In this post, I will break down the lyrics of “Reconcile” and discuss how it talks about fighting our pride.
Lacey Sturm, the co-founder and former lead vocalist of the Christian rock band Flyleaf, released her second solo album, Kenotic Metanoia, in November. Sturm left Flyleaf in 2012, with one of the reasons being to spend more time with her son after the death of the band’s sound engineer caused her to think about how short life is.
Photo of Lacey Sturm retrieved from her website.
She later got back into music and released her first solo album, Life Screams, in 2016 and became the first solo female artist to be at the top of the Billboard Hard Rock Albums chart.
Her new album, Kenotic Metanoia, covers topics such as dying to pride and allowing God’s spirit to work within and transform us. “Reconcile” especially focuses on pride.
Here is the music video, so give this song a listen.
And now for the lyrics.
I thought my knuckles were bleeding for the right reasons
Fighting the good fight in every open season
Now my hands are busy pulling out planks of wood
My eye sockets filling up with my own blood
Waiting for the clarity to come
But maybe I'm just bleeding to death
And maybe that's just the fate of my own blood
Solving the waiting by reckoning myself already dead
“Reconcile” is about killing our pridefulness. The song begins by talking about how pride can impact our calling as Christians. Those of us who believe in Jesus are called to fight “the good fight” of faith (1 Timothy 6:12). However, when we are blinded by pride, we can become too focused on ourselves and our image to thoughtfully help others.
The mention of “planks of wood” references Matthew 7:3-5, in which Jesus says,“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
Pride can blind us from seeing our own faults and instead cause us to only notice the faults in others. Removing our pride and humbling ourselves can be a painful process (like the lyric “My eye sockets filling up with my own blood”), but it’s a necessary part of following God’s will.
Oh, come and be reconciled At the wedding or funeral pyre Romancing pride to death Disgusting categorizing liar And how do we bleed and how do we breathe A love we're too proud to see The pride that turns the holy into blasphemy
But I will let You breathe on me
The word “reconcile” means to restore or resolve. We are called to reconcile with each other, such as it says in Romans 12:16, “Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, butbe willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.” By humbling ourselves and reconciling with others, we can combat pride.
Pride is a “disgusting, categorizing liar,” and when Christians are prideful, like when we brag about ourselves and our good deeds, we risk turning people away from Christ (“The pride that turns the holy into blasphemy”). Pride prevents us from genuinely and compassionately loving others (“how do we bleed and how do we breathe / A love we’re too proud to see”).
But the lyric “But I will let You breathe on me” represents allowing God to work within us and remove our pride.
Pride, can't she just shut up and die?
Her bones are all blazing inside
Can't I just shut up and die
Beckon Your help
Change my mind
Reckon myself
Dead and die
Pride is described in the Bible as leading to destruction (Proverbs 16:18), disgrace (Proverbs 11:2), conflict (Proverbs 13:10), and humiliation (Proverbs 29:23). And the chorus of the song is calling for God to help kill the part of us that is prideful (“Beckon Your help / Change my mind”).
Kenotic Metanoia album cover retrieved from Lacey Sturm's website.
A lonely sobriety
You handcuff and silence me
Can't choose to watch the war or close my eyes
My pathetic spit is all that I get to try and put out the fire
New forests rage and ancient days collide
This verse talks about how hard it is to fight pride. When pride is in control in our life, we can feel like we’re in the backseat of our minds and find it hard to defeat pride (“You handcuff and silence me / Can’t choose to watch the war or close my eyes”).
But I will let You breathe for me
(Pride, can't she just shut up and die)
I thought my knuckles were bleeding for the right reasons
Fighting the good fight in every open season
Now my hands are busy pulling out planks of wood
My eye sockets filling up with my own blood
Waiting for the clarity to come
But maybe I'm just bleeding to death
And maybe that's just the fate of my own blood
Solving the waiting by reckoning myself already dead
Lacey Sturm said about the meaning of the song: "My own humanity can be so divided. When I cling to my rights by pointing out the faults of others, I splinter myself. All of this division is rooted in my own pride. ... Have I arrogantly supposed that I could somehow reconcile the world around me if I am not reconciled within myself?"
Pride, can't she just shut up and die?
Her bones are all blazing inside
Can't I just shut up and die (Shut up and die)
Beckon Your help
Change my mind
Reckon myself
Dead and die
Sturm also talked about reconciliation after releasing this song: “As soon as I cultivate peace within myself, the world around me starts falling into peace too— my kids, my family, my friends, the person at the checkout in the grocery store."
So, getting rid of our pride and humbling ourselves makes it easier to live at peace with the people around us.
Beckon Your help
Change my mind
God is ultimately the One to turn to if you are struggling with pride. His Spirit can soften our hearts and help us act in humility and love. 1 Peter 5:6 says, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.” So, if we let go of our pride and live in humility, then we will be reflecting Jesus’s love and exalting Him.
FLYLEAF’s LACEY STURM releases music video for new solo single “Reconcile.” (2023, July 11). BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved December 4, 2023, from https://blabbermouth.net/news/flyleafs-lacey-sturm-releases-music-video-for-new-solo-single-reconcile
Genius Contributors. (2023). Lacey Sturm – Reconcile. Genius. Retrieved December 4, 2023, from https://genius.com/Lacey-sturm-reconcile-lyrics
Lacey Sturm. (2023). Lacey Sturm. Retrieved December 5, 2023, from https://www.laceysturm.com/
LACEY STURM: Why I left FLYLEAF. (2014, September 7). BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved December 4, 2023, from https://blabbermouth.net/news/lacey-sturm-why-i-left-flyleaf
Wikipedia contributors. (2023, December 3). Lacey Sturm. Wikipedia. Retrieved December 4, 2023, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lacey_Sturm