I Believe (Blessid Union of Souls song)

Single infobox
Name = I Believe


Caption =
Artist = Blessid Union of Souls
Album = Home
Released = May 1, 1995
Recorded = 1994
Format = CD, cassette
Genre = Alternative rock
Piano rock
Length = 4:27
Writer = Eliot Sloan
Label =
Producer =
Last single = "Let Me Be the One"
(1995)
This single = "I Believe"
(1995)
Next single = "All Along"
(1996)

"I Believe" is a single by the American alternative rock band Blessid Union of Souls from their 1995 debut album "Home". It is one of their most popular songs. [ [http://blessidu.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=category&sectionid=4&id=13&Itemid=31 "Home" tracklisting on Blessid Union of Souls' official website. "I Believe" is the most played song.] ] and their highest-charting in the U.S., reaching number 8 on the "Billboard" Hot 100.

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 which would used in the song and played it. [ [http://ax.phobos.apple.com.edgesuite.net/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?i=267044441&id=267043899&s=143441 The "I Believe Story" from "Almost Acoustic (Volume 1)" on iTunes.] ]

"I always tell people, and it's the truth, 'I Believe' was written in the middle of the night at about three in the morning. I always used to live in downtown Cincinnati, a really cool spiral staircase up to my bedroom, which kind of ended up as my studio. I kept a piano there that my mother got me when I was nine. In the middle of the night I was hearing the melody and I thought, 'this is pretty.' I just had to get up and play it." – Eliot Sloan

Eliot Sloan stated in an interview that he wrote the song about his relationship with Lisa, a girl he once dated. [http://www.thecelebritycafe.com/interviews/blessid.html An interview with Eliot Sloan] ] 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 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]

Meaning

The song is about the lack of love in the world (a very similar theme to "Where is the Love?" by Black Eyed Peas.) Eliot Sloan has said that "when [he sings] 'Love will find a way,' [he] mean [s] '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. [ [http://www.tntbooking.com/bios/blessid_union_of_souls.htm T&T Management and Booking Agency - Blessid Union of Souls ] ]

"Well, it's like... when we did that song, we were just like... there were so many things going on in society. We just wanted to do something positive. We just wanted to touch on a lot of points that society seems to be having a little trouble with as a whole. Racism was one of the things we wanted to distill in the song. So we were like, wanted to mention something about a relationship that I was in that people could relate to. It's really cool because a lot of people have been really relating to that. A lot of people have been in relationships where their parents or their friends didn't want them seeing this other person for whatever reason, whether it was race, religion or background, or whatever. We just really believe that love is the answer to this stuff. Without it trying to sound hokey or whatever that's just the honest to good answer. I'm a witness to that. I get along with anybody who's open minded, and who has an open heart to things. That's the same with everybody in this band. We've all got different backgrounds and we all agree on the same things. This is just one of them. There doesn't have to be this much tension out there. There really doesn't. We feel like it's very unnecessary in a lot of situations. We just wanted to install some hope in people and hopefully people will listen to the lyrics and get that out of the song." – Eliot Sloan, in an interview with the Celebrity Cafe.

Track listing

CDtracklist

title1 = I Believe
length1 = 4:27

title2 = Heaven
length2 = 4:33 [ [http://www.amazon.co.uk/I-Believe-Blessid-Union-Souls/dp/B00005719E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1216340679&sr=1-1 Track listing of single, according to Amazon.com] ]

Cassettetracklist

title1 = I Believe
length1 = 4:27

Chart positions

Notes

* The song was featured twice on the album "Home": once as the regular version and once with an extended piano intro.
* It was remixed for "" entitled "I Believe (Punky Irie Mix)".
* In 2007 a cover was released by [http://www.myspace.com/building429 Building 429] , a contemporary Christian band.

References