[Verse 1]
What if you're right?
And He was just another nice guy
What if you're right?
What if it's true?
They say the cross
Will only make a fool of you
And what if it's true?
[Verse 2]
What if He takes His place in history
With all the prophets and the kings
Who taught us love and came in peace
But then the story ends
What then?
[Pre-Chorus]
But what if you're wrong?
What if there's more?
What if there's hope
You never dreamed of hoping for?
[Chorus]
What if you jump?
And just close your eyes?
What if the arms that catch you
Catch you by surprise?
What if He's more than enough?
What if it's love?
[Verse 3]
What if you dig
What if you dig
Way down deeper than
Your simple-minded friends
What if you dig?
What if you find
A thousand more
Unanswered questions down inside
That's all you find
[Verse 4]
What if you pick apart the logic
And begin to poke the holes
What if the crown of thorns is no more
Than folklore that must be told and retold
[Pre-Chorus]
But what if you're wrong?
What if there's more?
What if there's hope
You never dreamed of hoping for?
[Chorus]
What if you jump?
Just close your eyes?
What if the arms that catch you
Catch you by surprise?
What if He's more than enough?
What if it's love?
[Bridge]
You've been running
As fast as you can
And you've been looking for a place
You can land so long
But what if you're wrong?
[Chorus]
What if you jump?
And just close your eyes?
What if the arms that catch you
Catch you by surprise?
What if He's more than enough?
What if it's love?
What If
Song Meaning
Nichole Nordeman opens "What If" voicing the skeptic's position directly instead of arguing against it from outside — "what if you're right? And He was just another nice guy... they say the cross will only make a fool of you" — letting doubt speak in full sentences before any response is offered.
"What if He takes His place in history with all the prophets and the kings who taught us love and came in peace, but then the story ends" extends the same doubt to its most reasonable-sounding conclusion, and only then does the song turn the question around: "but what if you're wrong? What if there's more? What if there's hope you never dreamed of hoping for?"
"What if you jump? And just close your eyes? What if the arms that catch you catch you by surprise?" answers intellectual doubt with a physical image instead of a counter-argument, refusing to out-reason the questions raised earlier. "What if you dig way down deeper than your simple-minded friends" mocks easy dismissal from both directions at once, and "what if the crown of thorns is no more than folklore" states the cynical possibility as plainly as the hopeful one. "You've been running as fast as you can... but what if you're wrong?" closes the bridge returning every doubt raised to the same unresolved, open question.