‘God, I need you now, I need you most’, sings pop star Avril Lavigne

Five year after her last release, popular Canadian pop artist Avril Lavigne presented the first single of her new album “AL6”.

“Head Above Water” had 7 million views on Youtube in its first 48 hours.

The song is a prayer to God in the midst of the “battle of my life” with Lyme disease. It was back in 2015 when the artist revealed she suffered from this infection caused by tick bites, and since then she has been raising awareness about how to prevent it.

In a video shot by the shores of an ocean, Lavigne sings about her “spiritual experience”, which resembles that of Peter stepping out of the boat to reach Jesus in the middst of a storm (Matthew 14).

“God, keep my head above water”, Lavigne sings. “Don’t let me drown, it gets harder”.

Promotional image of Avril Lavigne's new album.

While she sings about her struggles, Avril describes the hope of a future encounter with God: “I’ll meet you there at the altar, as I fall down on my knees”. This has also clear Biblical resonances (Romans 14:11).

In a statement, the artist explained her personal journey. “One night, I thought I was dying, and I had accepted that I was going to die. My mom laid with me in bed and held me. I felt like I was drowning. Under my breath, I prayed ‘God, please help to keep my head above the water’. In that moment, the song writing of this album began. It was like I tapped into something. It was a very spiritual experience. Lyrics flooded through me from that point on”.

After visiting many doctors, Lavigne was diagnosed in 2014. She was “in bed for the better part of two years”, and only started to recover in 2017.

Watch the video for “Head Above Water”:

The full lyrics of the song:                

I've gotta keep the calm before the storm

I don’t want less, I don't want more

Must bar the windows and the doors

To keep me safe, to keep me warm

Yeah, my life is what I'm fighting for

Can’t part the sea, can't reach the shore

And my voice becomes the driving force

I won't let this pull me overboard

/

God, keep my head above water

Don't let me drown, it gets harder

I'll meet you there at the altar

As I fall down to my knees

Don't let me drown, drown, drown

Don't let me, don't let me, don’t let me drown

/

So pull me up from down below

’Cause I'm underneath the undertow

Come dry me off and hold me close

I need you now, I need you most

/

God, keep my head above water

Don’t let me drown, it gets harder

I'll meet you there at the altar

As I fall down to my knees

Don't let me drown, drown, drown

Don't let me, don’t let me, don't let me drown

Don't let me drown, drown, drown

Don't let me, don't let me, don't let me drown (keep my head above water, above water)

/

And I can't see in the stormy weather

I can't seem to keep it all together

And I, I can't swim the ocean like this forever

And I can't breathe

/

God, keep my head above water

I lose my breath at the bottom

Come rescue me, I'll be waiting

I'm too young to fall asleep

/

God, keep my head above water

Don't let me drown, it gets harder

I'll meet you there at the altar

As I fall down to my knees

/

Don't let me drown (don't let me, don't let me drown)

Don't let me drown (don't let me, don't let me drown)

Don't let me drown (don't let me, don't let me drown)

Keep my head above water, above water

An image of Avril Lavigne's 2018 song Head Above Water. / Youtube

MORE THAN 60 MILLION ALBUMS SOLD

“AL6” is Avril Lavigne’s sixth album since 2002. She has so far sold 50 million album and 60 million singles with songs like “Sk8ter boy”, “When you’re gone” or “Complicated”.