Meaning of “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1” by Kanye West (ft. Kid Cudi)

Kanye West’s “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1” begins with a sample via gospel musician Pastor T.L. Barrett which is, of course, religious in nature. What it points to, literally, is the “Father”, i.e. God, being “the only power”. 

Interpreted within a Christian context, such an expression would more simply point to the notion of a person believing that ultimately, the Most High has the final say in all matters. Or put otherwise, the vocalist’s faith lies in God since he is “the only power”.  And as such he appears to be requesting to be strengthened, i.e. have his ‘hands stretched’, from on high.

PRE-CHORUS AND CHORUS OF “FATHER STRETCH MY HANDS PT. 1”

But as quickly established in the pre-chorus that follows, as led by Kid Cudi, this track isn’t actually religious in nature. Instead, Cudi proceeds to celebrate his love for his “babe”.

Excerpts from the T.L. Barrett’s sample continues to play on, more in the background than the forefront.  But combined with what Cudi is putting forth, they imply that the vocalist is rather ‘stretching his hands’ towards his sweetheart than a higher power. 

Or as further implied, she’s the one he believes in, in a manner of speaking, i.e. the vocalist feeling that his significant other is the only one he “can… turn to”, i.e. seek help from when he really, really needs it.

What follows is the chorus, led by Kanye though once again with the T.L. Barrett track playing in the background. West does not explicitly address a romantic interest. Instead, what he is putting forth is a strong desire to “feel liberated”. 

And as inferred, he can only achieve that goal by having someone in his life who he truly trusts, presumably a partner that he can ‘stretch his hands’ to, or something of the sort.

“I just wanna feel liberated, I-I, na-na-na
Who can I turn to?
I just wanna feel liberated, I-I, na-na-na
After all, who can I turn to?
If I ever instigated, I am sorry
If I don’t turn to you
Tell me who in here could relate, I-I-I
No other help I know, I stretch my hands”

THE VERSE OF “FATHER STRETCH MY HANDS PT. 1”

Next comes the only actual verse found within this song, of which West once again serves as the primary vocalist. It is also romantic in nature or at least speaks to his, let’s say less-than-ideal experience with romantic interests. For instance, he starts the passage off with sort of a strange observation, basically implying that some of the ‘models’ he deals with bleach their rear ends, which is actually a thing. 

And as expressed, the reason that this practice disturbs Yeezus is because then he may end up somehow getting ‘bleach on his T-shirt’, presumably ruining it in the process.

Kanye proceeds to imply, again in roundabout ways, that he regularly deals with women whom he later comes to regret hooking up with. This is in part due to him sometimes being “high” when he establishes such connections, i.e. in a state where he cannot rightfully discern the character of the woman he’s talking to. 

So on occasion, these women may go on to prove themselves irritating. Or more specifically, what West seems to be saying in this regard is that they end up trying to tax him, i.e. a lady treating Kanye as if he ‘owes her something’.

CONCLUSION

Afterwards comes a re-rendering of the chorus. So all lyrics considered, the thesis sentiment of this song, most simply interpreted, appears to revolve around the vocalist’s frustration in terms of not being able to find that special someone.

By the time this track was dropped, Kanye had already been married to Kim Kardashian for a couple of years. So presumably the lyrics harp back to how he felt before tying the knot. And as for the title, the most-logical way of interpreting it in context is as if the vocalist is looking to a Higher Power to help him in this endeavor, i.e. guide him towards a partner who will help him achieve a genuine feeling of liberation.

Release of “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1”

The song “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1” serves as the second track on the “The Life of Pablo” album, a project which represents the rapper’s seventh studio offering.

This song, which features vocals from Kid Cudi, was issued alongside its album on Valentine’s Day in 2016. It was issued as the second single from “The Life of Pablo”.

Writers and Producers of “Father Stretch My Hands Pt. 1”

West and Cudi composed the song with contributions from several other writers, as mentioned below:

• MIKE DEAN
• Allen Ritter
• Chance the Rapper
• CyHi
• Drake
• Jerome LOL
• Kristian Ngoma
• Malik Yusef
• Metro Boomin
• Noah Goldstein
• Pastor T.L. Barrett
• Rick Rubin
• Samo Sound Boy

Production of this track was taken care of by West together with a number of its writers, including the following:

• MIKE DEAN
• Allen Ritter
• Rick Rubin
• Noah Goldstein
• Metro Boomin

They were assisted by the production duo DJDS.

Album

“The Life of Pablo” is a product of Def Jam Recordings and GOOD Music, which is a record label owned by West. “Famous”, which dropped in March 2016, is the lead single from this project whereas “Fade” was issued as its last single on September 9 of 2016.