Danny Gokey is a talented singer and former church music director from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. While the main purpose of this blog post is to dive deeper into the meaning behind his song, “Tell Your Heart to Beat Again”, we were so moved by his story that we were compelled to share it with you.

Gokey was a contestant on American Idol in 2009. Before his audition, he shared with the audience that he had lost his wife a few weeks prior to coming on the show. Sophia Martinez, Gokey’s high school sweetheart, passed away from complications during a surgery for her congenital heart disease. He discloses that he was so overcome with grief that he almost didn’t audition for the show. However, he decided to move forward with the audition because he felt that was the best way to honor his wife’s memory.

“I really believe that people, through me, will see who my wife was.”

Gokey finished in third place on American Idol that season. After this, he signed with a record label and began creating his own music. Everything appeared to be going well for Gokey, however, he revealed that he was battling extreme depression during this time.

This is not uncommon after someone has lost a loved one. Depression is usually the hardest and longest stage of grief. Danny Gokey inspired many people to seek help with their depression after being open about his own. He served as a reminder to others that they aren’t alone and that God will heal you.

Gokey discusses his battle with depression on “Dinner Conversations with Mark Lowry and Andrew Greer”, you can watch that interview by clicking the video below.

In 2016, Gokey released a song called “Tell Your Heart to Beat Again”. This song is based off a story from a pastor in Ohio. The pastor knew a heart surgeon from church and asked if he could watch one. The heart surgeon approved, and they set a date. When the day arrived, the patient was rolled into the operating room and the surgery began. There were no complications, but the heart wasn’t starting again. The pastor said the heart surgeon did something out of the ordinary.

He got down on his knees and he spoke to his patient.

He told her that the surgeons had fixed her heart.

“If you can hear me, you need to tell your heart to beat again.”

Her heart started beating again.

The pastor was so moved and began to share this story with others.

“Tell Your Heart to Beat Again” reminds us that God is our great physician and he has already healed our hearts. In other words, he has fixed our problems. He wants us to hope and believe again. However, ultimately, it is our choice whether we want to move forward.

To listen to more meaningful music, click below to listen to our playlist on Spotify!

Written by: Paige Muttillo | Marketing Associate | Catholic Cemeteries Association