Lyrically Sound: Missing

There was something about the band Flyleaf from 2005-2010 that made them stand out above the rest of the crowd when It came to lyrics. They seemed to be that band that everyone loved but didn’t really know what their deal was. In fact, it took me a very long time to even realize that they were hardcore Christians and all their songs were inspired by their spiritual walks.

Regardless of their inspiration, however, their lyrics transcended what it meant to relate to a song because their lyrics begged to be interpreted. Flyleaf’s music is pure poetry and each time you listen to a song you get something new out of it. Enter: Missing.

No matter how you look at it, Missing is a song about love. Whether it be the love of a mother,

“I saw the queen, Swam up below her star on sea beneath,”

Or the love of friends,

“Found something sweet on the island with the daughters of Eve.”

We all want to be loved, and to not experience love is to feel a void.

“Oh, somethings missing in me, something deep within me, I felt it deep within me.”

A void we want to be filled, but can’t seem to find something to take that place.

Whether it be the love of God, that one person you are supposed to spend the rest of your life with, or something else, it is something we long for. We can all relate to feeling of missed love.

But this is not the reason why this song is great. In one way or another, there is going to be a time in our lives where we feel so empty that we can’t help but feel something is missing. That thing doesn’t have to be love, and Flyleaf understands this. So we listen. And as all our pent up emotions are belted out in a single song we begin to understand what it is that is Missing. If only for a second.

“as lovers left me to bleed alone.”

Missing is a song about love, yes. But it’s words can manifest itself into any period of our lives where we feel lost or inadequate. It touches the souls of the broken and the hearts of the damned, and I think that is why it is lyrically sound.