The summer of 2025 went the absolute fastest that I can recall so far! I’ve been reflecting on the joint worship with the Girard, Fairview, and Westminster Presbyterian congregations, the good times I shared with friends on the 4th of July and at the Girard Sunflower Field, and the couple of days I spent in my hammock at the beach before going to live music events. Even though it seemed to fly by, I’d like to think I made the most of the good weather before the autumn chill starts to set in.
“Out of the shadows
Bound for the gallows
A dead man walking
Till love came calling
Rise up
Rise up”
Speaking of chill–the artist that we’re reviewing this month is Lauren Daigle; whom some of you may recognize from our review in November for her song “Light of The World”! This month, we’re going to look at the powerful spiritual message within the opening song to her 2018 album Look Up Child, here is “Still Rolling Stones”!
“All at once I came alive
This beating heart, these open eyes
The grave let go
The darkness should have known…”
Right from the start of the song we have a climactic introduction with keys and strings. The imagery in the lyrics of “a dead man walking, til love came calling, rise up” are reminiscent of Jesus calling out to Lazarus when he had died and Jesus had resurrected him. In the first verse it leads us to believe that this may be a song about Lazarus, but as we listen to the song deeper, it can be concluded that this could be a personal story of being called out of a darkness by the love of Christ for Daigle, which makes this song really inspiring!
“Now that You saved me
I sing ’cause You gave me
A song of revival
I put it on vinyl
Rise up
Rise up”
In the second verse Daigle sings about herself singing songs of her being saved. I enjoy the way that she worded her lyrics in this part to stay more theologically accurate. Instead of saying something along the lines of her singing joyfully ‘because’ she was saved, she states that she sings because she was “given a song of revival”. This was a piece of songwriting skill that I noticed and thought that it was worth pointing out! Also in the second verse, she mentions that once she was blinded and heard about the power of Christ but now she is able to see it and believes it. This is a direct reference to the unnamed woman who was sick and believed that she could be healed by touching the fringe of Jesus’ robes; she would be healed, but it was through her faith that she was healed (Mark 5:21-34), this is also referencing the multiple healings of the blind that Jesus gave.
“I once was blinded
But now I see it
I heard about the power
And now I believe it”
The bridge of the song gives us an emotional and contemplative instrumentation of only piano and violin while the lyrics are regretful for the grave of darkness that we can sometimes find ourselves in, rendering us helpless, without finding the love of Christ that can give us our own revival. Even when it seems that someone may have strayed too far away from Jesus for forgiveness, Jesus always finds a way to call the lost sheep back to the 99.
“You’re still rolling rolling, you’re still rolling rolling oh,
You’re still rolling stones
You’re still rolling rolling oh
You’re still rolling stones”
This is a fantastic way to start an album off with a captivating and uplifting song like this one! Plus, it makes for a perfect song for a Yeshuwa Review! I’ve listened to a few of the other songs from her album, but this review is only for this one! I’ll leave it up to you to adventure into the rest of Look Up Child and we’ll all eagerly be waiting to see what comes next for Lauren Daigle. I hope your summer was as enjoyable as mine was; but if you’re still looking for a little more summer as I am, we still have until September 21st until autumn is officially here! So get out there and enjoy some of the final bits of summer. When September 21st hits, I hope you’re all playing this hit as your own personal welcome to the fall season! Rise Up!