Lyrics
Verse 1
This is the air I breathe (x2)
Your holy presence living in me
Verse 2
This is my daily bread (x2)
Your very word spoken to me
Chorus
And I I'm desperate for you
And I I'm I'm lost without you
Verse 1 (Reprise)
This is the air I breathe (x2)
Your holy presence living in me
Verse 2 (Reprise)
This is my daily bread
this is my daily bread
your very word spoken to me
Chorus / Outro
And I'm, I'm desperate for you
And I'm, I'm lost without you
And I'm desperate for you
And I'm, I'm lost without you.
I'm lost without you. (x2)
I'm desperate for you.
(Cry out to live)
I'm desperate for you..
I'm lost, I'm lost, I'm lost without you..
I'm lost without you
I'm desperate for you
(How many of you are hungry for God?)
(I want more of Him. Who wants the flood gates to open up?)
Credits & Song Information
Video
Meaning & Inspiration
Michael W. Smith's live version of "Breathe" stays deliberately spare, built from two short verses and a two-line chorus repeated until it becomes the song's entire structure. The first verse names God's presence as breath itself, while the second calls his word daily bread - pairing two basic necessities, air and food, with worship and scripture. Both images draw on familiar biblical language, echoing the breath of life in Genesis 2:7 and the description of Christ as the bread of life in John 6:35.
The chorus narrows the song to a single claim repeated with variation: desperate for you, lost without you. As the live recording extends, that repetition stops functioning as a new verse and becomes something closer to a sustained response, reinforced by a brief spoken call asking who is hungry for God. Rather than building toward a resolution, the song stays inside that same short declaration, letting repetition itself carry the weight of the prayer.
Related Scripture
- Genesis 2:7 Breath of life, echoed in "this is the air I breathe."
- John 6:35 Christ as the bread of life, echoed in "this is my daily bread."