Look what he’s done to you
It isn’t not fair
Your light was bright and new
But he didn’t care
He took the heart of a little girl
And made it grow up too fast

Now words like innocence
Don’t mean a thing
You hear the music play
But you can’t sing
Those pictures in your mind
Keep you locked up inside your past

This is a song for the broken girl
The one pushed aside by the cold, cold world
You are
Hear me when I say
You’re not the worthless they made you feel
There is a Love they can never steal away
And you don’t have to stay broken girl

Those damaged goods you see
In your reflection
Love sees them differently
Love sees perfection
A beautiful display
Of healing on the way tonight
Tonight

Let your tears touch to the ground
Lay your shattered pieces down
And be amazed by how Grace can take a broken girl
And put her back together again


Written by Matthew West © 2010 External Combustion Music / Songs For Delaney / Songs Of Southside Independent Music Publishing, LLC (Admin. by Wixen Music Publishing, LLC) (ASCAP)

Behind the Song:
Matthew’s commentary:
In my first two days at the cabin, I received one thousand stories. About one out of every four stories dealt with the topic of sexual abuse. Many of these stories were from women who had been molested as young girls by a family member or neighbor. As I saw the stack of stories dealing with this same topic begin to grow larger and larger, my heart just broke. I guess I knew these kinds of horrible tragedies happen in our world, but for the first time I was face to face with just how often it happens, and also the fact that people in the church are still dealing with pain from childhood abuse, afraid to talk with anyone about it.

I’m the father of two beautiful girls and as I read on, I found myself becoming angry about the fact that these women had their innocence stolen away. I knew I must write about this, but how? Not exactly an easy topic to capture in a song. So, I just began to pour out my heart to all the broken girls who sent me their stories. I want them to know that they “don’t have to stay the broken girl.”

There were hundreds of stories that inspired this song, but for obvious reasons I have chosen to let them remain nameless. Broken Girl is for anyone who has been the victim of abuse, anyone still dealing with the shame and the scars that abuse has caused. A song written in the hopes of helping these women find the courage to step out, and place there abusive past in the hands of a healing God."