Lyrics
Sweep over my soul
Sweep over my soul
Though the road in life get rough
Jah Jah sweep over my soul
Bingi vibes sweep over my soul
Sweep over my soul
Though the billows roll and tempest blow
(Sweep over my soul)
Jah Jah will sweep over my soul
Every day every morning
I will sing a song of praise to Him
Hail the king of kings (Hail the king of kings)
Every day I will rise, every morning I will sing
Every evening I will lift my voice
Lift my voice in praise higher higher
Oh lord, Sweep over my soul
Sweep over my soul
Though the billows roll and tempest blow
(Sweep over my soul)
I hear a voice is callin' from somewhere out there
A voice is singing somewhere in my head
And I know that I must rise
And fill my heart and pray
And sing for Jah Jah all my days
I say sweep over my soul, ooh
Sweep over my soul
The road may rough and tough
And goin get so hard
Jah sweep over my soul
Gethsemane, Gethsemane, oh Gethsemane
Oh ohh
I shall lift I voice to the Holy One of creation(Gethsemane)
And I shall sing songs of redemption (Gethsemane)
Song of praise and influence (Gethsemane)
I claim (Gethsemane) in my position (Gethsemane)
In creation in (Gethsemane) the son of the Almighty Jah
Behold in His glory manifest (Gethsemane)
In me forever and ever
Oh lord, Sweep over my soul
Sweep over my soul
Though the billows roll and tempest blow
Jah, Sweep over my soul
Video
Meaning & Inspiration
"Sweep Over My Soul" asks for an overwhelming, almost physical work of God across the singer's inner life, repeating its central request, sweep, cover, carry, against a backdrop of rough roads and rolling billows. The verses commit to daily response regardless of outcome: praise every morning, song every evening, a rising each day that continues whether or not the road has gotten easier. Naming God "Jah," in the vocabulary of gospel reggae, the song still directs its praise toward "the king of kings," keeping its address unmistakably toward the God of Scripture rather than a vague spiritual force.
The bridge names Gethsemane directly, invoking the garden where Jesus prayed before his arrest, and ties the singer's own plea for endurance to that scene of agony and submission. That reference reframes the earlier talk of rough roads and rolling billows as something shared with, rather than separate from, Christ's own suffering. The song closes as it opened, repeating its central request rather than resolving it, treating the plea to be swept over as durable enough to outlast whatever storm prompted it.
Related Scripture
- Matthew 26:36 Jesus prays in the garden of Gethsemane before His arrest, directly named in the bridge as the singer pleads for endurance.
- Mark 4:39 Jesus calms the wind and waves, echoed in the song's image of billows rolling and tempests blowing over the soul.