B-side Ball and Chain Recorded 1990 Length 5:29 | Released September 4, 1990 Genre Glam metal, blues rock Label Capitol | |
"Something to Believe In" is a power ballad by American Glam metal band Poison, being the 2nd single from their 1990 (see 1990 in music) album Flesh & Blood. "Something to Believe In" was also released on the Best of Ballads & Blues album in 2003, with alternate lyrics (part 2).
Contents
The song peaked at number 4 in the US Billboard Hot 100, number 5 on the Mainstream rock charts, number 35 in the UK and #44 on the Australian charts. It was the last Top 10 on Billboard chart for the band to date.
This song was dedicated to James Kimo Maano, a security guard and best friend of Bret Michaels who had died some time earlier.
The cover art for the single depicts a tattoo on Bret Michaels's arm of a cross with the words "Something to Believe In". The tattoo artist, according to Michaels, had been drinking and spelled "believe" incorrectly putting the "e" before the "i". It was attempted to be corrected by adding a rose to the cross that covered the misspelling, but Michaels was never satisfied with the results. In the first season of the reality show Rock of Love, Michaels goes to a tattoo shop where the tattoo artist properly touches up the tattoo.
Content
The song emphasizes several different events in footages, such as the televangelism scandals of the late 1980s, the thoughts of a crippled Vietnam veteran and how he can never get rid of the memories of "a war he can't forget", the recent death of a friend and seeing the homeless on a street at night, dimly lit by a neon sign that once spelled out "Jesus Saves" and how it seems that the lessons of yesterday are forgotten in the world of today.
Music Video
During the filming of the video, unbeknownst to Bret, the director had inserted footage of James Kimo Maano which was playing on a screen in front of Bret. This was done to try to draw raw emotion from Bret. It worked too well as Bret lost his composure and had to leave the set for several hours. On the final cut of the video, during the second chorus Bret can be noticed visually holding back tears and momentarily stops singing.