Colton Dixon offers Christian response to Halloween with haunting new song ‘Bones’
Colton Dixon is putting a faith-filled spin on Halloween with his new single, "Bones," using skeletons, graveyards and other spooky imagery to deliver a message about spiritual authority and God's power to bring dead things back to life.
In an interview with The Christian Post, the former "American Idol" finalist said the song, released Oct. 9, was inspired by Ezekiel 37 and represents a passion project he fought to release after sitting on it for more than a year.
"This was a song that I personally had to fight for to even get it out," Dixon told CP. "It's a passion song of mine. I've been sitting on it for like over a year, and it's about the Valley of Dry Bones in Ezekiel, where God tells Ezekiel to prophesy over this army of bones."
The song includes the lyrics “You bring these bones/ To life, to life/ Down in my soul/ I prophesy/ Your fire is the spark in my heart/ In my spine/ You bring these bones/To life, to life.”
Rather than shy away from the season's imagery, Dixon has embraced it. The black-and-white music video for "Bones" features a cemetery, skeletal imagery and a gravestone bearing the inscription "Here Lies Colton Dixon.”
The 35-year-old artist told CP that he wanted to use symbols traditionally associated with death to communicate a message of eternal life available through Christ. As a kid, Dixon said he celebrated Halloween, but his perspective has changed as his faith has matured.
"There's a certain holiday in October that we celebrated growing up hard," he told CP. "I was the kid with the fake knife with blood on the end of it. I was that kid … then I grew up, and it's like, OK, different perspective here.”
In Ezekiel 37, God brings the prophet into a valley filled with dry bones and commands him to prophesy over them. As Ezekiel speaks, the bones come together, flesh covers them and breath enters their bodies, bringing them to life.
“Prophesy over these bones, and say to them, O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord Lord. Thus says the Lord Gᴏᴅ to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live, and you shall know that I am the Lord," the passage reads, in part.
According to GotQuestions, the bones referenced in the passage are a metaphor for the people of Israel, who have lost hope, and point to God's promise to restore His people and put His Spirit within them:
"Reading that passage again as an adult, I'm like, does this mean that zombies are in the Bible? I think it does," Dixon joked. "So we totally lean in, and it's haunting, and it's powerful, and I think people are going to be stoked when they hear it."
The artist emphasized that the biblical account also applies to Christians facing impossible circumstances, whether spiritual struggles or situations that appear beyond repair.
"I believe, first of all, that God has given us that authority as well," he told CP. "Whatever's going on in your life, whatever dry season, whatever dead thing that you're staring at in the face, prophesy. Tell it, like, 'Hey, no more. You're gonna come to life.'"
"I'm really excited to equip believers," he added. "It's like, hey, no more sitting on the sidelines. We got to get in the game."
The song's release also reflects a heavier musical direction for Dixon, who first rose to prominence on the 11th season of "American Idol" in 2012 and has since established himself as a prominent voice in contemporary Christian music with hits including "Build a Boat" and "Miracles."
Despite its haunting aesthetic, Dixon said "Bones" has already become a favorite in his household with his two young daughters, Ava and Athens.
"It's their favorite song I've done, which is crazy," he said of his children. "But every time, if I haven't seen them in like a couple days, they're like, 'Hey, Dadda, can you play Bones?' It's the cutest thing."
“Bones” arrives amid an ongoing debate among Christians over whether to participate in Halloween, with some avoiding the holiday because of its associations with darkness and the occult, while others view it as an opportunity for community outreach.
Recently, conservative commentator Allie Beth Stuckey sparked a debate among Christians after arguing that believers probably shouldn't fully participate in Halloween or watch horror films.
A 2022 survey from LifeWay Research found that the majority of Protestant pastors in the U.S. do not advise Christians to avoid Halloween entirely, and many instead encouraged churchgoers to use the holiday to build relationships with neighbors and share the Gospel.
"Few pastors simply ignore the fact that so many Americans participate in Halloween celebrations," Lifeway Research Executive Director Scott McConnell said in a statement. "Most pastors focus on the social nature of these celebrations, encouraging their congregations to engage with others outside their church."
"The majority of even the smallest churches offer church events this time of year and encourage their members to invite people from the community," McConnell says. "In a society that is increasingly distant and divided, most pastors see opportunities within the interactions that take place around Halloween."
Leah M. Klett is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: leah.klett@christianpost.com
