Hair Metal Mondays: Something to Believe In
On Friday, I posted that I would start doing some fun stuff on Fridays on my blog. One of the things I mentioned was Hair Metal Friday. The idea was inspired by my favorite room at TurntableFM – hair metal fridays @ bracketlabs
I’ve decided to change things up and make this a Monday feature. I’m not ready to commit to doing it every week, but I suspect I will want to do it more often than Fridays will allow. Monday works best in my schedule for a lot of reasons.
So, we’ll kick off Hair Metal Mondays with the song I posted on Friday – Something to Believe In by Poison.
Poison is the quintessential hair metal band, and this song is one of my favorite songs of all time. The story goes that Bret Michaels received a call on Christmas Eve 1990 and was told his best friend, a Poison bodyguard, had died alone in his Palm Springs hotel room. Friends say went into hysterics and locked himself in his hotel room until he finished this song. The song also touches on other issues – a Vietnam vet struggling with his time at war and his reception at home ( believed to be inspired by one of Bret’s cousins ), televangelists ( Jim Bakker is shown in the video ), and the gap between the rich and the poor.
Like any man my age, all of the issues are familiar to me, but the song really hits home for me in the first and last verses. The disparity between the rich and the poor, and the degree to which the rich take advantage of the poor – even in the name of God – is something I will never be able to comprehend.
Well I see him on the TV Preachin' 'bout the promise lands He tells me believe in Jesus Steals the money from my hands Some say he was a good man Lord I think he sinned, yeah Twenty-two years of mental tears Cries a suicidal Vietnam vet Who fought a losing war on a foreign shore To find his country didn't want him back Their bullets took his best friend in Saigon Our lawyers took his wife, his kids, no regrets In a time I don't remember In a war he can't forget He cried "Forgive me for what I've done there Cause I never meant the things I did" Chorus: And give me something to believe in If there's a Lord above And give me something to believe in Oh, Lord arise My best friend died a lonely man In some Palm Springs hotel room I got the call last Christmas Eve And they told me the news I tried all night not to break down and cry As the tears rolled down my face I felt so cold and empty Like a lost soul out of place And the mirror, mirror on the wall Sees my smile it fades again Chorus Sometimes I wish to God I didn't know now The things I didn't know then Road you gotta take me home Solo I drive by the homeless sleeping on a cold dark street Like bodies in an open grave Underneath the broken old neon sign That used to read Jesus Saves A mile away live the rich folks And I see how they're living it up While the poor they eat from hand to mouth The rich drinkin' from a golden cup And it just makes me wonder Why so many lose, and so few win Chorus You take the high road And I'll take the low road Yes Sometimes I wish I didn't know now The things I didn't know then And give me something to believe in, yeah