4th century BC
Plato
- Idealism — forms over particulars
- The Republic ethic: “God is not the author of evil”
Notes
This is the most specific wound on the album, because it is a dated, true event. I was twenty-six. Three elders, a surprise trial about my tithing, summoned like some criminal, and when I said I gave as the Lord led rather than by their formula, they pulled ministry from me like tearing out bone. I called my wife with my voice breaking and drove home in tears. The song does not exaggerate that. It happened.
But the title holds two words that do not usually sit together: wounded and free. I walked out both, in the same step. They cut my place; they did not cut me. And here is the line that took twenty-five years to be able to write honestly: what hurt like death became strength at the core. That is not me prettying up an old injury. That is the framework I actually believe - that the door slammed on me was an authored door, and the Author was not careless with it.
I will flag one verse, because it keeps the song from being a revenge anthem. Verse five: the hardest part's pride... I've been wrong before, and I'll be wrong again. Even here, even in the song where I am most defiant, I made myself say that. Walked Out Free is not bitterness. It is a man telling the truth about a wound and refusing to let it own him. I am not bitter. I am built.
Lyrics
[Verse 1]
Twenty-six - summoned like some criminal to trial,
Three elders staring, cold eyes, zero smiles.
“Why you ain’t tithed?” like they caught me in a crime,
I said, “I give when I’m led - not nickel-and-dime.”
Their jaws dropped hard - priceless shock,
Doctrines glitching, pride about to lock.
Quoted law like judges with a holy badge drawn,
But I dropped grace verses - boom - lights turned on.
[Verse 2]
“Not under law but grace,” yeah I laid that down,
Galatians 5:1 - freedom shook the ground.
Gave scripture like ammo - sharp, clean, precise,
Cheerful-giver heart, not a religious device.
Instead of praise - they muted my tone,
Pulled ministry from me like tearing out bone.
Said “Go find a church aligned with your views,”
Left me wounded - but God turned that bruise into truth.
[Chorus]
I walked out wounded, but I walked out free,
They cut my place, but they didn't cut me.
Grace held strong when the doors slammed shut,
I'm standing where the Shepherd leads - and that's enough.
If I walk alone, then I'll walk unshaken,
Faith over approval - never mistaken.
I’ll follow God even if no one else comes -
My freedom was born when their judgment was done.
[Verse 3]
Called my wife shaken - voice breaking apart,
Drove home in tears with a punctured heart.
Twenty-five years later I thank God for that door,
What hurt like death became strength at the core.
Still independent - Scripture lit like a torch,
No creed owns me, no chain from the church.
Truth is Spirit-taught - not elder-owned,
I answer to Christ - not the voice of a throne.
[Verse 4]
Rapid-fire synapse, mind loaded with landmines,
Truth over tradition - I break out of your guidelines.
Independent thought detonating every fault-line,
Scripture is a sword - not a fence for your grapevine.
Exile me again - watch me rise like rewind,
Cage my voice? never - you can't imprison a mind.
Grace made me bulletproof - sharpened by the grind,
Rejected by men but I'm chosen, refined.
[Verse 5]
Years passed - and I learned that the hardest part’s pride,
You think you know truth till God flips you inside.
I held tight to the scriptures, but the light kept expanding,
Views shifted, broke, rebuilt - grace still standing.
No man graduates faith, we just grow through the strain,
I’ve been wrong before - and I’ll be wrong again.
But I’d rather wrestle free than be spoon-fed blind,
Truth means more when you seek it and God lets you find.
[Verse 6]
So I walk with a limp, but I walk with my head,
Not chained to tradition nor the words of the dead.
Churches want soldiers who never ask why,
But I was born with a fire - I can’t pacify.
If leadership means silence, then leave me outside,
If unity costs conscience, I’ll pay that divide.
Christ leads - not councils, not titles, not men,
If the gate shuts again - I’ll still enter through Him.
[Verse 7]
I’m not bitter, I’m built - through rejection I grew,
Found faith isn’t proven by who sits with you.
The Shepherd calls forward - I don’t turn around,
I lost man’s approval but heaven was found.
Let the walls shake again - I’ll walk through unbroken,
My loyalty's written in Scripture unspoken.
I’ll follow till breath fades and feet find that City -
Where no one’s exiled, and grace has no committee.
[Bridge]
I respect good leaders - but I bow to One throne.
If I must walk alone - then I’ll walk fully known.
[Final Chorus x2]
I walked out wounded, but I walked out free,
No chain survives when the Lord holds the key.
Grace held strong when religion withdrew -
I don't need their approval - I know what is true.
If I walk alone, then I'll walk unshaken,
Faith over the system - never mistaken.
I’ll follow God even if no one else comes -
My freedom was born when their judgment was done.
Commentary