The bands alcohol/drug use

No so much the TDs breakdown but the few above that

Sent from my HTCD160LVW using Tapatalk

I remember Jon saying that "Janie.." was written after a big fight with Dorothea, she went to bed and he wrote the song, just changed the name.

I don't hear that at all. I loved this song at the time, but now I feel it's the one song on the album that hasn't aged well...it doesn't fit with the rest of the record either...

Isn't this song credited to Jon/Desmond Child? Seems odd that they would write a song about this!? Also the lyrics seem to be be about the end of a relationship, not the beginning?

Yes, Jon and Desmond wrote a song about Richie’s love life. He missed the writing session because he had a date with Heather. Just like Richie did not write Whole Lot of Leaving, but events in his life served as inspiration.

Didn't Dave divorce his first wife in 2004/2005? And why were they separated in the early 90s?

They were having issues like many couples and patched things up for a while. My point was not to dissect David and Aptil’s problems, but to offer a possible reality that could have lead to the story Eveline had heard. A band member and his wife were separated briefly in the 90’s, Just not THAT band member.

I've heard or read Jon's story about Hearts Breaking Even several times and it makes no sense. It might make more sense if he had just left it at "Richie's love life" and hadn't said, at other times, that it was about Richie and Heather and that Richie had left him and Desmond to write while he flew out for a date with her. But the song is clearly about one person walking away from a relationship. Richie and Heather had just started dating so there wouldn't be any "Go on, get on with your life; yeah, and I'll get on with mine" or "Did I throw away the best part of my life? When I cut you off, did I cut myself with the same damn knife?" or "It's been a long, long, long, long time since I've had your love here in my hands?" Not at the very beginning of a relationship.

I'm sorry, but I can't help but believe that that's just a convenient story, as is the story about Letting You Go. Just like every song doesn't have to be autobiographical, I think sometimes they may be, and another background story is created to avoid saying so.

And I know I've heard 3 different stories about the inspiration for Hey God from Jon, and another different one from Richie. I don't think any of them involved Dorothea, but I'd have to see if I can find them again to be sure.

I believe Jon said all the things you posted; but what they say about the stories behind songs sometimes changes from interview to interview, and it doesn't always jive with the lyrics. Hearts Breaking Even is just the most blatant example of that, in my opinion.

I've definitely read the interview from Jon saying Dot came up with the "Two paychecks away...." but I know it's a turn of phrase Jon used earlier on Outlaws of Love so I don't know if I believed it.

Kinda doubt Diamond Ring was written on the same day as Wanted:

1. It was demoed for New Jersey, but never for Slippery, not even as a basement demo

2. Desmond Child co-wrote the track but was not involved with Wanted at all. Didn't they have separate writing sessions with him?

Also, Something For The Pain is pretty much the opposite metaphor of Bad Medicine.

But yeah, Heart's Breaking Even was written about Richie & Heather, it's in that old Kerrang article.

I know Jon said that, but it still makes no sense. The only way those lyrics would make sense with that explanation would be if Richie was walking away from an established relationship to start the new one with Heather. And in that case, it still wouldn't be about Richie and Heather, as much as it would be about Richie and the person he was leaving behind.

So, unless Jon or Desmond is the person Richie walked out on, I don't see how those lyrics could possibly be about Richie and Heather.