My friend Taylor she's an angel
Ten years old and beautiful
She's a living, breathing miracle
And she proves it everyday
'Cause the odds were stacked against her from the day that she arrived here
And the doctors told her mom and dad she'd always be that way
And I confess when I first met her
I was thinking life's not fair
But then she wrapped her arms around my neck
And it all became so clear
God bless the last ones
One day Taylor sent me a picture from her Special Olympics race
And I could tell just by the looks of it she was coming in last place
But she crossed that finish line with a smile upon her face as if to say
God bless the last ones
Maybe the last ones are the lucky ones
The ones who got this whole thing figured out
'Cause when they go looking for something beautiful
They start looking from the inside out
On our way into the restaurant we passed a homeless man
He was half drunk and half asleep with a paper cup in his hand
And I confess when I first saw him I was thinking life's not fair
But then Taylor reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck
And it all became so clear
God bless the last ones
I wish we could all be the lucky ones
The ones who've got this whole thing figured out
Maybe the next time we go looking for beautiful we'll try looking from the inside out
God bless the last ones
Lyrics by Matthew West /
Music by Matthew West and Jason Houser / (c) 2005 Word Music, LLC/Westies Music Publishing, admin. by Word Music, LLC; Songs Of Extreme/Cedar Sides, admin. by Cedar Music Publishing (ASCAP). All rights reserved. Used by permission. International copyright secured.
Behind the Song:Mark 10:44, Matthew 5:5
"A few years ago, I was traveling around the country as an independent artist and singing my songs for anyone who
would listen. One day my travels led me to a concert in
Kansas City, and a girl named Taylor. Her dad was the
sound engineer for my concert, and I remember seeing
her run into the
auditorium and sit
down in the front row
during my sound
check. Well, if
anyone’s seen me do
a sound check you
might know that it’s
not uncommon for me
to make up silly little
songs about some
random inspiration of the moment. And so I began to
write a song about Taylor.
Little did I know I was making a new friend that day, and
when I jumped off the stage to meet her, she reached out
her arms and gave me the best hug in the history of hugs!
You see, Taylor has Down Syndrome, and the moment I
met her I remember feeling sorry for her. But the more
time I spent with her, I could see clearly that God has a
special purpose for this little girl. In the last few years she
has had a profound impact on my life.
This song is inspired by real events in Taylor’s young life,
times when she has been an inspiration to everyone
around her. As I’ve been working on this concept of
History, it overwhelms my heart that history makers come
in all shapes and sizes. “And the last shall be the first…”" - Matthew West