Like many of my favourite songs, Set Me Free seemed to just pour out of me in one writing session. The more I write songs the more mysterious it seems to me. I have moments where I’m crafting and refining, but there are also times it feels like I just showed up at the right time and happened to catch something special. That’s how it felt writing this song. It felt prophetic.
These past few years I’ve been learning what it means to live free from shame. Something that has held me back for most of my life. I wanted to write from the point of view of finally feeling the release from the grip that shame can have on a heart and mind. It began with a meditation and a paraphrase of Psalm 40:1. “I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.”
“I waited a long, long time
I prayed that I’d find peace
I know that you heard my cry
‘Cause then you turned to me
Felt like waking from my sleep
Like a river to the sea You set me free”
From that moment the song changes tempo and shifts into a new section, I saw the tempo change like a change of heart. Or even like a doorway to a new place, a movement into a new position. And then the words started to flow. I wrote about seeing visions of Jesus:
“I saw you in the garden
Seven stars inside your hand”
And I reflect upon the feelings of finally feeling free of all the weight of life and the things that held me down for so long.
“Then we danced along the mountains, and I felt that weight subside
And my shame became a memory, in the brightness of your eyes.”
In reality, this felt like a song from the future. I didn’t necessarily feel “free” as I wrote this song. I still wrestled with the same things, I still carried the same questions and the weight that I’d so often felt. But picturing this reality of freedom some time in the future gave me hope for the present moment. I realise that there are some ways we can experience freedom in this lifetime, and there are others that I may not experience until I reach eternity.
The song took on extra meaning for me as I thought about eternity - our true home and ultimate place of freedom. In the final weeks of her life, my Mum asked me if I was writing anything new. I had just finished this song so I played it to her and it seemed to bring a smile to her face. It ended up being the last song of mine she heard.
Weeks later when I was listening to the song, I heard it as if it were written from her perspective, experiencing the true freedom of eternal life with her Lord and Saviour. The song has a special place in my heart for that reason. Sometimes when a song flows out, I’m not even sure myself what it means. But when it takes on a new meaning even after I’ve written it, it makes me wonder if the song was a gift from beyond myself.
Also, while you’re here. I’m going on tour in the UK this year, with my friend Taylor Armstrong! It’s going to be a more intimate / acoustic style tour this time around but I’m really excited for it.
12 SEP: LONDON w/ Josh Garrels
16 SEP: BIRMINGHAM
17 SEP: EDINBURGH
21 SEP: MANCHESTER
23 SEP: BRISTOL
24 SEP: BRIGHTON
This was actually the initial reason I joined Substack, to hear the thought process behind your music, Jonathan. It’s really inspiring, especially as I’m a musician myself and have struggled with song writing. I think what has really struck me about this is that the process seems simplistic, yet deep and straight from the heart. I feel like some people, myself included, try to hard to be clever with lyrics, but yours just feel so natural in a way that’s hard for me to explain. If nothing else, I feel like The Holy Spirit inspires your lyrics, and flows through them in your music. They take me deeper with Him and reignite my joy and hope that is found in Him.
😭 resonates the most with this bohemian little heart, belonging to someone who struggles just the same, & coming at an interesting and we'll received timing ('cause mum's first ever birthday in heaven was just last thursday); I've been seriously rooting for your posts, and awaiting on this release of yours, it is so significant for more reasons than i can actually explain atm, and even more so in the midst of learning how to find rest through my grieving journey. i'm truly grateful to one of my friends who introduced me a couple years ago to your art, dear brother. 🫶🏻 we all appreciate u, for every note and word u ring it's intimately linked to who u are, and to the One who makes us all part of the same precious body; remain blessed! growing in this amazing freedom we're meditating on, speak/believing of, and embracing tightly meanwhile we expect our permanent return to Him. 🫀