Mercyme’s Bart Millard Reflects on Personal Loss in New Song

Bart Millard of Mercyme recently shared the story behind the emotional song Ah, death. He didn’t write the poignant chorus, yet it feels incredibly personal to him. Millard visited his ailing stepfather, Frank Street, while traveling to Texas last year. The memories are vivid, and the experience profoundly affected him.

“I was driving down the road, and I didn’t quite grasp what I was feeling,” Millard recalls, tears streaming as he listened to the lyrics of the uplifting tune. Tragically, his stepfather passed away just a month later, but not before he had the chance to sing along. “For me, it’s always tied to my stepfather,” he explains. Street played a significant role in Millard’s life, serving as both the chairman of the deacon and his second-grade Sunday School teacher.

The contrast between the song’s uplifting melody and its reflective words is striking, prompting the group to release a lively music video. Millard laughs as he remembers his stepfather’s reluctance to dance, even joking, “I’ll get up when I see Jesus.”

“The timing could not be more perfect,” Millard adds, reflecting on how the song came together.

Ah, death—the album’s first radio single—quickly soared to the top of multiple charts, including the Mediabase Christian AC and the Christian AC Activator.