REASON TO BELIEVE^©

Live 16 Nov 1990 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
Car door flung open he's standin' out on Highway 31
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
Hhow at the end of every hard earned day people find some reason to believe

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

Well now the congregation gathers down by the riverside
Preacher stands with his Bible, the 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 and he's wonderin' where can his baby be
Still at the end of every hard earned day people find some reason to believe

Hmmm, Hmmm, Hmmm

The above lyrics refer to the live 16 Nov 1990 version at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, CA, during the benefit shows for the Christic Institute.

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, 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 1990 at Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, CA:

(Someone in the crowd: "We love you Bruce!") But you don't really know me ex (cheers). Uh, I'm glad to be here tonight for the Christic Institute uh... Over the past decade our country has been sold an illusion of itself. And uh, for me the Christic Institute is in process of trying to make us all grow up, everybody. And uh, this song is about the price that blind faith and refusing to give up your illusions extracts from you.