Avril Lavigne gospel song?!

After a five-year hiatus, Avril Lavigne, the "punk rock princess" is back with..a gospel song??

The French-Canadian hitmaker, who defined teendom in the mid-2000s with her signature pop-rock angst—it’s complicated, okay?—recently released the first single, “Head Above Water,” to her forthcoming album. 

The song is a fierce piano ballad that documents a culminating moment in Lavigne’s years-long struggle with Lyme disease. 

“Thank you for waiting so patiently as I fought through and still continue to fight the battle of my lifetime. One night, I thought I was dying, and I had accepted that I was going to die. My mom laid with me in bed and held me. I felt like I was drowning. Under my breath, I prayed, ‘God, please help to keep my head above the water.’ In that moment, the songwriting of this album began. It was like I was tapped into something . . . Lyrics flooded through me from that point on.”

In what she describes as a “spiritual experience,” the song offers a gentle piano melody that moves gradually into heavy orchestration.  The lyrics speaks about her near-death experience. She is candid about the precarious space she occupies in the face of incurable disease: “Yeah my life is what I’m fighting for / Can’t part the sea, can’t reach the shore / And my voice becomes the driving force / I won’t let this pull me overboard.” Things may get better. They may not.

Lavigne notes that the decision to release this song as her first single is intentional and in the spirit of a kind of rebirth that will play out in the rest of her album. Along with the posting of the song, she also linked her fans to a charitable T-shirt campaign run by her foundation, the proceeds of which will go to individuals affected by Lyme disease who aren’t able to afford their own treatment.

Whether her life is in a process of a genuine rebirth or not, remains to be seen.

Head Above Water Lyrics

I’ve gotta keep the calm before the storm I don’t want less I don’t want more Must bar the windows and the doors To keep me safe to keep me warm Yeah my life is what I’m fighting for Can’t part the sea Can’t reach the shore And my voice becomes the driving force I won’t let this pull me overboard God keep my head above water Don’t let me drown It gets harder I’ll meet you there at the altar As I fall down to my knees Don’t let me drown Don’t let me drown So pull me up from down below ‘Cause I’m underneath the undertow Come dry me off and hold me close I need you now I need you most God keep my head above water Don’t let me drown It gets harder I’ll meet you there at the altar As I fall down to my knees Don’t let me drown Don’t let me drown Don’t let me drown Keep my head above water above water And I can’t see in the stormy weather I can’t seem to keep it all together And I can’t swim the ocean like this forever And I can’t breathe God keep my head above water I lose my breath at the bottom Come rescue me I’ll be waiting I’m too young to fall asleep God keep my head above water Don’t let me drown It gets harder I’ll meet you there at the altar As I fall down to my knees Don’t let me drown Don’t let me drown Don’t let me drown Keep my head above water above water

source: vogue.com