dove Awards, including Rock Recorded Song of the Year (2007, 2009, and 2011) and Rock Album of the Year (2010, 2013, and 2015).

Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/Red-perfect-life-lyrics.

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1. What message does the song communicate?

It is a rejection of the worldly, picture-perfect life, where nothing goes wrong, everyone is smiling, and errors don’t exist.  Red refuses to be swept up into this thought process, recognizing these fakes are arrogant, boastful, hypocritical, liars, prideful, and destructive.

I am disappointed at the end of Bridge.  Yes, Red is indeed less than perfect, and perfectly so;  However, as Christians, that is no longer their identity.  Broken is no longer who they are.  They are followers of Jesus!  I appreciate their honesty in admitting their flaws, but this is a missed opportunity to proclaim Christ as their new selves.

Score: 7/10

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

Almost all the lyrics align with Scripture.  The end of Bridge contains a false identity issue.

[Verse 1]

Lines 1-7: Red describes a fake individual (We’ll call him Bob) who hides behind a mask rather than being honest about himself.  Proverbs 26:24-28 warns us to avoid such an individual.  They are much like the Pharisees who, according to Matthew 6:1-8, thrive on the attention of others and care more about reputation and appearances than doing the right thing.  Red recognizes the facade for what it is.

Line 8: Red refuses to follow Bob’s footsteps.

[Chorus]

Lines 1-3: Though Bob may have tricked others into thinking that his life is picture-perfect on the outside, Red recognizes Bob for who he is: beautiful on the outside and ugly on the inside (Matthew 23:27-28).

Line 4: Essentially repeats the same message as Verse 1, line 8.

Lines 5 and 6: Repeats line 4.

[Verse 2]

Lines 1-3: Red describes Bob similarly to the false teachers described in Scripture.  They deceive people into their way of thinking, resulting in harming others (Jeremiah 14:14, Jeremiah 23:16, Matthew 7:15, Matthew 24:21-24, Mark 13:22, Romans 16:18, 2 Timothy 4:3-4, and 2 Peter 2:1).

Line 4: Repeats Verse 1, line 4.

Lines 5-7: It shouldn’t be surprising that Bob’s guile would originate from a source of pride and vanity.  He behaves with fury (Proverbs 21:24), produces sin (Proverbs 21:4), and will be destroyed (Proverbs 16:18).  Red refuses to take his path.

Line 8: Repeats Verse 1, line 8.

[Bridge]

Lines 1 and 2: Red has become enlightened to Bob’s hypocrisy, another trait of the Pharisees discussed in Verse 1, lines 1-7.

Lines 3-5: Red prophecies Bob’s end: his world will crash, resulting in destruction.  Though they do not state the source, Scripture tells us that God humbles the proud (Psalm 138:6, Proverbs 3:34, Proverbs 29:23, Matthew 23:12, Luke 1:52, James 4:6, and 1 Peter 5:5).

Lines 6 and 7: Yes, Red are indeed broken messes (Jeremiah 17:9); However, as mentioned in section 1, their new identities are “Follower of Jesus”, not “perfectly broken”.  It puts into question why Red won’t proclaim it, opting instead to cling to their flaws as who they are.

[Outro]

Lines 1 and 2: Repeats the tail end of Chorus.

Score: 7/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Those outside the camp of Christ will easily agree with my interpretation, that Red rejects a fake Hollywood lifestyle.  Contrary to my commentary in section 1, for them to sing “I’m perfectly broken” would be a true statement; However, they may not realize that when Red sings it, they are not telling the truth.  This significantly compromises their message to unbelievers.

Score: 6/10

4. What does this song glorify?

While God is glorified in that Red rejects the same things that God rejects, much of it is snatched away when Red claims brokenness as who they are rather than a follower of Jesus.

Score: 5/10

Closing Comments

Red’s Perfect Life is a decent song with a major problem.  Its rejection of a masked lifestyle that is worldly, inauthentic, and vain is a much-needed message to a world focused more on image management than following the Bible.  This disdain is Godly; However, if we are to take Red’s Christianity seriously, then they fail to tell the truth about who they are.  Though they may still sin, they are no longer perfectly broken.  They are Christians!

I am disappointed and cannot recommend this for corporate worship.

Final Score: 6.5/10

Artist Info

Track: Perfect Life (listen to the song)

Artist: Red

Album: Release the Panic

Genre: Hard Rock

Release Year: 2013

Duration: 2:51

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

Updates:

06/19/2021 – Updated all references to Verse 3 to Bridge based on update on referenced Genius page.

03/25/2021 – Updated per repetition announcement.