TobyMac is one of the first Christian rappers and a Grammy award-winning succesful singer. This song, from the album "Tonight", was released on January 26, 2010 on iTunes. Toby donated 100% of his artist royalties from first week sales of the single to relief efforts for Haiti after the 2010 Haiti Earthquake that devastated the country.

When asked about the album by stereotruth.net Toby had the following to say about it: "The recording process means a lot to me, and I don’t approach what I do haphazardly. I have a lot of passion when it comes to my records. I don’t know if it’s good or bad, but there’s this range of emotions that come with making a record. Music is something that can actually open people’s minds to who God is. Music will never change the world, but God can choose to use music, and that’s what I count on. I want my songs to be said in a way that anyone can relate to them. I want them to move people’s lives forward; move people toward God, and if I’m accomplishing that, whether or not anyone loves this record, as long as I feel like that is what I’m doing, then I feel like my job is done."

You turned away when I looked you in the eye,
And hesitated when I asked if you were alright,
Seems like you're fighting for your life,
But why? oh why?
Wide awake in the middle of your nightmare,
You saw it comin' but it hit you outta nowhere,
And there's always scars
When you fall that far

We lose our way,
But get back up again
It's never too late to get back up again,
One day you gon' shine again,
You may be knocked down,
But not out forever,
We lose our way,
But get back up again,
So get up, get up,
You gon' shine again,
It's never too late to get back up again,
You may be knocked down,
But not out forever
(May be knocked down but not out forever)

You rolled out at the dawning of the day
Heart racin' as you made your little getaway,
It feels like you've been runnin' all your life
But, why? Oh why?

So you've pulled away from the love that would've been there,
You start believin' that your situation's unfair
But there's always scars,
When you fall that far

We lose our way,
But get back up again
It's never too late to get back up again,
One day, you gon' shine again,
You may be knocked down but not out forever,
We lose our way, but get back up again,
So get up, get up
You gon' shine again
It's never too late, to get back up again
You may be knocked down, but not out forever,
May be knocked down, but not out forever!

This is Love callin', Love callin' out to the broken,
This is Love callin'.
This is Love callin', Love callin' out to the broken
This is Love callin'.
This is Love callin', Love callin',
I am so broken
This is Love callin' Love callin'

We lose our way, [way way way ay ay ay]
But get back up again, [get back up again]
It's never too late [late late late ate ate ate]
You may be knocked down but not out forever!

We lose our way,
But get back up again,
So get up get up
You gon' shine again
It's never too late to get back up again
You may be knocked down,
But not out forever,

This is Love [we lose our way] callin' love callin' [but get back up again]
Out to the broken
This is Love [it's never too late] callin'
[you may be knocked down but not out forever]
This is Love [we lose our way] callin' Love callin' [but get back up again]
Out to the broken
This is Love [it's never too late] callin'
[you may be knocked down but not out forever]

This is Love callin' Love callin'
Out to the broken,
This is Love callin'....

TURNED AWAY= Moved away from me, or at least looked in another direction.

HESITATED= If you hesitate, you are not sure about what to do.

FIGHTING FOR YOU LIFE= If you fight for your life, you are fighting because you think your life is in danger and you may die. We also use this expression to say that we are fighting with all our strength.

WIDE AWAKE= Completely awake.

NIGHTMARE= A bad dream where you feel anguish or fear.

OUTTA= (coll.) /aʊtə/ out of

NOWHERE= No place. If something hits you out of nowhere, it catches you unawares. It hits you (literally or metaphorically) when you were not expecting it.

SCARS= Marks left by a wound after it heals (also used metaphorically to talk about a broken heart or hurt feelings that leave a mark forever)

THAT FAR= So far.

WE LOSE OUR WAY= We lose direction, we have no purpose.

BUT GET BACK UP AGAIN= If you fall down, you can get back up again. Here (and very often) BACK expresses that the action goes back to its previous form, so if you are standing and you fall down, when you get up, you are getting "back" up, because you are going to your original position. Metaphorically, to fall is to be hurt or to lose a direction in life, so to get back up means to recover and be fine again.

GON'= (coll. esp. AmE) GONNA = be going to.
This short form for the future is more and more used among young people and in songs:
- He gon' be late = he's going to be late

KNOCKED DOWN= If you are knocked down, you were hit and fell to the ground (also metaphorically).

BUT NOT OUT FOREVER= If you are fighting (for example in boxing) and you are knocked down, you can get back up again and keep fighting. But if you are Knocked out (K.O.) then you were hit so bad that you are left unconscious or too weak, so you can't get back up; then we say that you are out (out of competition, you cannot participate any more). When he says "but [you're] not out forever" it means that maybe you were hit and fell to the ground, but sooner or later you can be strong again and get up to keep fighting.
YOU GON' SHINE AGAIN= You'll be happy again.

ROLLED OUT= Got out of bed.

AT THE DAWNING OF THE DAY= When the day began. The DAWN is the moment when the sun is getting up and the night gives way to the day.

RACING= Going very fast.

GETAWAY= a rapid escape (as by criminals)

WOULD'VE= /wudəv/ would have

UNFAIR= Not just, undeserved.

LOVE= In this song, Love is God because God is love, so He is the one calling you.

CALLING OUT

THE BROKEN= People who are broken. If you are broken you are going through a strong emotional distress, you are really sad, crushed by grief, devastated.

The message of this song is that no matter how many problems you have and how terrible your situation is, you can always change your life and make a new start to keep trying.

In the beginning of the song he says that you seem like you're fighting for your life, like a person who is drowning in deep water and is struggling hard to stay alive (a really stressing situation). He asks "Why? oh, why?" The answer comes at the end.

At the end of the song we get the solution to a life of grief and without purpose: Love. And God is that love, so God is calling you to help you bring love into your life and "get back up again".