On another continent, some 9000 miles from the United States, is a corner of the earth where there is no Internet, no electricity, no telephone. From wherever you stand, you see red dirt and sky, well-adapted wildlife, rock piles next to dirt roads that seem to go on and on forever. Desolate but not empty, the Australian outback offers people the chance to revel in the open space and solitary oneness this striking terrain provides. Had you traveled that same path years ago, you may have passed Jennifer Knapp along the way, a Grammy nominated, Dove Award winning artist, who was happy to let go of all the success she had to live a very different kind of life traveling to the most remote corners of Australia, looking to reclaim a part of herself she felt she lost in all the excitement of her accomplishments.
And then one day she decided to come back.
Before you start with any Eddie and the Cruisers comparisons, please note that Jennifer didn’t fake her own demise. She just decided to take a break, though at the time, she wasn’t sure she’d ever return. Considering Jennifer has over sold over 1 million records, spent years successfully playing to sold out audiences and had a considerable fan base, the choice wasn’t an easy one but definitely necessary. “I didn’t play, I didn’t write, my guitars collected dust for 5 years. I completely had to divorce myself from the whole thing because I never really took ownership of what music meant for me as an individual. I needed to figure that out, so I really left the music business with the idea that I may not ever do it again.”
At first, Jennifer set out to go to all the cities she had toured in, but never had a chance to visit. Growing up in a tiny town in Kansas, the trips across the US and Europe were exciting. This led to a jaunt to Australia, where she decided to stay. Walking away from her career wasn’t easy, as Jennifer was riding high on the wave of success. Having cultivated an audience within the Christian music spectrum, Jennifer’s first 3 albums were all critical and commercial successes. She won her first Dove Award in 1999 for Best New Artist, scored 2 Grammy nods and another Dove nomination in 2003. She opened for Jars of Clay, spent some time on the Lilith tour and continued to grow her audience, who clamored for more of her folk-rock message of spirituality and love. People magazine touted Jennifer as an “uncommonly literate songwriter,” but just as she was at the top of her game she…let go.
After seven years spent traveling, mastering the Playstation and spending time working at an antique store (and actually loving that she dreaded going to work in the morning like a “normal” person), Jennifer began to re-visit what made her happiest. “I had to go through a mourning process of walking away and convincing myself that it didn’t matter if I played music anymore. But it was hard, and the whole time I was gone, it was like I had a shadow following me. I began to return to it in my own private time, getting out my guitar, starting to play and falling in love with music again without any expectations. I just wanted to play because it meant something to me.”
Struggling with being a normal person with an abnormal occupation, Jennifer finally made peace with what she did best. “I was really enjoying the music I was playing at home. Half the record was written in Australia and as I played it, friends were responding to it. It fanned the flame. There are sad parts of working in the industry that made me feel disconnected, but I realized I was just afraid and was hiding. It seemed a shame that I could share my songs with people and I wasn’t doing it. I hadn’t worked in 7 years and there were fans on the Internet holding vigils for me to play again. It took me a long time to understand that connection and now it’s a passion of mine. In a true sense it’s a gift – you give it because you don’t want it back, and you want it to bless the person receiving it. What an amazing opportunity for me to have.”
Returning to Nashville, Jennifer holed up in the studio to begin recording the aptly named Letting Go, her fourth studio album. With Producer Paul Moak, best known as his work as a studio musician for artists such as Mat Kearney, Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith, at the helm, Jennifer had no intention of resting on past laurels. With Paul, they put together a whole new band of hungry young musicians and got to work. With the exception of longtime bass player Tony Lucido, the guys in the studio were musicians Jennifer had never even met before, who brought an energy she was craving. “All risk and high reward” is how she explains her new band with which she had an instant camaraderie.
While Jennifer made her initial mark in the Christian market, her time away made her realize that while she would never turn her back on that belief, she didn’t want to exclude any one else, either. As with past releases, she had gotten used to the focus on her song writing, that it was viewed as somewhat unusual for the Christian music industry. However Jennifer was always celebrated for her honesty and human approach to the divine, and she looks at Letting Go as a continuation of pushing those limits. “It was a struggle, because I was used to writing lyrics one way. I had to break that yolk to write a record that was honest about how I feel about life. It is the voice of people that I am concerned in preserving here, our right to express our deepest souls without the fear of condemnation. It’s my hope that the music feels legitimate and meaningful for whoever hears it. I wanted this record to reflect that.”
The result is the astonishing straightforwardness of Letting Go, an album of stripped back folk and country tinged rock that is as intimate as it is expansive. The musical warmth of Letting Go spreads throughout the record. From the wry opening words (“careful what you say, careful who might hear…”) of “Dive In” to the lyrical play of “Want For Nothing” and the evocative rocker “Inside,” Letting Go observes the world around it with captivating perception.
To say that Jennifer Knapp has come full circle would be a fair assessment. Beside the record release, Knapp has been asked to play on the re-vamped Lilith Fair tour, the first one in 10 years. Since Jennifer played on the last one in ’99, being asked to play the re-launch is very special, a reminder of why Jennifer came back to her musical roots. “There is a strong sense of community that has been in the back of my mind throughout this whole process. I want my core audience to find something familiar, but refreshed, on Letting Go. At the same time, I am so happy to throw off any cloak that has been put upon me that would make any music lover hesitate to listen to my music. I am so excited to bring all different types of people to my party. I’ve written this for them.”
Sometimes, you have to let go of everything to be able to come back.
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Biography taken from: http://www.jenniferknapp.com/about
http://www.jenniferknapp.com
Breathe On Me
Jennifer Knapp Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Who am I to be fallen?
Crack your back on a slab of wood
Come freedom, nail it down
I come crawling, I come crawling
Come trickle down and save the world
Two hands that I can't see
Come breathe on me
Split-rib water, blood and bone
Come now, come calvary
Come breathe, come breathe on me
Testimony come now quickly, whisper in my ear
Celebration
Peace at last not far away, empty sheet a borrowed grave
Salvation
Come freedom, come
Come freedom, come
Come trickle down and save the world
Two hands that I can't see
Come breathe, come breathe
Come breathe on me
Split-rib water, blood and bone
Come now, come calvary
Come breathe, come breathe on me
Come freedom, come
Come freedom, come
Come freedom, come
Come trickle down and save the world
Two hands that I can't see
Come breathe, come breathe
Come breathe on me
Split-rib water, blood and bone
Come now, come calvary
Come breathe, come breathe on me
Come breathe, come breathe on me
Come breathe, come breathe on me
In Jennifer Knapp's song "Breathe On Me," the singer expresses their desire for freedom and salvation. They acknowledge that no temptation can overpower them, yet they still feel fallen and need help to be raised up. The image of cracking one's back on a slab of wood brings to mind the pain and sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, and the singer calls for that sacrifice to be nailed down for their own liberation. They come crawling, humbly seeking aid, and ask for God to breathe on them, to bring life and spirit into their being. The use of split-rib water, blood, and bone alludes to the creation story in which God creates Eve from Adam's rib, and Jesus' sacrifice on the cross where his side is pierced to release blood and water. The singer is calling for that same life-giving power to be breathed into them, to fill them up and bring them salvation.
Throughout the song, there is a sense of urgency and desperation as the singer reaches out for help. They call for testimony to come quickly and whisper in their ear, and they long for peace and celebration to be at hand. The borrowed grave suggests that the singer has recognized their own mortality and understands that they need something beyond themselves to find true freedom. The repetition of "come freedom, come" emphasizes this need and shows that the singer is actively seeking out liberation.
Overall, "Breathe On Me" is a powerful call for help and salvation, expressing the universal human desire to be free from the struggles of life and to find hope and meaning in something greater.
Line by Line Meaning
No temptation seize a man that he can't overcome
There's no temptation that a person cannot resist and overcome.
Who am I to be fallen?
Who am I to succumb to temptation?
Crack your back on a slab of wood
Suffer and sacrifice for freedom.
Come freedom, nail it down
Secure freedom.
I come crawling, I come crawling
I am humble before the Lord.
Come trickle down and save the world
God's power can save the world.
Two hands that I can't see
God's invisible hands can save us.
Come breathe, come breathe
Give me life with Your breath.
Come breathe on me
Give me new life.
Split-rib water, blood and bone
Creation of man in the Bible.
Come now, come calvary
Seeking salvation through the cross.
Testimony come now quickly, whisper in my ear
God's message is urgent and personal.
Celebration
Celebrate the Lord.
Peace at last not far away, empty sheet a borrowed grave
Death is temporary and leads to eternal peace.
Salvation
Salvation through the Lord.
Come freedom, come
God's power brings freedom.
Come trickle down and save the world
God's power can save the world.
Two hands that I can't see
God's invisible hands can save us.
Come breathe, come breathe
Give me life with Your breath.
Come breathe on me
Give me new life.
Split-rib water, blood and bone
Creation of man in the Bible.
Come now, come calvary
Seeking salvation through the cross.
Come breathe, come breathe on me
I need Your life.
Come freedom, come
God's power brings freedom.
Come freedom, come
God's power brings freedom.
Come trickle down and save the world
God's power can save the world.
Two hands that I can't see
God's invisible hands can save us.
Come breathe, come breathe
Give me life with Your breath.
Come breathe on me
Give me new life.
Split-rib water, blood and bone
Creation of man in the Bible.
Come now, come calvary
Seeking salvation through the cross.
Come breathe, come breathe on me
I need Your life.
Come breathe, come breathe on me
I need Your life.
Come breathe, come breathe on me
I need Your life.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Capitol CMG Publishing
Written by: JENNIFER LYNN KNAPP
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Lawana Lorene
Get goose bumps EVERY time I hear that song!!!!!!!!!
gaybf
There should truly be more Christians like you. It restores a little bit of my faith in the church, much of which has been lost over the course of coming out and dealing with the backlash of being kicked out of the youth program, being shoved into religious schooling by parents who didn't want to deal with me being gay, and feeling hated by the community I was brought up in.
sandyb sandy
No judgement here love her voice love her songs get the plank out of your own eye
doublengine
Jennifer is blessed with the gift of performing well. When one excepts Jesus as Master its up to him to disipline them!
Lindsay Brady
I HAVE LITERALLY SCREAMED AND CRIED AND PRAYED THIS SONG TO GOD!! HE DIDNT BREATHE...HE BLEW MY MIND! PRAISE GOD!!
anna wuzhere
Hallelujah, Glory to The Lamb Of God 🙏🐢📖🎶💦🦅
Barry Suave
I understand that feeling completely. Something about this song takes me back to a time when I was so sure of the world, so confident that things would turn out fine no matter what. I can just picture myself as a 12 year old laying in bed with a cd player and headphones on listening to a song like this. Its a melancholic, lonely feeling, but inspiring as well. Bittersweet, as I know I can't go back to those times but in some strange way the road ahead is still bright.
stuart w
absolutely love her!
j fillip
Always loved Jennifer Knapp ..Met her once in the Pittsburgh area at Macy's ...Always said she was one of the best song writers ever ! Christian or non Christian music
Daniel Arredondo
I've never this kind of annointing flow from a professed gay woman .Truly God is with her . This changes everything we thought we knew