When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up.
Psalm 27:10, King James Version
Every favour had a hook inside it
Many of us know this story. Somebody powerful takes you under their wing. They give you a title. You do the work they will not do, you say what they want said, and you call it loyalty. Then one day you stop being useful, and they forget your name like they never knew you.
In Nigeria we have a word for the people at the top of that arrangement. Godfathers. And we have a word for the ones beneath them. Stooges. This song is sung by someone who was one, and did not know it until the phone stopped ringing.
It is a gospel rap about what happens next. Coming to God with nothing, and waiting for the catch that never comes.
Here am I, take me
The chorus echoes one of the most famous answers in the Bible. In Isaiah 6:8, God asks, whom shall I send? And Isaiah says, here am I, send me.
But this song says something slightly different. Not send me. Take me. Before any assignment, before any usefulness, just take me. Romans 12:1 calls it presenting your body as a living sacrifice. Whatever You want, I will do.
And Psalm 27:10 holds the deepest comfort in the song. When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up. When every patron drops you, He takes you up.
No strings attached
The second verse wrestles with the hardest thing for a used person to believe. That God wants you for nothing. Nobody ever wanted me for nothing. Every yes I ever got came with something.
The Bible keeps insisting on it.
Isaiah 55:1. Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy, and eat. Without money and without price.
Ephesians 2:8 and 9. By grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works.
1 Corinthians 7:23. Ye are bought with a price. Be not ye the servants of men. Somebody already paid. You do not owe the godfather anything more.
Galatians 4:7. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son. Not a tool. Not a stooge. A son.
Keep me anyway
The bridge ends on the line the whole song has been walking toward. And if I'm no use to You, keep me anyway. That's all I ever wanted. Somebody to keep me anyway.
Jesus answered that prayer before it was prayed. John 6:37. Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out. Not if you are useful. Not if you perform. Whoever comes.
What the song is about
Take Me is a gospel rap about leaving a life of being used and walking into a love that does not use you. It tells the story honestly, the title, the hook, the silence when the usefulness ran out. Then it comes to God with no sponsor, no seat and no plan, still checking the fine print, still learning that He just says come.
Take Me is one of the album's two gospel rap tracks. Daalu by Michael CU is out on 3 November 2026.
A prayer for anyone who has been used
Lord, I gave my years to people who forgot my name. I come to You with nothing in my hands. Thank You that You do not use me and throw me away. Take me as I am, and keep me anyway. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Listen
Take Me is out now. Press play, and save it to your library so it is there when you need it.
Play on SpotifyApple MusicAmazon MusicAll platforms
It is also track 5 on the album Daalu, out 3 November 2026. Pre-save the album
Take Me lyrics
IntroTake me
Take me
ChorusI am here
Take me
I am willing
Please take me
I give it all up for you
Whatever you want, I will do
Look at me
Hold my hands
Take me
Verse 1I was a stooge but I didn't know
Thought I had it all down but no
No, no, I was living in another's shadow
I lost it all
They gave me a title and I wore it proud
Did the work they wouldn't do, said it out loud
Every favour had a hook inside it
I called it loyalty, it was ownership
I moved when they moved, spoke when they spoke
Laughed at the joke before I got the joke
And the day I stopped being useful to them
They forgot my name like they never knew me
Called the number, nobody picked up
Same street, same face, they looked straight through
And I stood there working out the arithmetic
Of how much of my life I gave to that
ChorusI am here
Take me
I am willing
Please take me
I give it all up for you
Whatever you want, I will do
Look at me
Hold my hands
Take me
Verse 2So I come with nothing in my hand
No sponsor, no seat, no plan
No name that opens any door
Just me, and I've never been more sure
You don't need me, that's the part that breaks me
You're not recruiting, you're not using, you just take me
Nobody ever wanted me for nothing
Every yes I ever got came with something
So if this is free then I'm all in
Take the years I wasted, take the skin
Take the man they made, take the man I hid
Take the boy I was before any of it
And I keep waiting for the catch to show
Still checking the fine print, that's all I know
Years of being owned will do that to a man
You just say come, I'm still learning that
ChorusI am here
Take me
I am willing
Please take me
I give it all up for you
Whatever you want, I will do
Look at me
Hold my hands
Take me
BridgeI don't have a résumé for this
No reference, nobody to vouch
Just two hands and whatever's left
And a mouth that don't know how to ask
So I'm asking anyway
Take me
Not the version, not the name
Take me
And if I'm no use to you
Keep me anyway
That's all I ever wanted
Somebody to keep me anyway
ChorusI am here
Take me
I am willing
Please take me
I give it all up for you
Whatever you want, I will do
Look at me
Hold my hands
Take me
OutroKeep me anyway
Keep me anyway
Take me
For youth leaders and worship teams
Take Me speaks straight to young people who are being recruited, used or promised a fast way up. It works well in youth services and before an altar call. Your choir is welcome to use it. The lyric sheet is free. Just message @michaelukwuma on Facebook, Instagram or X and tell me where it was sung.