MULTIMEDIA-ENGLISH
Forgiveness - the song and the story (Matthew West)
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8:40
Video page URL
https://multimedia-english.com/videos/esl/forgiveness-the-song-and-the-story-matthew-west-5095
Description

This is the amazing story of Forgiveness, with capital letters. Can a woman forgive the man who killed her daughter? This woman could, and she felt so liberated that she now is helping the man. This impressive story was the inspiration for Christian singer Matthew West and he wrote a song dedicated to her and telling her story. Here we can see the song and the story, told by the protagonists.


Here is another video telling the story: Forgiveness...

Transcript

LYRICS OF THE SONG


It’s the hardest thing to give away
The last thing on your mind today
It always goes to those that don’t deserve

It’s the opposite of how you feel
When the pain they caused is just too real
It takes everything you have just to say the word…

Forgiveness
Forgiveness

It flies in the face of all your pride
It moves away the mad inside
It’s always anger’s own worst enemy
And even when the jury and the judge
Say you gotta right to hold a grudge
It’s the whisper in your ear saying ‘Set It Free

Forgiveness, Forgiveness
Forgiveness, Forgiveness

Show me how to love the unlovable
Show me how to reach the unreachable
Help me now to do the impossible

Forgiveness, Forgiveness

Oh, help me now to do the impossible
Forgiveness

It’ll clear the bitterness away
It can even set a prisoner free
There is no end to what its power can do
So, let it go and be amazed
By what you see through eyes of grace
The prisoner that it really frees is you

Forgiveness, Forgiveness
Forgiveness, Forgiveness

Show me how to love the unlovable
Show me how to reach the unreachable
Help me now to do the impossible, yeah
Forgiveness

I want to finally set it free
Show me how to see what Your mercy sees
Help me now to give what You gave to me
Forgiveness, Forgiveness

Explanations

THE HARDEST= The most difficult.


GIVE AWAY= Give for free, as a present.


THE LAST THING ON YOUR MIND= Something you never think of or you do not want to do at all.


DESERVE= If you deserve something, you should receive it, you have a right to get it.


IT TAKES EVERYTHING YOU HAVE= You need all your strength, all your effort to do it.


FORGIVENESS= The act of forgiving someone who made you something wrong.


IT FLIES IN THE FACE OF= It is totally against...


PRIDE= A sense of one's own proper dignity or value; self-respect.


MOVES AWAY= Eliminates, removes.


THE MAD INSIDE= Your anger.


THE JURY AND THE JUDGE= When a convict goes to court, the jury is a group of people who must decide if the convict is guilty (a crimminal) or innocent. They the judge is the person who decides what punishement the criminal should decide, or if there is no jury, it is the judge who also decides if that person is guilty or innocent.


YOU GOTTA= You've got a...


TO HOLD A GRUDGE= To feel resented, to hate somebody for what they did.


WHISPER= Soft words.


SET IT FREE= Let it go.


UNLOVABLE= Impossible to love.


CLEAR... AWAY= Remove, eliminate.


BITTERNESS= Resentment + anger + sadness + hate.


AMAZED= Shocked in a positive way.


GRACE= God's gift, a power that God gives you freely and undeservedly. In this case he is referring to "Forgiveness", the power to forgive in such a difficult or even impossible situation.


YOUR MERCY= God's love and compassion.

Meaning

A man was driving his car drunk and he ran over a young girl... and killed her. He was sentence to prison. The girl's mother could only feel sadness and hatred, she hated her daughter's killer with all her heart. But one day she realized all that hate was hurting her as much as what happened, and she decided to let go, to forgive, with all her heart. She needed all her will, all her power and all her faith to do that, but she did it, and then she felt an overwhelming peace.


The man was sentenced to 22 years in prison, but this mother plead before the judge and got his sentenced cut by half, from 22 years to only 11 years. "Now", she says, "he's part of my family.


Christian songwriter Matthew West heard the story and was inspired by it, so he decided to write this song. The song is about doing the impossible, forgiving the unforgivable, because of God's grace.


Show me how to love the unlovable
Show me how to reach the unreachable
Help me now to do the impossible
Forgiveness, Forgiveness


It’ll clear the bitterness away
It can even set a prisoner free
There is no end to what its power can do
So, let it go and be amazed
By what you see through eyes of grace
The prisoner that it really frees is you