REASON TO BELIEVE^©

Live 16 Nov 1984 version

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
Got his car door flung open he's standin' out on Highway 61
Like if he stood there long enough that dog'd get up and run
Man 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
Man 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

They take the baby to the river, Kyle William they called him
They 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 now won't you tell us, tell us what does it mean
How 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 waitin' for his bride
Congregation gone and the sun sets behind a weepin' willow tree
The groom stands alone and watches the river rush on so effortlessly
Yeah he's wonderin' where can his baby be
Still at the end of every hard earned day people find some reason to believe

Whoa!

The above lyrics refer to the live 16 Nov 1984 version at the Hilton Coliseum, Ames, IO, during the Born In The USA tour.

Check out the album's version (more details) and the other live versions: Live 1975-85, 18 Nov 1984, 19 Nov 1984, 07 Dec 1984, 07 Jan 1985, 16 Nov 1990, 17 Nov 1990, 18 Feb 1996, and 15 May 2005. Check also the 14 Jun 2006 cover version and Aimee Mann & Michael Penn's version.

Spoken intro on 16 Nov 1984 at the Hilton Coliseum, Ames, IO:

This is a uh, song about blind faith... and its tragic results. This is a song about people believing in ghosts... 'cause everybody's waited for something, for somebody that wasn't ever coming back.