Th… Read Full Bio ↴ZOEgirl was a very successful Christian pop rock band from 2000-2006.
The group was started with the three ladies: Alisa Noelle Girard, Chrissy Conway and Kristin Swinford. The three have each gotten married since then and go by the following names: Alisa Childers, Kristin Schweain, Chrissy Conway-Katina.
With more than 1 million albums sold worldwide and an impressive track record that heralds them as the fastest-selling debut artist in the 26-year history of Sparrow Records, ZOEgirl has managed to create a success story that continues to get bigger and bigger with the release of each new album. Performances at venues like New York's Madison Square Garden, The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Walt Disney World have helped ZOEgirl become one of the top female pop groups in Christian musica platform upon which Chrissy Conway, Alisa Girard and Kristin Swinford keep building brick by brick. ZOEgirl exploded onto the scene in 2000 with the group's self-titled debut (ZOEgirl), scoring four Top 5 radio hits. They followed with a sophomore album, Life, which continued to propel the girls' blossoming career. Those first two projects placed ZOEgirl in front of hundreds of thousands of fans on stage with artists such as Newsboys, Plus One, Avalon and Carman. Following the late 2003 release of their last album, Different Kind Of FREE, ZOEgirl hit the ground running as a featured artist on the 25-city Shoutfest tour before heading out on their first headlining tour in early 2004.
The FREE Experience tour, which also featured Superchick, Joy Williams and Focus on the Family speaker Susie Shellenberger, was a huge success with audiences across the country. The FREE Experience tour saw sell-out attendances in many markets during a year when the touring industry was taking a hard hit. Now, with Room To Breathe, their first new album in over a year, ZOEgirl is moving forward with some of the most compelling music of their career. Produced by Mark Heimermann, Double Dutch (Robert Marvin), Josiah Bell, Shawn Shankel, Tedd T and Dan Muckala, Room To Breathe encompasses ZOEgirl's growth as singers, songwriters, artists and women. "I think with each album we've been able to integrate more and more of who we are," Alisa says. "We've really seen a need and have been trying to fill that void for young girls to have a different option when it comes to pop music, and we've done it without trying to fit into any kind of mold or demographic. I think we've just really focused in on who our listeners are and what they want to hear." As every recording artist knows, longevity does not come easily in a fast-paced music industry that is constantly chasing the next big trend. But ZOEgirl's biggest accomplishment is their unending ability to connect with their fans around the world. "Our audience is constantly expanding," says Chrissy. "We've got younger girls, teenagers (including boys!), and parents coming to all of our shows and they are having a great time.
We've had some great conversations with them and we really love getting their feedback."
That feedback whether it comes through letters, after-show meetings or one-on-one time spent with young girls on recent mission trips translates into some of the real life moments Chrissy, Alisa and Kristin write about on their albums. Room To Breathe captures those poignant moments that come straight from the heart. Filled with soaring harmonies and brimming with a personal style that is quintessentially their own, the CD's tracks include the album's first radio single, About You, an up-tempo pop melody about learning to take the focus off yourself and make it all about God. Dead Serious, the track ZOEgirl calls the most fun song on the album, is a tribute to "all of those kids who really are standing up for what they believe, even though it's not always the most popular thing to do", Kristin explains. The album's title is pulled from a song called The Way You Love Me, written by Chrissy and songwriter Lynn Nichols. "This song talks about how it's so unfathomable to realize how much God loves us despite what we do every day", Chrissy explains. "We can't ever fully grasp how he could love us so much that he died for us. The lyrics say, You gave me room to breathe, a place to get away. I'm standing in your presence with a debt I can't repay".
One of the album's most honest and affecting songs is Scream, a lyric and music written by Alisa and inspired in part by some painfully revealing stories told by girls the group met on the road and while on a mission trip. "There are girls out there who admit to all kinds of self-destructive behaviors like eating disorders, drug abuse, drinking and cutting themselves out of a desperate need to numb the pain and cry out for help," Alisa shares. Does anybody know how I feel? Sometimes I'm numb; sometimes I'm overcome...Do I have to scream for you to hear me? Do I have to bleed for you to see me? Because I grieve and you're not listening to me. The song was a shower of emotions for Alisa, who was jointly inspired by hearing the deep hurts shared by the girls she'd met, and in honestly grieving her own personal pain and dealing with depression. "It took me two hours to write the whole song, and it was as if in that two hours I went through the pain of it and the healing of it. It was as if God just poured it out of me. It was so powerful." Having traveled on summer mission trips for the past two years, Chrissy, Alisa and Kristin have gained a renewed passion and vision to reach the world. As part of that effort, they have launched ZOEgirl Missions, a way to partner with their listeners in reaching out to areas in need. The first official ZOEgirl Missions trip took place last summer in Quito, Ecuador. Partnering with Big World Ventures, ZOEgirl took a missions group to visit retirement homes, play with children in orphanages, perform drama and music, and participate in various work and building projects for churches in Quito. This July, ZOEgirl is planning a second trip to Ecuador, partnering again with Big World Ventures, and taking various teams with specific gifts. Chrissy, Alisa and Kristin will bring with them construction teams, music and worship teams, and teams that will visit nursing homes and orphanages. They will spend time with the residents, nurturing and serving them with whatever they need, whether it's a haircut, a hug, or someone to sit with them and hold their hand. It's ZOEgirl's hope that they will touch those who experience so little human touch. "If we hadn't done these trips we wouldn't be the group we are now," says Alisa. "The girls who have gone on these trips have inspired more songs than they know." "These trips have really opened my eyes to the world,"
Chrissy adds. "It has given me a new appreciation for life and has taught me so much in the process." Glancing back, in the rear-view mirror of their career, it's the relationships they build, the lives they touch and the impact they make for Christ that fuels this trio of women more than anything else. "At the end of the day, in 20 years, I want to get a letter that says, I gave my heart to Jesus at a ZOEgirl concert,'" Alisa says. "To me, that's success. It's great to sell albums and win awards, but we aren't truly successful if we aren't leading people to heaven. That's eternal." Chrissy adds, "If we were remembered for anything else it wouldn't seem like we had fulfilled what we know God has called us to do."
ZOEgirl after 2006:
After Chrissy Conway's 2005 marriage to one of the Katinas, she now goes by Chrissy Conway-Katina.
When ZOEgirl announced their disbandment in 2006, Kristin took some time off but in spring of 2007, started working on solo material. Her tentative solo album was set to release on March 1, 2008 but in March 2008 announced that on her official MySpace that she will no longer release a solo album in favor of forming a new musical group ColmanBlue. As of May 2008, the group consists of Kelli Trontell and herself. Chrissy was interviewed by Amy Hagberg in April 2008: The hour long interview can be heard here.
Save Myself
ZOEgirl Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Take a minute take a breath
From the pressure that we need to know why
What makes you alive
Why
Rely on ourselves
Putting God up on a shelf we depend
On what's left in our heads
It feels right and we believe
There won't be no sudden leave
But we keep running faster
Isn't it so nice to think
If we live in harmony
There'd be a happy ever after
It doesn't matter if I
Had faith to move a mountain
Drink the Ocean Dry
Baby, I could never save myself
It Doesn't matter if I
Could reach into the deepest Corners of my mind
Baby, I could never save myself
Stop
Putting God in a box
Spend our time watching the clock While we wait
For a release that will take us away
Come down with a crash
Until we have another chance to go back
Is that gonna make it OK?
Hold your breath and you will see
In the end you'll have to breath
But we keep running faster
Fast
We forget reality
If you fall you're gonna bleed
There is no happy ever after
It doesn't matter if I
Had faith to move a mountain
Drink the Ocean Dry
Baby, I could never save myself
It Doesn't matter if I
Could reach into the deepest Corners of my mind
Baby, I could never save myself
Falling out under sorrow
Glimpses of the past of what I used to think
And who I used to be
I'm realizing all that's real that I have in me
It doesn't matter
You better fight the laws of gravity
It doesn't matter
If I start it over
It doesn't matter if I
Had faith to move a mountain
Drink the Ocean Dry
Baby, I could never save myself
It Doesn't matter if I
Could reach into the deepest Corners of my mind
Baby, I could never save myself
It doesn't matter if I
Had faith to move a mountain
Drink the Ocean Dry
Baby, I could never save myself
It Doesn't matter if I
Could reach into the deepest Corners of my mind
Baby, I could never save myself
Save myself
Save myself
Save myself
Save myself
The song "Save Myself" by ZOEgirl talks about the misconception that we can save ourselves from our problems without the help of God. The lyrics urge listeners to stop and take a minute to breathe from the pressure of needing to know everything and relying on their own abilities, instead of putting their trust in God. The song warns that even with faith to move a mountain or reach the deepest corners of our minds, we could never save ourselves. The lyrics encourage listeners to not put God in a box and to avoid waiting for a release that will take them away because that won't make everything okay.
The song speaks to the pitfalls of thinking that we can control everything in our lives and fix all our problems without help. Instead, we are reminded that we should lean on God and trust in Him to guide us through life. The song's chorus of "Save myself" repeats to remind listeners of our natural desire for control and how we all struggle with the instinct to rely on ourselves instead of trusting in God. Overall, the song emphasizes breaking free from our personal misconceptions of control and relying on God's help to navigate through life.
Line by Line Meaning
Stop
Take a break and focus on the present moment
Take a minute take a breath
Pause and take a deep breath to relieve pressure
From the pressure that we need to know why
Release ourselves from the pressure to constantly seek answers
What makes you alive
Reflect on what truly brings meaning to life
Why
Question our own motives and actions
Rely on ourselves
Depend on our own abilities and judgments
Putting God up on a shelf we depend
Ignoring spirituality and relying solely on ourselves
On what's left in our heads
Using our own knowledge and experience as our main guide
It feels right and we believe
Trusting our own intuition and beliefs
There won't be no sudden leave
Believing things will always remain steady
But we keep running faster
Continuing to pursue success without stopping to reflect
Isn't it so nice to think
Finding comfort in idealistic and unrealistic thoughts
If we live in harmony
Wishing for a perfect and ideal world with no conflict
There'd be a happy ever after
Believing that everything will turn out perfectly in the end
Stop
Reiterate the need to pause and take a break
Putting God in a box
Limiting our understanding of spirituality and religion
Spend our time watching the clock While we wait
Wasting time and waiting for something to happen
For a release that will take us away
Desiring an escape or the end of a difficult situation
Come down with a crash
Failing suddenly or unexpectedly
Until we have another chance to go back
Waiting for another opportunity to try again
Is that gonna make it OK?
Questioning whether another chance will truly solve the problem
Hold your breath and you will see
Trying to ignore reality or difficult situations
In the end you'll have to breath
Eventually having to confront reality
Fast
Continuing to move quickly and without reflection
We forget reality
Losing touch with what is truly important or real
If you fall you're gonna bleed
Acknowledging that mistakes have consequences
There is no happy ever after
Recognizing that life is not perfect and that there will always be struggle
Falling out under sorrow
Experiencing difficulty or pain
Glimpses of the past of what I used to think
Reflecting on past beliefs and thoughts
And who I used to be
Reflecting on past actions and behavior
I'm realizing all that's real that I have in me
Acknowledging one's true values and strengths
It doesn't matter
Highlighting that some things are not important or do not have a significant impact
You better fight the laws of gravity
Encouraging perseverance and determination in the face of adversity
If I start it over
Considering the possibility of making a fresh start
Save myself
Understanding that one cannot rely solely on themselves to solve their problems
Save myself
Emphasizing the importance of seeking help and guidance from others
Save myself
Reiterating the need to recognize one's limitations and to rely on others for support
Save myself
Urging listeners to prioritize their well-being and to seek help when needed
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, CAPITOL CHRISTIAN MUSIC GROUP
Written by: ALISA NOELLE GIRARD, CHRISTINE CONWAY, KRISTIN SWINFORD, LYNN NICHOLS, MICHAEL BROOKS LINNEY, TEDD TJORNHOM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind