Punk pop princess thanks God for keeping her afloat

A song from the first album in almost five years by 2000s Canadian pop star Avril Lavigne has entered the US Christian music charts at number five.

Ms Lavigne’s new single, ‘Head Above Water’, addresses how she turned to God whilst battling Lyme disease, which she was diagnosed with in 2014. She has described the diagnosis as the worst time of her life.

The song likens the illness to drowning, each verse revealing her fears about not beating the disease, and the chorus acting as a recurring prayer that God helps her through it.

“God keep my head above water / Don’t let me drown / It gets harder / I’ll meet you there at the altar / As I fall down to my knees / Don’t let me drown / Don’t let me drown,” she sings in the song’s chorus.

The 33-year-old singer who sang in church choirs as a young girl before cultivating a ‘skate punk’ image and achieving global success with such songs as ‘Complicated’ and ‘Girlfriend’, has revealed in a statement that she turned to God when she thought her life was reaching its end.

“One night, I thought I was dying, and I had accepted that I was going to die. My mom laid with me in bed and held me. I felt like I was drowning. Under my breath, I prayed, ‘God, please help to keep my head above the water’,” she said.