Lyrics
Intro
Oooooh
Oooooh
Oooooh
Verse 1
You broke through a thousand fences
Been rescued from a thousand ditches
You still swear you don't fit in
So you kick and scream and you're gone again
Wandering off into the devil's wind
Chorus
But how's it going out there
Acting like you ain't scared
How's that heart of stone
Ain't so hard when you're alone
Crying tears you hope nobody sees
Guess the Good News is He'll never leave you be
Jesus loves you black sheep
Verse 2
You hate everything about you
You think we're better off without you
You wear your pain out on your sleeve
And you paint it on in rebel ink
But the alcohol and pills ain't fixed a thing
Chorus (Repeat)
How's it going out there
Acting like you ain't scared
How's that heart of stone
It ain't so hard when you're alone
Crying tears you hope nobody sees
Guess the Good News is He'll never leave you be
Jesus loves you black sheep
Interlude
Oooooh
Oooooh
Oooooh
Jesus loves you black sheep
Oooooh
Oooooh
Oooooh
Bridge
Can't tell you when, I ain't no prophet
But there'll come a point in time when you can't stop it
The Good Shepherd's love smells like smoke
There ain't no hell so low
Where He won't let the hounds of Heaven go
Sic 'em, let the hounds of Heaven go
Chorus (Repeat)
So how's it going out there
Acting like you ain't scared
How's that heart of stone
Ain't so hard when you're alone
Crying tears you hope nobody sees
Guess the Good News is He'll never leave you be
And amazing grace is a pesky pesky thing
But the Good News is He'll never leave you be
Jesus loves you black sheep
Outro
Oooooh
Oooooh
Oooooh
Jesus loves you black sheep
Oooooh
Oooooh
Oooooh
Oooooh
Oooooh
Oooooh
Oooooh
Video
Meaning & Inspiration
“Black Sheep” by Ben Fuller speaks to someone who feels like an outsider and keeps running. The verses describe a person who has broken through a thousand fences and been rescued from a thousand ditches, yet insists on not fitting in, wearing pain on the sleeve, and trying to numb it with alcohol and pills. The picture is close to the lost sheep in Luke 15:4-7.
The chorus asks how it is going out there, acting unafraid, and notes that a heart of stone is not so hard when alone. It then gives the good news that He will never leave the wanderer be, and ends with “Jesus loves you, black sheep.”
The bridge says the Good Shepherd’s love “smells like smoke,” that there is no hell so low where He will not let the hounds of Heaven go, an idea close to Psalm 139:7-8 and Ezekiel 34:16. The message is that no one is beyond the Shepherd’s search.
Related Scripture
- Luke 15:4-7 The shepherd searches for the lost sheep
- Psalm 139:7-8 There is nowhere to flee from God’s presence
- Ezekiel 34:16 I will seek the lost