This is the year when hearts go free
And broken lives are mended
I hear the sound of Jubilee
The song of sorrow ended
Love is the greatest story
The world has known
The beacon in the darkness
The way back home
Can you feel what I'm feeling?
Can you hear what I hear?
There's a new day dawning
A new sound in the air
We've been waiting For the healing
And surely the time is here
This is the year of joy for tears
And beauty out of ashes
When skies will clear if we will share
Forgive and learn what love is
Let's crown the year with kindness
And live in peace
Fill all the world with songs
That never cease
This is the year when hearts go free
And broken lives are mended
I hear the sound of Jubilee
The song of sorrow ended
This is the year, this is the year
This is, this is the year
Kendrick Lamar - meet the grahams (Lyrics) Drake Diss
This Is The Year Song Meaning, Biblical Reference and Inspiration
Graham Kendrick's song "This Is The Year" presents a powerful declaration of hope and transformation, drawing its message directly from the provided lyrics. The song establishes an immediate sense of expectation, proclaiming a time when significant positive changes are not just desired but actively anticipated as happening *now*. The opening lines set the tone, speaking of hearts gaining freedom and lives that were broken finding mending, painting a picture of restoration from past hurt and limitation.
A central theme woven throughout the lyrics is one of release and renewal, vividly captured by the phrase "I hear the sound of Jubilee." This concept, rooted in the Biblical tradition of Leviticus 25, signifies a time of liberation, debt cancellation, and the return to former states, directly connecting to the lyrical promises of freedom and mending. The idea that the "song of sorrow" is ended reinforces this shift from a state of suffering to one of joy and celebration, suggesting a definitive turning point has arrived. The lyrics further highlight love as the fundamental force driving this change, describing it as the most significant narrative, a guiding light, and the means of finding one's way back home.
The song expands on this transformative vision, portraying a year marked by the reversal of negative experiences – "joy for tears" and "beauty out of ashes." This echoes scriptural imagery found, for example, in Isaiah 61:3, which speaks of providing for those who grieve and bestowing a crown of beauty instead of ashes. The lyrics suggest that clearer skies and the fulfillment of this hopeful year are contingent upon communal actions: sharing, forgiving, and actively learning and living out what love means. The call to "crown the year with kindness" and "live in peace" acts as both a description of the desired state and an exhortation for listeners to participate in bringing it about.
The structure incorporates a sense of shared experience and collective anticipation with questions like "Can you feel what I'm feeling?" and "Can you hear what I hear?" This builds a feeling of communal awareness regarding the dawning of a "new day" and a "new sound in the air." The acknowledgment "We've been waiting for the healing" underscores that this hopeful declaration is the culmination of past longing. The repeated assertion, "This is the year," serves as a strong, declarative anchor, reinforcing the central message that the time for healing, freedom, and the triumph of love is not some distant possibility but a present reality to be embraced.