I think that’s kind of the point of this whole record is that the story of our lives, when we allow God to tell them, when we allow God to speak through the story of our lives, it will inevitably touch somebody else’s life. Inevitably I’m seeing some of myself in these stories as well, and so I think I’m finding out something about myself. Then I’m rejoicing when their lives find redemption. Q: Do you think it will be more challenging to capture and convey emotion when the story is not your own?Ī: At first, my thought with this project was, “Am I going to feel disconnect in writing these songs?” But what I’m already experiencing – I’m reading hundreds and hundreds of stories–and my heart is breaking for the pain that people feel and the trials they’ve had to go through. Even though you might think your story has too many bad chapters, I want to encourage you that God’s not done with you yet and He’s still telling a beautiful story about your life. My hope is that I can encourage people that their story matters. I see that sometimes this world goes out of its way to make us feel small and insignificant, or imperfect, or disqualified somehow from being used by God. Often I look around me or out into a crowd that I’m singing to, or I talk to people after concerts. I guess I feel a desire to remind people that they matter to God and they matter to the world. It’s based on this question: What if I turned the microphone around and what if this time, instead of writing songs inspired by my life, I ask people to send me their stories and found inspiration in writing songs about other people’s lives?
Q: Tell us about your next project and how you got the idea to use stories from your fans on the record.Ī: As I was praying for the statement that I wanted to make with my next record, I kept coming back to this one idea and it was to call a record, The Story of Your Life. Just a few weeks ago, West took a break from that process to talk with me about the project, about his story, and even about a certain preacher who forever changed his life. The ones that strike a chord or jump off the page will end up as songs on West’s next album, The Story of Your Life. And now he wants to tell your story.Ĭurrently holed up in a cabin on the outskirts of Nashville, West is poring over stories that fans have submitted on.
Whether sharing his own conversion story on the song “Next Thing You Know,” or singing about his wife’s childhood in “A Friend in the World,” West is a natural storyteller with a gift for penning emotionally compelling lyrics.
For singer-songwriter Matthew West, it’s all about the story.
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