Hillsong Young And Free - Real Love Lyrics

Video

Real Love (Live) - Hillsong Young & Free

Meaning & Inspiration

I still remember the smell of the pig pen. It sticks to the back of your throat, a constant, low-grade reminder of exactly what I did to get here. When Hillsong Young And Free sing about "Your love untamed, it's blazing out," I don’t hear a radio pop song. I hear the sound of a porch light being left on when I was halfway across the county, drunk and broke, expecting a locked door.

"You wake within me." That line hits weird when you’ve spent so long trying to kill the part of you that still knows God’s name. Most of the time, I’m just trying to keep the numbness from wearing off. But then this song comes on, and it’s like someone shaking your shoulder when you’re trying to sleep off a bender. It’s an intrusion. It’s annoying. It’s the last thing I asked for.

I spent years digging trenches, trying to build a life out of things that weren't meant to hold weight. The lyrics talk about "fire in our eyes," and for a second, I wonder if that’s meant to be a metaphor or a warning. Maybe it’s both. Ezekiel talked about a fire that couldn't be shut up in his bones, and I get that. But for me, it feels more like the charcoal after the house has burned down. Still hot. Still dangerous.

It’s scandalous, honestly. I walked away. I wasted the inheritance, and I’m pretty sure I’m still tracking mud on the carpet, but He’s here, "by my side, in my life." It doesn't make sense. I’m waiting for the lecture, the tally of all the ways I let everyone down, but the song just keeps repeating: "Forever in Your love."

I don't know if I believe in "forever" yet. I’m still just trying to make it to Tuesday. But there’s a persistent ache when they sing that line—like a bone trying to knit back together. I’ve spent my whole life assuming I was the one who had to wake up and earn my way back to the table, but the song says He wakes within me. He’s the one doing the heavy lifting. I’m just the guy sitting in the wreckage, kind of surprised that the ground beneath me is actually holding my weight.

I don’t know if this music is too loud or too bright for where I’ve been. Maybe. But maybe that’s the point. I needed something bright enough to cut through the gray, even if it makes me squint. I’m not fixed. I’m just found, and for right now, that has to be enough.