“Rock Bottom” by Singer / Songwriter John Anthony. Words, music, rhythm guitar & bass by John Anthony, with special guest for creative work on rhythm & lead guitar Juliana Wilson.

ABOUT THIS SONG:

“Rock Bottom” is a song inspired by the earlier tumultuous life of John Anthony, a man whose journey took him down a treacherous path despite outward appearances of success. From high school through college and into what seemed like a thriving career, John grappled with an internal struggle that no one could see. Beneath the facade of a perfect life—complete with a beautiful house, a girlfriend, and a flashy car—lay a growing void fueled by drugs and alcohol. These vices dragged him deeper into a desolate abyss, a “rock bottom” existence that left him miserable, even as everything on the surface glittered with promise.
Friends and acquaintances, oblivious to his pain, tried to steer him toward shallow pleasures, insisting he should just “be happy.” “There’s nothing wrong with you,” they’d say, pulling him into fleeting distractions that only deepened his emptiness. John wrestled with self-doubt, questioning, “What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I find happiness?” The superficial fixes offered by those around him couldn’t touch the profound longing he felt—a yearning for something real, something beyond the hollow control of so-called friends.
Desperate for answers, John sought solace in people, places, and things, but every avenue led to a dead end. He considered turning to God but hesitated, mired in despair: “If God exists, He surely doesn’t care about me—why even try?” Yet a chance encounter at work shifted his perspective. A coworker shared a raw story of his own rock bottom—how he’d gone into the woods, put a gun in his mouth, and nearly ended it all, only to hear God’s voice at the critical moment. The man explained how he laid down the gun and surrendered his life to God. Stunned, John felt a spark of curiosity ignite. “If God is real,” he thought, “I need to hear from Him. I need to know if He’s there and if He cares.”
That Easter Sunday, John stepped into a church and heard a pastor pose a simple yet profound question while gesturing to a worship screen: “If humans can speak to each other through a TV, don’t you think God can speak to us?” In that moment, something stirred within John—a flicker of hope, a pull toward something greater than himself. Compelled to dig deeper, he returned to the church that same evening. There, in the stillness of the service, John encountered the undeniable presence and peace of Jesus. In that sacred space, he surrendered his broken, “rock bottom” life to God.
Today, John declares with unshakable certainty, “God is real—there’s no doubt about it. And God is love; He truly loves you.” Reflecting on his journey, he offers this truth: “At rock bottom, there’s only one thing that works—letting go, releasing everything into God’s love. From there, there’s only one way to look, one direction to move: up.”