Music Essay

Brandon Heath, born in Nashville, Tennessee, grew up as a nonreligious person. However, his work today differs from his childhood as he began to develop his faith during his teen years. His passion for songwriting developed long before he became a musician. After receiving a guitar for Christmas, he began to write his first songs at the age of thirteen. As a teenager, Brandon attended a Young Life camp, a non-denominational Christian summer camp. Here, he heard about Jesus for the first time and his faith grew from then on. He devoted his life to God and began to incorporate his faith into his music. He still remains an active member with Young Life across the country. Brandon Heath hopes to spread the word of God through his music while placing an emphasis on the need for social justice. Heath wants to offer hope to those who are in pain and to those who are hurting, sick, or alone through his songwriting. He loves to write songs with those who he admires, such as Jason Ingram and Chad Cates.
Heath said in an interview, “One of the things that bothers me about this world is that we’re all in this for ourselves. God even says it’s better to join together in service to Him.” For this reason, community is at the core of Brandon Heath. He truly believes that God calls him towards social justice and lets God work through him. Brandon spent months living in a low-income part of Nashville, where he felt out of place and slightly afraid. But he says, “I’ve learned to live with people who don’t have much. I’ve learned a lot from listening to their stories and finding out who I am in contrast to who they are.” Heath also traveled to Africa where he spent time helping mothers at an AIDS clinic. Brandon also traveled to India and Uganda to live out God’s call and help those in need. Heath also worked in his hometown to raise money for hurricane victims and helped to rebuild. His belief of service and community reveals itself not only through his dedication to community service and call for social justice, but also his music.
Through his music, Heath hopes to advocate social change, as well as personal change. Brandon Heath wrote his song titled “Give Me Your Eyes” with the help of Jason Ingram, another popular Christian musician. The song discusses the need for community, the need for service and social justice, and most off all the need for compassionate eyes so that we may see the world as God does. The song opens up with the speaker reflecting during a plane ride. He notices all of the people around him, the world below him, and the chaos and confusion that surround him. He questions himself, “All those people going somewhere, why have I never cared?” This proves Heath’s point about everyone living for themselves and not noticing those around us. The chorus of the song cries out to God and asks for eyes “so I can see everything that I keep missing.” The speaker wants to see the world from God’s point of view. He wants “love for humanity” and wants to reach out to the “broken hearted.” The second verse takes place in the streets of a busy city. The speaker notices the hurt one girl portrays through her attempt to fake a smile. He notices a man that live in shame as he is unemployed. The speaker realizes that people all around him are in need or experiencing pain, but he has never noticed or taken the time to care. In the last verse, the speaker asks God for a second chance. He regrets not reaching out to those people around him in need. He regrets being so wrapped up in his own life that he neglected to see those “million eyes just moving past” him that were crying out for help. The speaker of the song cries out for a new heart and a second chance to help the people in our world that need help just as God calls us to do. Brandon uses his song “Give me Your Eyes” to advocate social justice as well as persuade his listeners to change their selfish ways and devote their lives to service and to the community.
I believe that Brandon Heath sings and produces music with a positive message; and he also lives out what he preaches, setting a good example for other Christians to follow. All of Heath’s songs fit under his genre, Christian music, as each one of them preaches the word of God. I believe that the morals and beliefs of Heath reveal themselves in his music and through his everyday actions. The Christian faith strongly influences Heath’s music and it serves as an inspiration to all his listeners. I believe his music allows those unsure of who God is to understand our calling in life: to serve others. Sometimes the Bible, teachers, priests, pastors, etc. can be very unclear as to what God calls us to do. Heath uses his songs to clarify the teachings of the Christian faith and challenges his listeners to live out God’s call. Heath challenges us to change for the betterment of ourselves and the world.