[Verse 1]
Perfect
Spent my whole life chasing perfect
Fall down beat myself up repeat
Fall down beat myself up repeat
Head bowed
Guilty whispers in my ear now
Messed up is all you’re ever gonna be
Fall down beat myself up repeat
Something happened when You
Called my name called my name
Lifted up my head and all my shame washed away
When a perfect love
Found a wounded heart
Said get back up
Let Me show you who you are
There’s no such thing
As good enough
I may be far from perfect
But I’m loved by Your perfect
Loved by Your perfect love
Mercy
No more perfect there’s just mercy
The more I live the less I understand
How I’m the reason for Your nail scarred hands
Freedom
Oh Your scars they are my freedom
I’ll never know why You paid my price
All I know is that You changed my life when Your
Perfect love
Found a wounded heart
Said get back up
Let Me show you who you are
There’s no such thing
As good enough
I may be far from perfect
But I’m loved by Your perfect
Loved by Your perfect love
Loved by Your perfect
Loved by Your perfect love
Something happened when You
Called my name called my name
Lifted up my head and all my shame washed away
Something happened when You
Called my name called my name
Lifted up my head and all my shame washed away
When a perfect love
Found a wounded heart
Said get back up
Let Me show you who you are
There’s no such thing
As good enough
I may be far from perfect
But I’m loved by Your perfect
Loved by Your perfect love
Loved by Your perfect
Loved by Your perfect love
Loved by Your perfect
Loved by Your perfect love
Perfect Love
Song Meaning
Austin French names a specific, exhausting cycle in "Perfect Love" before offering any way out of it — "spent my whole life chasing perfect, fall down, beat myself up, repeat." The repetition in the lyric itself mimics the loop being described, the same failure and same self-punishment recurring without variation.
"Something happened when You called my name... lifted up my head and all my shame washed away" interrupts that cycle from outside rather than resolving it through more effort. "There's no such thing as good enough, I may be far from perfect, but I'm loved by Your perfect love" replaces the entire framework of measuring up with a different one that doesn't use the same scale at all.
"The more I live the less I understand how I'm the reason for Your nail-scarred hands... Your scars they are my freedom" ties that unearned love specifically to the crucifixion, keeping the song's comfort tethered to a real cost rather than presenting love as something that came free of consequence to anyone.