"I Believe" is a single by the American alternative rock band Blessid Union of Souls from their 1995 debut album, Home. It was released in February 1995 by EMI Records. Vocalist Eliot Sloan wrote the song after the father of his girlfriend "Lisa" forced her to stop dating Sloan because of his race. "I Believe" is the band's highest-charting single in the United States, reaching number eight on the Billboard Hot 100, and it became a top-20 hit in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. Its music video was directed by Michael Salomon.
History According to the "I Believe Story" from Blessid Union of Souls's compilation album Almost Acoustic (Volume 1), the song was written by vocalist Eliot Sloan in the early morning when he imagined the main piano sample that would be used in the song and then played it.
Eliot Sloan stated in an interview with The Celebrity Cafe that he wrote the song about his relationship with "Lisa", a girl he once dated. Lisa's father allegedly threatened to cut off her college tuition if she continued to see Eliot. They said good-bye and went their separate ways. He said that he still very much missed her, and placed a message in the liner notes of Home: "Lisa, give me a call sometime just to say hello, my number is still the same."Home liner notes
In the 2001 compilation album, Blessid Union of Souls: The Singles, the song was re-recorded in a punk-reggae style.
Lyrics In an interview with thecelebritycafe.com, Eliot Sloan said "when I sing 'Love will find a way,' I mean 'God will find a way,'" and that he has always believed that "God is love". While the song uses fairly subtle Christian themes, as do many of the band's songs, they tried to make it not sound too preachy.
On the edited version for radio, the word "nigger" in the third verse is replaced with "brother".
Critical reception In a review of Home by AllMusic, staff writer Tom Demalon said that the song "revealed the band to have more of a social conscience than similar acts such as Hootie & the Blowfish through the spiritually tinged lyrics." In a review by Rolling Stone, staff writer Paul Evans called the song "all righteous, wide-eyed affirmation". Mark Frith from Smash Hits gave it a top score of five out of five, writing that 'I Believe' "is a very minimalistic ballad about how the world is turning into a horrible place and that love will find a way. Sentimental gubbins of course, but this is so beautifully sung (imagine Brian Harvey at his very best and you're there) so incredibly charming and ludicrously positive. I could listen to it a million times. Deserves to be huge."
Music video The music video for "I Believe", directed by American music video/film director Michael Salomon, shows the band members singing the song, interspersed with footage representing the ideas of the song.
Track listings UK CD single "I Believe" (radio mix) – 3:45 "Heaven" – 4:33 "I Believe" (original version) – 3:45 "I Believe" (Blessid Q mix) – 4:02
US cassette single A1. "I Believe" (original mix) – 4:37 B1. "I Believe" (album mix) – 4:17 B2. "Heaven" – 4:33
Charts
Weekly charts Chart (1995)PeakpositionEurope (European Dance Radio) 18Europe (European Hit Radio) 24Iceland (Íslenski Listinn Topp 40) 29Israel (Israeli Singles Chart) Search "I Believe" for Israeli chart history. 11US Billboard Hot 100 8US Adult Contemporary (Billboard) 5US Adult Top 40 (Billboard) 24US Top 40/Mainstream (Billboard) 2US Top 40/Rhythm-Crossover (Billboard) 26US Cash Box Top 100Cash Box Chart Entries 1990-1996 4
Year-end charts Chart (1995)PositionCanada Top Singles (RPM) 33Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM) 5US Billboard Hot 100 27US Adult Contemporary (Billboard) 15US Top 40/Mainstream (Billboard) 14US Cash Box Top 100 20
Release history RegionDateFormat(s)Label(s)United StatesFebruary 1995CassetteEMIUnited KingdomMay 15, 1995AustraliaJune 5, 1995CDJapanJune 16, 1995Mini-CD
References