There’s a child
Been abandoned out on the street
Now she’s waiting for someone to be her miracle

There’s a wife
Somewhere halfway around the world
Begging God for a little girl she can call her own

Well, worlds collide and colors fade
And a man a wife brought their little girl home today

And there’s one less
One less
One less broken heart in the world tonight
Yeah, there’s one less
One less
There’s one less broken heart in the world tonight

We are called
To the widows and the orphans
But it’s easy to ignore their silent cries

Oh, but every single time
Somebody reaches into the darkness
Makes a choice to help the helpless
The let Mercy save a life

Well the truth is we are all the orphans
But Love has left the ninety-nine
Just to find the one

One less night alone
One less child without a home
One less birthday gone forgotten
One more soul rising from the bottom

One less
One less
There’s one less broken heart in the world tonight


Written by Matthew West © 2010 External Combustion Music / Songs For Delaney / Songs Of Southside Independent Music Publishing, LLC (Admin. by Wixen Music Publishing, LLC) (ASCAP)

Behind the Song:
"My wife and I started an adoption of a little girl named Lily in August of 2007. We were able to finally bring her home in November of 2009! I am the senior pastor of a church in TN and the adoption became a process embraced by our whole family of faith. As a part of the adoption my wife moved into an apartment there in that country so we could foster our now 8 year old daughter. We spent 7 months apart from one another. It was the most difficult test we have faced as a couple. The pain that marked those seven months was quickly replaced when we finally made it home. The joy we shared when we arrived here reminded me of what it must be like when one of God's children finally make it home. We left Guatemala with no fan fare and a few tears. We arrived at our home with church members lining the street with banners, cheering, and sharing great relief."

Matthew’s commentary:
“Defend the cause of the orphans…” Isaiah 1:17
"I was inspired by the hundreds of stories from people who were so passionate about adoption. What a gift for a family to open up their arms and welcome in a child with no home! Every adoption story is truly the proof that God is involved in the details, even the smallest details. I wrote the first verse to show how at the same time, in two different parts of the world, God is hearing the cries of two hearts, and little do they know they are about to be joined together by a God who can orchestrate the impossible.

There are so many orphans in the world today, that the mission of giving them all a home to the human eye seems more like a mission impossible. But, as I read one story after another about a child finding a home, I found myself saying, “That’s one less, one less, one less broken heart in the world tonight.”

You may not be in a position to adopt an orphan in your life right now, but there are many ways to carry out the command of the bible to care for the orphans. Personally, I have a friend who is in the process of adopting a little girl from Russia and he and his family are in need of financial support to do so. Many friends and neighbors are helping support this family’s effort financially so this little girl can have a home. Ask God to show you how to care for the orphans. Every time you help, that’s one less…"