Believe by Staind - Songfacts

Album: The Illusion of Progress (2008)

Charted: 83

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This plea for acceptance and understanding was the lead single from Staind's sixth album, The Illusion Of Progress. It premiered worldwide on the Los Angeles radio station Star 98.7. The band's fanbase had dwindled by this time, and after another album in 2011, lead singer Aaron Lewis went solo as a country singer and put the band on hold. They didn't release another new song until 2023.
Guitarist Mike Mushok blogged on the band's MySpace site about the song's cross-country video: "It's about a guy who plays guitar and wants to move to the west coast. The filming started in Springfield, Massachusetts (the band's hometown) and they took a week and drove across the country filming their experience's along the way. It's kind of like a reality video and it came out really cool!!"
Mushok explained the album title to Artist Direct: "That came from Aaron (Lewis) and Johnny (Wysocki) talking when we were working on the songs. It goes back to one of the things that I described. You can spend all day getting tones for 15 seconds of music, but there's an illusion of progress. You think you did it, but you really didn't do anything with a whole day [Laughs]. That's my take on it. I know from hearing Aaron talk about it, that concept can be applied to a lot of the songs. I think that's why Aaron felt it was a very appropriate for the title of the record."

Comments: 7

John from Atlanta, GaIts about a person who is trying to become successful, and probably promised his significant other it would happen soon, and for other reasons it has not yet...So he is asking her to just keep believing in him, because he is doing everything he can to make it happen, but fighting the devil, in whatever it is he trying to do, but wants her to understand that whatever it is he is is chasing is his dream, so without it , he can not be truly happy, and neither can she, because he will always chase it, and needs it, in order to love her fully and purely, so he can complete himself, and focus on their love, so please believe in him.
Betty from Dayton, OhThis is the song my husband dedicated to me when we were going through a rough patch when we first got together....i have my own meaning to this beautiful song :)
Glen from Baltimore, MdRobert, for you to call Jen ''stupid'' is a very ignorant and narrow-minded statement in and of itself. The beautiful thing about music and more specifically, lyrics, is that just one line could mean a million different things to a million different people. The best songs are those that can entice an emotion in everyone, regardless of what they've been through. I'm sure most bands and artists, Staind included, would agree with that assumption. -Glen
Robert from Los Angeles, CaJen, you're stupid. That's not at all what its about. Think outside the confines of love and break-up songs. Its something much deeper, something you would never understand unless you lived it. Apparently you haven't, otherwise you would not have said "Its about a guy who breaks up with a girl, but realizes he was wrong so if she believes in him he'll come back to her". Be realistic, Jen. People don't do it that way. The members of this band would be ashamed that you would even think to make such a narroe-minded statement about their songs.
Eddy from Forest Park, GaAaron Lewis said the song is about when they started the writing process and he was having writers block. It is to those people like the producer and record execs who were waiting for something to come out.
Jen from Omaha, NeI think this song represents a guy that has left a girl, but realizes she was the best thing to happen to him. She has to deal with people telling her she's stupid for missing him, and has to deal with that "s@#$" and has to fake a smile to the world. She's missing him, and he misses her. He's promising her that if she believes in him he will get through it, and come back to her in the end!
Anthony from Tarrant, Txyes i love this song it sounds like it comes from the heart

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