Peace

When my mind is like a battlefield
And my heart is overcome by fear
And hope seems like a ship that’s lost at sea

My enemies on every side
And I’m tempted to run and hide
Your gentle whisper reaches out to me

Peace
Holds me when I’m broken
Sweet peace
That passes understanding
When the whole wide world is crashing down
I fall to my knees
And breathe in Your peace

Fiery arrows whistling
The terror of the night sets in
But I can feel Your angels all around

I am resting underneath
The shelter of Your mighty wings
Your promises are where my hope is found

I remember who You are
You’re the God who’s never far
So I will not be afraid
God, You always keep me safe in Your arms

I remember who You are
You’re the God who’s never ever far away
So I will not be afraid
God, You always, You always keep me safe

You give me peace
That holds me when I’m broken
Sweet peace
That passes understanding
When the whole wide world is crashing down
I fall to my knees
And breathe in
I breathe You, I breathe You in
Take a deep breath and be still
And know that You are God alone

TEXTUAL ANALYSIS – Peace

The object of the present work is to discuss and analyse the song “Peace” by Bethel Music feat. We The Kingdom.

The song focuses the reader’s attention thanks to its length. The intelligent reader therefore understands that “Peace” is really the keyword and the theme of the whole text. This can also be understood from the fact that the poet decided to write them with the initial capital letter. However, there is a symmetrical layout which results from an anaphoric structure due to the initial line of most stanza.

The text is a song and, to tell the truth, the intelligent reader may be curious to find out the reason why the poet decided to use the word “Peace”. Such curiosity is a sufficient reason to go on with a careful reading of the text. The word “Peace” suggests a concept of societal friendship and harmony in the absence of hostility and violence. It follows that the analysis of the song is meant to discover the message the speaking voice wants to send and to whom the poet refers.

In order to reach the goal the present work will develop a structural analysis first and on a second moment will consider how connotative choices add to the meaning.
Just considering the layout, the song is arranged into three different parts: verse, chorus and bridge. The first part reports the opinion of a single person, the second part, being a chorus, deepens what was said previously. So it underlines the theme expressed by the speaking voice in the previous verses. Finally, the last part (bridge) it is a musical passage that has the function of connecting a section of a song to another. For example, in this case it is used to connect the two choruses.
Moreover, the reader realises the text is organised into eight stanzas that do not exhibit the same structure. There is no definite rhyme scheme in the song. The first two stanzas are made up of three lines, the second stanza is arranged into seven lines, two more stanzas of three lines follow, then two of four and finally a stanza with ten lines. However, the investigation immediately makes clear that the first line of the third stanza is very short or at least shorter than the others. What’s more, it is the only one consisting of a single word, “Peace”, that comes to the forefront. Thus giving a central and therefore core position to the noun, that recalls the title. One can think the word “Peace” may play a relevant role in the message. In so doing, the speaker not only focuses the reader’s attention on “Peace”, but he also gives it a privileged position and no intelligent reader can escape noticing this.

In the first two stanzas, the speaking voice describes his mood and he feels like a lost man when “my mind is like a battlefield”, “my heart is overcome by fear”, “hope seems like a ship that’s lost at sea” and “My enemies on every side”. What he would like to do is run away and hide from what is happening to him. However, “Your gentle whisper reaches out to me”.

The first refrain begins, which takes up and deepens what was said in the last line of the second stanza. That gentle whisper that reached him, now represents the only thing able to “Holds me when I’m broken” and “When the whole wide world is crashing down”. When all this happens, the speaking voice feels safe as much from “breathe in Your peace”. The poet continues with the description of the bad things that haunt him: “Fiery arrows whistling” and “The terror of the night sets in”, but once again he feels under someone's protection “But I can feel Your angels all around” or “I am resting underneath the shelter of Your mighty wings”.

The song continues with the bridge, that should be divided into two different parts, introduced by the same words “I remember who You are”. In each part the speaking voice pauses to talk about the person who keeps making him feel safe. The intelligent reader may discover that it is God. He is keen to reiterate that “You’re the God who’s never far” and “God, You always keep me safe”. Maybe God is the only person who is close to him even in the most difficult moments, who does not make him feel alone and drown in his pain.

Finally, the song ends with the second refrain. The poet practically repeats what he said in the previous chorus, but adding the last three lines different from the others. The speaking voice breathes in what makes him feel good.

As for literary devices, there is a repetition. The word “Your” has been repeated a number of times in the poem. What strikes the reader's attention is that the poet writes this word with a capital letter. Maybe he wants to stick it to the reader's mind and make it clear that "Your" has some importance. “God” have also been repeated a number of times. It is enough to see that in the bridge it is repeated three times. Another thing that leaps to our eyes is that the two stanzas in which the bridge is divided begin with the same line “I remember who You are” and here too that "You" is highlighted. It follows that all the stylistic choices illustrated so far contribute to make meaning. You can see that the poet decided to use the simple and progressive aspect of the verb. Therefore, verb tenses that indicate certainty.