Bleed The Same
by Mandisa (featuring tobyMac & Kirk Franklin)

Album: Out of the Dark (2017)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This song features TobyMac and Kirk Franklin, two artists that the singer has worked with before. She told ABC Radio: "We did a song years ago called 'Lose My Soul' on Toby's (2007) album and we are back together with a song called 'Bleed the Same,' that was really born out of that week in July where there was a shooting on Tuesday, a shooting on Wednesday and a shooting on Thursday."
  • The song puts a spotlight on the superficial reasons we judge others and why it's time to, instead, stand united. Mandisa explained, "I got together with my songwriters and I really wanted to write a song about how hate cannot chase out hate. Only love can do that. And so, it's a song saying that we all bleed the same on the inside, so let's not put labels on each other on the outside and bring disunity. Let's come together and walk in unity and in love."
  • The poignant song was released as the third single from Out of the Dark in January 2018 just in time for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The track was inspired by a string of shootings of black men by the police during the week of Independence Day in 2016. Mandisa explained to The Huffington Post:

    "On Tuesday, there was a shooting of a black man by police. On Wednesday, there was another shooting of a black man by police. And on Thursday, there was a shooting of police by a black man in Dallas. And I remember that week so vividly. There was so much division and hate, and it broke my heart."

    "That week really inspired this song, about how we are more beautiful when we come together, and the power of unity. And that's why the song coming out before Martin Luther King Day is so important. It reminds us of this dream and what is actually possible if we come together."

Comments: 1

  • RoseI love Mandisa! Her songs are awesome!
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Prince

PrinceFact or Fiction

Prince is shrouded in mystery, making him an excellent candidate for Fact or Fiction. Is he really a Scientologist? Does he own an exotic animal?

Alan Merrill of The Arrows

Alan Merrill of The ArrowsSongwriter Interviews

In her days with The Runaways, Joan Jett saw The Arrows perform "I Love Rock And Roll," which Alan Merrill co-wrote - that story and much more from this glam rock pioneer.

Van Dyke Parks

Van Dyke ParksSongwriter Interviews

U2, Carly Simon, Joanna Newsom, Brian Wilson and Fiona Apple have all gone to Van Dyke Parks to make their songs exceptional.

Jesus Christ Superstar: Ted Neeley Tells the Inside Story

Jesus Christ Superstar: Ted Neeley Tells the Inside StorySong Writing

The in-depth discussion about the making of Jesus Christ Superstar with Ted Neeley, who played Jesus in the 1973 film.

Amy Grant

Amy GrantSongwriter Interviews

The top Contemporary Christian artist of all time on song inspirations and what she learned from Johnny Carson.

Janis Ian: Married in London, but not in New York

Janis Ian: Married in London, but not in New YorkSong Writing

Can you be married in one country but not another? Only if you're part of a gay couple. One of the first famous singers to come out as a lesbian, Janis wrote a song about it.