New Song

A tattoo starts the story. A woman walks in, shows "a bird on her arm," and tells of what she "lost in the storm," then recalls sailors lost at sea who "keep their eyes on the horizon and listen for the birds to sing." Jason Gray uses the image to frame waiting, "waiting for a sign of a new thing coming," and the chorus turns it into a request: "I need a new song."

The songs he asks for are specific phrases, "a 'You're gonna see me through' song," and "a 'get me to that shore' song." The verse admits the strain of delay: "You say Your mercy's new in the morning, but will the sun ever rise?" He has been "waiting" and "praying," and he is "scared I'm running outta time."

The answer arrives as testimony. "I waited patiently, You turned and heard my cry, from the pit You lifted me, out of the mud and mire, You set my feet on rock," then "put a new song in my mouth." The chorus flips from need to receipt, "You wrote me a new song," a "You broke down the door" song. Psalm 40:1-3 is the source, Lamentations 3:22-23 the new-every-morning mercies, and Isaiah 43:19 the new thing.