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
Into You
Jennifer Knapp Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All her fat cat schemes don't look around
Don't you even blame me
It's a real bad thing to spill your shades for a blind man to
Find it
Who can feel the whole earth move and don't even mind it
I want to know You
Relieve me from myself bring me Into You
I want to know You
Better than I do
Relieve me from myself bring me Into You
She's a want to be hero
Yeah, she try to be strong
And the end of the hour
You find that that tower ain't standing so tall
It's a real hard thing
To show you weakness
If anyone can love you, I know my King does
I want to know You
Better than I do
Relieve me from myself, bring me Into You
I want to know You
Better than I do
Relieve me from myself, bring me into
Your holiness
Your kingdom
Your righteousness
My freedom
She's an easy scare
She's a simple bluff
She's a timid girl
She's in love
I want to know You
Better than I do
Relieve me from myself, bring me into you
I want to know You
Better than I do
Relieve me from myself, bring me into you
The lyrics of Jennifer Knapp's song Into You convey a message about the human desire to know God on a deeper level. The first verse begins with the description of a girl who is obsessed with getting inked, indicating that she may be seeking attention or trying to fill a void in her life. However, the lyrics suggest that her attempts to find meaning in life through superficial means will not satisfy her. The line "All her fat cat schemes don't look around" expresses this idea that her plans are not grounded in reality.
The chorus expresses the desire of the singer to know God intimately, to be "relieved from herself" and feel "into" God. Through this relationship, she finds relief and freedom from her own baggage that was preventing her from living a fulfilling life. The line "It's a real hard thing to show you weakness, if anyone can love you, I know my King does" emphasizes that it is hard to show vulnerability to others but that God's love is unconditional and capable of penetrating even the most challenging situations.
The second verse describes a girl who tries to be strong and heroic but ultimately fails. The lyrics suggest that it is the admission of weakness that makes someone truly strong, not putting up a front. The final lines of the song express the singer's openness and willingness to know God intimately, to experience his holiness and righteousness and be freed from the chains of her past.
Overall, the song is a reminder that external measures of success and temporary fixes cannot replace the satisfaction that comes from knowing God on a deeper level.
Line by Line Meaning
She's a skin art junkie all cute and petite
She is someone who enjoys getting tattoos and is small and attractive
All her fat cat schemes don't look around
All her financial plans are not practical or realistic
Don't you even blame me
You cannot blame me
It's a real bad thing to spill your shades for a blind man to find it
It's a bad idea to reveal your secrets to someone who is incapable of understanding them
Who can feel the whole earth move and don't even mind it
Someone who is powerful and unaffected by the things around them
I want to know You
I want to have a deeper understanding of You
Better than I do
More than I currently do
Relieve me from myself bring me Into You
Release me from my own limitations and guide me closer to You
She's a want to be hero
She wants to be a hero
Yeah, she try to be strong
She tries to appear strong
And the end of the hour
When everything is over
You find that that tower ain't standing so tall
You realize that her strength is not as great as it appeared
It's a real hard thing
It is very difficult
To show you weakness
To reveal your flaws
If anyone can love you, I know my King does
If anyone is capable of loving you, it is my God
Your holiness
Your perfection and purity
Your kingdom
Your domain of influence and power
Your righteousness
Your moral perfection and uprightness
My freedom
My liberation from sin and limitations
She's an easy scare
She is easily scared
She's a simple bluff
She is easy to deceive
She's a timid girl
She is shy and lacking in confidence
She's in love
She is in a loving relationship
Lyrics © CAPITOL CHRISTIAN MUSIC GROUP, DistroKid, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Capitol CMG Publishing
Written by: MICHAEL MONDESIR, ANDREW LEWIS TAYLOR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Steve Jacobs
I'm frankly kinda surprised how few views this has. This track is a jam.
Nunyah
So awesome. This song spoke volumes to me 18 years ago. And still to this day. Thank you Jennifer so much.
StonefistFVF117 EX.
I WAS LOOKING FOR THIS SONG FOR HOURS!!!!!
The mental stress... Just gone... Oh.. Glorious.. FINALLY. I FOUND IT!!! It was gonna drive me insane... But I found it... Thank the human who put this up..
Gabriel, GM
Heard this in the background of a scene in Smallville, s01ep11... Now I finally found it!
Tony Flamingo
hard athiest. still love this song.
Steve Reynolds
Accepting Jesus Christ, after complete turning from self and opening heart to Jesus Christ, is just the beginning of conversion.
Daniel P
Back when Christian music actually rocked unlike today...
KaK Cooperren Cooper
I want to know him!! Thirsty forevermore. Thanks Jennifer. 💪🙌💪
Holly R
I'm not a Christian anymore but this song is still dope