REASON TO BELIEVE^©

Live 18 Feb 1996 version

Ahhhh
Ahhhh

Seen a man standin' over a dead dog lyin' by the highway in a ditch
He's lookin' down kinda puzzled pokin' that dog with a stick
Car door flung open and he's standin' out on Highway 31
Like if he stood there long enough that dog'd get up and run
It struck me kinda funny, seemed kinda funny sir to me
How at the end of every hard earned day people find some reason to believe

Now Mary Lou loved Johnny with a love mean and true
She said "Baby I'll work for you every day and bring my money home to you"
One day he up and left her and ever since that
She waits down at the end of that dirt road for young Johnny to come back
Yeah it struck me kinda funny, seemed kinda funny sir to me
How at the end of every hard earned day people find some reason to believe

Take a baby to the river, Kyle William they called him
Wash the baby in the water, take away little Kyle's sins
In a whitewash shotgun shack an old man passes away
They take his body to the graveyard and over him they pray
Lord, Lord won't you tell us, tell us what does it mean
Still at the end of every hard earned day people find some reason to believe

Congregation gathers down by the riverside
Preacher stands with a Bible, groom stands a-waitin' for his bride
Congregation gone, the sun sets behind a weepin' willow tree
The groom stands alone and watches the river rush on so effortlessly
Lord and he's wonderin' where can his baby be
Still at the end of every hard earned day people find some reason to believe

Whoa, ahhhh

The above lyrics refer to the live 18 Feb 1996 version at Philipshalle, Dusseldorf, Germany, during The Ghost Of Tom Joad tour.

Check out the album's version (more details) and the other live versions: Live 1975-85, 16 Nov 1984, 18 Nov 1984, 19 Nov 1984, 07 Dec 1984, 07 Jan 1985, 16 Nov 1990, 17 Nov 1990, and 15 May 2005. Check also the 14 Jun 2006 cover version and Aimee Mann & Michael Penn's version.