Something to believe in...explain to me

What is the meaning behind this song?..it confuses me a little. i had a look around and havent found any explanations about the song.

Does Jon believe in Jesus? i notice that a lot of their songs relate to religion and have religious termanology in them...and i know jon and richie have some sort of christian background.

The album suggests quite a troubled time in Jons life. and ive found out that he was depressed around this time. dunno if thats true. though it would make sense...like he was looking for answers.

its a great song. great album and it doesn't get the recognition it deserves. **** radioheads 'ok computer' album as one of the best ever. These Days is absolutely stunning musically and lyrically. Its my No.1

Aloha !

It's not about God and it just because a singer sings "I pray to God to give me one more chance" it doesn't mean that he's literally praying to God. The same goes for Something To Believe In. It's not about Faith at all.

The song is just about a person needing something to believe in, and it doesn't have to be a God. It's not about needing to believe in a God, it's about needing to believe in something, whether it be his parents, Santa Clause or whatever. When it came to Jon Bon Jovi; he saw a lot of what he used to believe in, like doing big world tours, having success and all that falling apart because he got depressed exactly because of it. Keep The Faith brought back his faith a little when it came to that, but a lot had changed for them.

This is what Jon said about the song:

"Something To Believe In is probably the most introspective song on the record and the first one I wrote for this album. When I sat down to write it on the island of Moustique I was questioning a lot of what happened to us during the course of the first 10 years of our career. And it was the Keep The Faith Tour that just ended a week or 2 prior. And we were just to embark on a break but I just couldn't stop myself from writing that day."

And no, Jon wasn't depressed at the time the band was recording These Days. He was overthinking what had happened to the band after the big break in 1990.

Salaam Aleikum,
Sebastiaan

I think the songs pretty self explanatory really, except like Seb said, don't take the subject matter to be solely religious (despite all the religious imagery that pops up).

In a world that gives you nothing, you need something to believe in - 'nuff sed!


andi

Should probably utilize the search feature, this question has been covered before.

The song is about a man trying to keep going and trying to find a reason to keep going. Just because it mentions Jebus or God, it doens't mean it's gotta religious message. Jon has used God very many times in his writings, he's a Jersey Italian Catholic, trust me, he's been to a Cathedral before. That's where this influence comes from. For all I know, Bon Jovi are probably much closer to be classified as a Satanic band, rather than a Christian one.

Where do these religion-related questions about BJ songs keep coming from and how are they relevant to anything or what difference does it make? That's what I wanna know.

he also ones said it was about Richie and his drinking habbits during the NJ tour. Like always, he has a lot of stories jonny boy

If Jon sang about chocolate buttons someone would perceive it as shit !

I do think something to beleive in is about what you believe in from religion to drugs etc.
Here at the end of Yoko performance he names those that are known for their strong beliefs.

BJ mentions God, Jesus, angels , believing, forgiveness, sin in their songs as its part of their upbringing/life they connect with .... however we find our own meanings in songs. I see their songs as religious based, but others dont, they think when Jon says God or Jesus etc he doesnt mean it . I think Jon writes what he means. If he ment to say Satan instead of God Im sure he would have !

Dawn

I always thought he was mentioning them because they were murdered?

Correct

You take what you will from any song. That's the point of music, to entertain you in your own personal way. You can feel enlightened, awakened, saddened, angered and a thousand other feelings.

The meaning of the lyrics goes hand in hand with how the song makes you feel musically - I have CDs in the autochanger designed to wake me up on the commute, ones for easing the traffic woes (M62 is worse than the NJ turnpike anyday ) and I have a disc of the ebbing, weird songs from pseudo-rock bands that make me think and contemplate the lyrics.

The best thing about music is that it can change how you feel, Something To Beleive in makes me feel awe for the song, I don't find anything particularly powerful in the lyrics. However, I don't beleive it's specifically about Religion. Thinking about it; I think it's just about hope and holding on.

^^Deepest thing I've bothered to write on this forum - only took me 2000 posts

In the end, the song and the album in general, are not about believing in God (necessarily), but believing in yourself and pushing on even if all of the crutches and vices and beliefs and friends and heroes in the world have failed you.

"We'll raise a toast and I'll pretend/I've got something to believe in"

The bass and drums and guitar nearly perfectly reflect the emotional and mental conflagration felt in such a state of mind. Personally, I don't think Bon Jovi have ever so accurately and effectively fused the instrumentals with the music with the vocals as with this song. They all serve a purpose.

B