Released June 17, 1996 Length 6:11 | Format CD single Label Mercury | |
Writer(s) Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora Producer(s) Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, Peter Collins | ||
"Hey God" is a single from Bon Jovi's 1995 album These Days.
As with most of the songs on These Days, "Hey God" is one of Bon Jovi's darker songs. It brings together different stories of people living on the edge of breakdown and despair, such as a father who claims his family are "two paychecks away from living out on the street", a single mother with a wayward son who has been convicted of killing a police officer, and a young man growing up in the ghetto. Throughout the course of the song, each of these characters cries out for spiritual help.
Richie Sambora claimed that inspiration for the song came when he was sitting in his limo and made eye contact with a derelict huddling in a cardboard box on the pavement. Sambora's sense of guilt at this was immense and after discussing the incident with Jon Bon Jovi, they wrote "Hey God".
The song charted at #13 in the UK Singles Chart and #58 on the Euro hot 100 singles chart. "Hey God", like most of the songs from the album, is rarely played live by the band. A performance of the song can be seen as part of the encore from the Live From London DVD. In 2008, the song made a comeback in some of the band's concerts during their Lost Highway Tour. "Hey God" is one of the few Bon Jovi songs to feature no backing vocal track. When played live Jon plays the tambourine.