Good News Tucson - A Family Values Publication

How Matthew West Lost His Voice
and Found His Life

Interview by Carol Crenshaw

K-LOVE: When you sit down to write a song, how do you get yourself motivated?

Matthew: Sometimes I’ll get an idea when I’m away from writing. A song will pop into my head from something I experience. I haven’t written this song yet, but yesterday I was thinking about how my daughter used to be just a dream. We would dream about what she would be like, and now she’s here. I wrote that in my journal: “You used to be a dream.” Other times I’ll sit down with the goal of writing a song.

K-LOVE: What inspired you to write the hit song “You Are Everything”?

Matthew: When I wrote the song, I’m not sure I even knew what it was about. Shortly after writing it, though, I found out I had to have surgery on my vocal chords. And as I began to walk through that difficult time of not knowing whether or not I was going to be able to sing again, the lyrics resurfaced in my heart. I started looking at what significance they had in my heart, realizing just how helpless I was. That song became a heart-cry of mine, saying to Jesus, “I could lose everything! I could lose my voice, which means I could lose my career and my house.” God can use those experiences to help you remember that you haven’t lost it all as long as you’re holding on to your savior.

K-LOVE: Did that experience change the way you look at things?

Matthew: I’m still finding out how much it’s changed me. There were no guarantees that my voice was going to come back, so I’m thankful to get to sing with a surgically repaired voice. I’m so excited to be able to get up on stage and share with people about how weak I’ve been in my life and that we serve a God who answers our prayers. He does heal. He does miracles!