Does anybody know how I feel?
Sometimes I'm numb, sometimes I'm overcome
Does anybody care what's going on?
Do I have to wear my scars like a badge on my arm
For you to see me, I need release

Do I have to scream for you to hear me?
Do I have to bleed for you to see me?
'Cause I grieve, you're not listening to me
Do I need to scream?

Has anybody seen what's been done?
Where was my defense? No one heard my protest
The eyes of God were watching me
It's time to make my peace, let it go and be released
So I can breathe again
I'm on my knees

I've been marked, set apart
But I'm cut so deep and afraid of the dark
One drop of blood from the hole in Your hand
Is enough to heal me and make me stand

'Cause I'm clean, He is listening to me

I don't have to scream for Him to hear me
Don't have to bleed for Him to see me
'Cause I'm clean, He is listening to me
I don't have to scream
I don't have to bleed
'Cause I'm clean, He is listening
And I don't have to scream



Lyrics submitted by Nienna7

Scream song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

6 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    General Comment

    I think this song is primarily about cutting. ("Do I have to wear my scars like a badge on my arm?") But then it sounds like something traumatic happened to her (" Has anybody seen what's been done? Where was my defense? No one heard my protest...") Whatever it was that happened to her, she felt she had no voice and that is why she asks if she has to scream to be heard. In the end it changes, because she realizes that although humans will let her down, God never will.

    golden_childon May 16, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    This is a great song. it's so disappointing... there are like NO comments. I'm going to add these girls to my favourites because they are amazing.

    Fallen Leaveson June 27, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    nvm i don't like them that much. sorry zoegirl

    Fallen Leaveson July 02, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Beautiful song. I agree with golden_child.

    =))

    candy.cloudson January 07, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I think that this song is obviously centering around self-harm as the main topic, but I also feel that the second verse indicates some sort of incident (possibly rape?) that happened to the girl.

    scarsonherarmson December 27, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Alisa: Well, yeah - particularly with the song 'Scream'. It deals with pain and just the self-destructive things that we can do to ourselves when we're in pain. One thing that we've come across so much in the last few years is meeting precious young people that love God with all their hearts, but they're just in so much pain and whether it's because of things going on at home, or abuse, or just getting their hearts broken - just the world that they live in - they're just in so much pain. I know that for me, I was able to really tap into my own experience and that I've dealt with depression a lot in my own life. I wrote 'Scream' on a day that I was really depressed. ZOEgirl Room to Breathe promoI was having an awful day. Instead of turning self-destructive or whatever, I just put it into a song - what I was feeling. It was an amazing experience because half way through writing the song, I really felt like God reached down and just ...really touched me - and kind of gave me a shot of hope to really step towards healing in my own life. That was about a year ago, and I really feel like a different person and a lot of it has to do with that song really ministering to me. So, I never thought it would be on the ZOEgirl album, or anything like that but the girls got behind it, and the label got behind it. So, we're really praying that it will minister to people much in the same way. It kind of talks a lot about ...just pain, but hints at and touches on sexual abuse and the issue of self mutilation and cutting. Particularly with cutting, we've met so many young people that are doing that. We just learned the other day that 3 million teenagers in America cut themselves. According to teenhopeline.com, which is closely tied in with Dawson McAllister ministries, they believe that number is closer to 8 million. So it's something that really needs to be talked about, especially within the church. That's something that we've really been passionate about on this album.

    XBeaston October 19, 2015   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
In regards to the meaning of this song: Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.” That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Album art
Holiday
Bee Gees
@[Diderik:33655] "Your a holiday!" Was a popular term used in the 50s/60s to compliment someone on their all around. For example, not only are they beautiful, but they are fun and kind too ... just an all around "holiday". I think your first comment is closer to being accurate. The singer/song writers state "Millions of eyes can see, yet why am i so blind!? When the someone else is me, its unkind its unkind". I believe hes referring to the girl toying with him and using him. He wants something deeper with her, thats why he allows himself to be as a puppet (even though for her fun and games) as long as it makes her happy. But he knows deep down that she doesnt really want to be serious with him and thats what makes him.
Album art
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Album art
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
Album art
Head > Heels
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.