If you’ve been a fan of Skillet within the last few years, you’ve probably heard their song Lucy from their album Awake. The song is extremely emotional, and it seems that it immediately resonates with many, many people (I know that it sure did for me.) At previous concerts, and interviews, John Cooper (who is the lead singer and bassist of Skillet, and the author of this song) declined to detail what the song was about.
He said that it was about regret, and that people have adopted it for themselves, and he didn’t want to ruin it for them with the real story. However, during Skillet’s recent tour, he has told the story of Lucy before singing it. Here is what he said at their sold-out double-headliner show with TobyMac at the Target Center on November 13, 2010..
“..this week is the very first time that I’ve ever told what this song is about, because, uh, it’s very special to me, but I feel like it’s time to talk about it a little bit, so.. listen up while I tell you a story about a young girl and a young guy who found themselves in a hard situation. They didn’t know what to do when they found out that she was pregnant; they were young, they didn’t have any money, they were scared, they didn’t want to tell anybody, they didn’t know what to do, and the only option that they could see was to terminate the pregnancy. So that’s what they decided to do… they went to a clinic, they had the procedure done, and at first they felt relieved that all their problems had gone away. But then something happened that they did not expect… and that’s over the next few weeks, which turned into a few months, they began to feel an intense sadness… and a pain and an agony and a guilt that wouldn’t go away. They didn’t know what to do, so they finally went to see a counselor; they said look — tell us what to do, we just don’t know, and the counselor made a suggestion. The counselor said here’s what you need to do — stop acting like you had a procedure, and act like you had a death in the family. So the couple went home and they made three decisions; number one, they decided to have a funeral service for the baby; number two, they bought a tiny little headstone; and they last decision to make was what to name the baby. After a couple weeks they finally decided they would call her… Lucy.”
– John L. Cooper in concert, November 13, 2010; transcribed by Nate Carlson, natecarlson.com
Many people had their theories about what the song was about.. my wife was right, I was wrong. “Lucy” is about the pain that can follow an abortion.. it’s kind of ironic to me, as “Lucy” is one of the songs that I often sing to Kai when he is really upset, and it really helps calm him down.. so Lucy, whoever you were, you live on in the hearts of your parents and in all the people your song has helped, and as the song says, you’ll one day meet your parents again:
Here we are, now you’re in my arms
Here we are for a brand new start
Got to live with the choices I’ve made
And I can’t live with myself todayMe and Lucy walking hand in hand
Me and Lucy never wanna end
Got to live with the choices I’ve made
And I can’t live with myself today
– Lyrics from “Lucy” by John L. Cooper, as performed by Skillet
Possibly related posts (auto-generated):
- John Cooper of the band Skillet with his fist up in the air and silhouetted by pyrotechnics
- Ben Kasica of Skillet during a guitar solo in front of fog
- Jen Ledger of the band Skillet singing and playing the drums
- Close-up of Korey Cooper of the band Skillet singing with fog in the background
- John Cooper of Skillet playing his bass, singing, and lit up by pyrotechnics
{ 45 comments… read them below or add one }
This song is amazing. I listen to it over and over again. It’s beautiful :) I really wanna meet Skillet sometime and I send my apologies to the parents of Lucy, they will meet again sometime, very soon and it will be amazing:)
:D
I think that John Cooper is the father of Lucy.
I think your right…. But He’s a CHristian and i don’t really think he would do something like that……………….. If he’s a Christian, he should be AGAINST abortions(:
@Julia
Just because John is a Christian doesn’t mean he wouldn’t feel pressured, at a young age, to abort a child neither he nor the mother could support. Just because we’re Christian dosen’t mean we’re exempt from doing wrong. I’m possitive hes against it just like any other Christian. But we all make mistakes. Either way (father or not) hes a wonderfull man/artist and the fact that he wrote this song for that child is amazing. God Bless him!
He did say that is was about a “young” couple. And nobody knows if he was a christian when this happened. Also there is the fact that this happened “years” ago and he wrote this song when he was way younger and didn’t decide to publish it until the Awake album and went even farther by keeping the meaning of the song a secret. I thing it was his little Lucy he lost and now he’s decided it may help people. Lots of love,
Michaela Beaulieu
yea but in said that the parents were young so maybe he made a mistake i think John Cooper is the parent of Lucy
it my have happened before he was a christian so i think it could be him but i think that we should give him time and if he decides to tell the public about it then that is up to him and i also think that if he never decides to tell the public thats okay too because i love skillet and nothing will ever be able to stop that love they have helped me tremendously in my personal life and even at school so give the guy a break he has a life too…
Sometimes even Christians make mistakes. The most pro-life people can abort there children in a state of hopelessness. All we can do is pray that we respond differently if ever put in a similar situation.
God bless John Cooper, and Lucy, you’re looking right into the eyes of God right now, say a prayer for us! :-) We love you!
So people aren’t born christianas,they chose to be .this could have happen before he became a christian. there is forgiveness for even something like this.thank God for grace!beautiful song. It helps many.
Jon is not the father of Lucy, the parents are people that he knew.
its really beautiful!! i never knew what it was about!! i love it!! you guys are awsome!!
how can you not know what its about just listen to the song…..
don’t be rude. this is not the place, and is DEFINITELY not the article, to try and challenge others on. kim was being sweet and encouraging. there is no reason to mock her.
Parents make many choices regarding their children. Sometimes, even those who do their best end up hurting their child.
A friend of mine told me a story about a buddy she went to college with. He had a 3 month-old daughter. One day, while his wife was at work, he gave the baby a bath. While the baby was in the tub, he passed out. By the time he regained consciousness, his tiny daughter had drowned.
Later, they found out that he had a disorder that would cause him to faint. He’d never been diagnosed with this before. He’d never fainted before. It was a complete fluke that the first time this disorder would make itself known, would be such a vital moment in the life of his family.
Even though it wasn’t his fault, he still felt guilty over his child’s death. If he’d not given her a bath that day or if he’d waited until his wife got home, his daughter might still be alive.
For him, this song would have nothing to do with abortion.
There are many things this song could have meant Katie.. everyone takes things their own way. Like for me.. when I was younger I dated this guy and we were close planning to get married the works and then we got in a car crash. I was sitting right next to him… he died and I didn’t.. that’s why this song means so much to me because I do feel the regret and the sadness and I wish I could go back and fix it all but I know that ill be in his arms one day.. and we will walk hand in hand…
Lots of love,
Michaela Beaulieu
My finacee introduced me to this song. I instantly fell in love with it. We just had a little boy 3 months ago and he is a miracle. Neither one of us was suppose to have kids. My heart goes out to those young kids and I hope the best for them…..This song really touches my heart and makes me cry every time I hear it.
this is a great song i love it, i played it for my mom and she cryed i felt bad, but everytime i listen to LUCY i like get all sad :D
What an amazing song! The first time I heard the meaning (& I already had an idea) I got big tears in my eyes. I work for a pregnancy care center where we share abortion alternatives through Christ’s love. I so wish these precious young people could grasp what this song talks about BEFORE they walk through an abortion clinic’s doors. Soooo much pain and heart ache could be avoided. Because of an abortion the center I work for was opened so I know God can make something good out of something bad. For those contemplating abortion or have had an abortion, please know that you are loved. Reach out to a pregnancy care center and let them help you…………..Christ put them there to be His hands and arms. May God bless you.
Denise, God Bless you for the work you do! Many girls and guys don’t know the options they have. My wife and I can’t have any more children and would love to adopt a child some day. Our only child is now 13 and was a miracle birth. He is the world to us and a wonderful Blessing from God. Once again, Bless you for the work you do in His Missionary work ! You are an awesome person !
My fiance and I just had a miscarriage and this song is really helping us through. Were the baby a girl we wanted to name her Karah so I replace the name Lucy with Karah when I listen to it.To every parent of a miscarried or aborted baby just know there is at least one more person praying for you and with you tonight..
Thank you this beautiful song. My 19 year old niece Lucy died on 29/3/11 and that day one of her friends posted on Facebook this song. As we listened at Lucy’s Celebration of Life we cried because this song explains how each and every person, who had the privilege to know Lucy, felt at her sudden passing. This song has touched our hearts and given us all, Lucy’s family and friends, a song to cherish and to hold close to our hearts as your words have give our feelings voice. Lucy Marie delaMotte-Thomas 19/09/91 to 29/03/2011 – I love you til forever! xxxx
This song is absolutely beautiful. It’s one of my favorites by them. I actually didn’t know that this is what the song was about. I just had a friend pass away on Monday, and I instantly thought of this song. Everytime I am upset about something I listen to this song. It’s very emotional, but it is completely gorgeous.
This is a lot different than any of your interpretations of this sone, and may seem very shallow compared to all of your stories, but I want you all to know I have no intention of sounding shallow or taking away from any of your stories. This song and those stories are truly beautiful.
Here’s my interpretation:
I was on vacation and I met this girl. I really liked her and we would stay up until like 1:00 am talking about stuff and we hung out a lot. She was really cool, and the first girl that I really liked (i’ve gone out with girls before, but this one was different; I felt a connection between the two of us and I think that she did too, we never got a chance to talk about it though). This was one of her favorite songs and we listened to it together many times. Anyways like all things that vacation came to an end and we both went back home but home is 1000 miles away from each other. At first I was heartbroken but then I bought this song and if you listen to it a different wayto me it describes what happened to us
“hey lucy, I remember your name
I left a dozen roses on your grave today”
To me this shows that I will never forget this girl even though she may be out of my life forever
“Now that it’s over I just wanna hold her
I gotta live with the choices I made
And Ican’t live with myself today”
This also makes me think about now that I’m back home how much I miss her and the “choices” I made to not tell her about my feelings toward her.
All in all, this song reminds me of her, not only because it is one of her favorite songs (and now mine too), but because to me at least it describes what happened between us.
***Again I apologize to anyone who may find this shallow or inaccurate, I am just sharing my honest opinion about what I think of when I hear this song.***
I think this is why John was hesitant to share the real meaning behind the song [I was at a pre-concert Q&A session about a year before the concert that he shared the contents of this article at, where he was asked what it meant and responded with something along the lines of there is a real story, but he'd rather just say it is about dealing with regret and let people hear it for themselves] — the song rings true for so many people in different ways, that are all perfectly valid. I would certainly not say that your interpretation is shallow or inaccurate, and thanks for sharing! :)
Thanks for telling… I have began listening to skillet everyday for the past cupple weeks went to alive festival in june in Ohio and got hooked to skillet cannot wait till next year to see skillet agian… I’m a 17 year old going to be a senior this year and very nervous of what the future has for me in the next year so anyone that can please pray for me. I’ve also developed a horrible habit of smoking cigarettes and am having a very hard time droping the habit so anyone please pray.
i think evan thoe she is gone she has alredy served here perpus in life she has in spierd a lot of people like jhon well i gess that is ipornent but the most iportent is she is in heaven whith god whating fore her mom and dad and if your ther young cople and you see this i want you to know that she has alredy forgave you so did god
I hope you’re doing well as a senior, Jordan, and that you’ve been able to kick the habit. I’ll be praying for you, keep your head up!
skillet us a truly inspiring band to me. the song Lucy just makes be cry when I hear it because it reminds me of the people ive lost in my life. but its a beautiful song and when they performed it at heavenfest this year, the ENTIRE crowd was singing. it was a great experience. the crowd sang along to all their songs of course. if u haven’t been to heavenfest it even heard of it, go check it out at http://www.heavenfest.com. I’m not advertising I’m just recommending u check it out if u love being a christian or any religion and love christian music! its the biggest christian music fest in the world! skillet is there every other year but there are plenty of amazing bands that play there every year!
This song is beautiful! I always thought It was about a stilborn baby. I had to look it up. Such an amazing song.
After hearing this song many, many times and not knowing the meaning behind it (I thought it might have been about a suicide after a fight or something), I looked at this and the song has so much more meaning now. It’s a beautiful, emotional song, and I hope that Lucy’s parents eventually found peace in doing what they thought was the right thing for them at the time. I’m pro-life, but if you do not have the ability to raise a child, then the option is up to the parents. This was their choice, and I praise Skillet for this song. I love this song. When I hear it, the first thing that I think of is a girl who I went to high school with, who took her own life this year. Hey Hayley, I remember your name…. <3
Wow! I’m so glad I looked this up. My theory was that the man was involved in an accident of some sort and Lucy had died. My kids love the band, and I would never listen to them until I heard this song. IT moved me, and everytime I listened to it, it would make me wonder about the true meaning. I’m glad John Cooper decided to share, and I think he’s right-it has many meanings for many people, as is witnessed on this site. God Bless Lucy, her parents, and anyone else who’s been in their predicament! Just know that one can move on with Christ’s strength! Forgiveness is there for the asking.
Well if u listen to the song carefully it says living with the choices I made meaning john cooper so after saying that i think the man was him but i still believe he is an amazing man/artist and i hope that someday he could tell us who it really was
Well if u listen to the song carefully it says living with the choices I made meaning john cooper so after saying that i think the man was him but i still believe he is an amazing man/artist and i hope that someday he could tell us who it really was then i think he would he the best man alive
This song is so sad it reminds me of this girl I know that didn’t won’t annoying to do with her baby but luckily she defied that she wonted be be there for her baby and wat gets me she ned her baby Lucy and the baby’s birthday is on September the 10th so that is why this song is so sad to me
This is a sad yet great song
This song has always brought me back to when I had to go through the sudden death of a loved one…the reason a song is written is so that the writer can get the pain out and so that it can be heard by others if that is possible…but this is an amazing song:)
It is true that John cooper is the father of Lucy
Because he said so at his concert. The girl was the
Pianist.
my brother listens to rhis song because his sister was raped than killed
I had a friend of mine, Dawn, pass away on 1/6/2011. This was the first song I listened to after I heard she had passed. Even though Dawn was just a friend, she was like a sister to me in many ways. Everyone that has posted on here is right. This song holds a special meaning to each person that hears it. I still tear up when I hear this song, how beautiful…
Yeah, dude, I heard this song for the first time yesterday and it holds the fear of losing my mother life without her, would be hard, at best. And I know her time is coming, and this song gives me the security of knowing we will meet again in heaven, this song will be played at her funeral when that time comes…….
i love this song it reminds me of some friends of mine i listen to this song all the time the first time i heard it i started to cry i love it so much<3
Before I read this, I didn’t even think about the possibility that this song was about abortion. To me, this song dealt with suicide. I’ve been trying to help my friend out of depression, but she keeps insisting that she’ll try to feel better for MY sake… She refuses to live for herself at all, and it breaks my heart. I’m so terrified that if I ever hurt her, or say the wrong thing, that she’ll give in and commit suicide. This song to me was about someone not being able to help a friend, and that friend payed the price with their life.
“I’ve gotta live with the choices I’ve made….” Refers to making a wrong decision, and regretting it…
“And I can’t live with myself today”
I can’t live with myself if I ever let her hurt herself…
This is what i thought the song “lucy” was about… i thought it was about john cooper and lucy… and lucy and john like had a bad relationship or something and that he said something wrong to lucy and made her suicide… thats what i thought the song was trying to say…
I don’t get it… Was that john coopers girl? or did this just happen to a close friend? i’m confused…. please i want answer i really care…
{ 1 trackback }