Nice arrangement. Collaborations can be very hard. It can be hard for someone to convey what they are hearing in their mind when they are not a musician. Your experience sounds similar to one I had. My friend refers to himself as a songwriter when in fact, he simply is a lyricist. He is a good one too. He pays hundreds of dollars to have online studios produce his demos. He explains to them how he envisions his song in a "in the style of" manner of some popular singer or song. The online studio creates the melody, chord progression and choice of instruments, provide a good singer and creates his demos. He is always thrilled and says they created exactly how the song sounded to him in his head. It's all very generic. I have created demos with BIAB for several of his lyrics and he has always hated them. He likes originals and covers I've created with BIAB and acknowledges they are as professional sounding as what he gets online. He realizes he could save hundreds of dollars and create more demos than he can afford to have done online. We simply cannot collaborate musically.

You created a nice contemporary Christian sound and production. However, I can tell you from personal experience that when you find yourself suggesting musical and lyric changes, you are not on the same page with your lyricist.

To me, with this song, the music is like an anthem whereas the lyrics read to be more inward and personal. As far as what you've presented here on the forum, I found the lyrics to be the weak link of the song. It lacks cohesion from verse to verse and reads more of a campfire, guitar strumming sing a long. The first verse is all about 'me' whereas the theme of the song is about everyone. The repetition of several verses is weak writing. The love is cruel verse does not fit with the rest of the verses.

I responded because you asked for opinions and I connected with your situation because I've encountered similar circumstances. The musical production is the highlight of the song and your hours and time spent are appreciated. My intent is not to bum you out or hurt your or your friends feelings. There is a lot of potential here but more work is needed. You and she will have to decide if it's worth the work or the risk.

BIAB 2025:RB 2025, Latest builds: Dell Optiplex 7040 Desktop; Windows-10-64 bit, Intel Core i7-6700 3.4GHz CPU and 16 GB Ram Memory.