Don't Stop Believin' Lyrics Meaning

Never Stop Believing

I have often wondered what it is that makes a song “good.” I can still recall the day vividly, over six years ago, as I rummaged through a box of old music tapes, hoping to find something fascinating to cure my boredom. My eyes alighted on a tape with the label “Journey: Don’t Stop Believin’” Interestedly, I picked it up and placed it in the cassette player. Smiling, I knew that at that moment my life was eternally changed because of it. The song, “Don’t Stop Believin’” by Journey has inspired two generations, which is astounding, and is sure to inspire more generations to come. Originally written by Steve Perry, Neal Schon and Jonathon Cain, it is still topping charts nearly 30 years after its debut, and has since been heard on such hit shows and movies as: “American Idol,” “The Sopranos” “The Wedding Singer” “Bedtime Stories” “Scrubs,” “Shrek the Halls,” “Glee,” and many others. The question however, is, why? Why has it become so admired?

‘Don’t Stop Believin’ follows a strange pattern; the renowned chorus is not heard until over three quarters of the way through the song, certainly proving false the saying “Don’t bore us - get to the chorus.” It would seem that while this may prove that saying false, critics still conjecture at how the song became so popular. Los Angeles Times said of the song, “Structurally, it’s a mess. Surely one would get tossed out of songwriting school for a tune that follows its opening piano riff with a verse, a guitar arpeggio, a second verse, a bridge, a guitar solo, a third verse, a repeat of the bridge, another guitar solo, and then, 3 minutes, 20 seconds in, when the song is ready to fade out, one of the most unforgettable choruses in rock.” And yet, despite the strange structure, the song remains one of the most listened to song on iTunes.

The song opens up with one of the most unforgettable keyboard riffs in the history of rock; easily distinguishing the song from any other. Vocalist Steve Perry, who has been listed in Rolling Stone’s “Top 100 Greatest Singers of All Time” because of his incredible range from high to low, begins to melodiously sing the words,

Just a small town girl,
Livin’ in a lonely world
She took the midnight train going anywhere

Just a city boy,
Born and raised in South Detroit
He took the midnight train going anywhere

Inside these first two stanzas alone the song appeals to the average American youth. Steve Perry said in an interview that he believed that the reason for this was because of the need of all people to break free from the bonds that hold them to their everyday lives, and to explore places they have never been before. It was that determining factor that surprisingly convinced the makers of “Glee” to use the song on their superbly stunning show. When these opening lines lead into the “pre-chorus” or, “bridge” of the song as it has been dubbed by Journey, it gets even more chilling in the hearts of youth and adults alike who listen to it.

“Strangers, waitin’, up and down the boulevard,
Their shadows, searchin’ in the night
Streetlight people, livin’ just to find emotion
Hidin’, somewhere in the night

Listeners are often stunned. This “pre-chorus” as it has been dubbed by the band, speaks volumes for not only the middle-lower class, but for all mankind. Because it is a fact that there is not a single person on Earth; whether they be Oprah Winfrey or Gandhi himself, who has not at one point or another felt lost in the world around them. They may look outwardly confident, but on the inside, their shadows hunt blindly for some kind of answer to their current predicament. Inside reality, everyone has at one point or another felt this in their lives; especially young people because of the challenges they have not yet learned to face. Thusly there is even more appeal to the song that, since becoming available for download, has had over 3,000,000 downloads, (far greater than the population of Utah.) After a moment we are ripped from our thoughts on this subject and thrust into another revealing verse as Steve Perry continues with this ballad. He continues to stun.

Working hard to get my fill,
Everybody wants a thrill,
Paying anything to roll the dice,
Just one more time

Some will win,
Some will lose,
Some were born to sing the blues,
Oh the movie never ends,
It goes on and on and on and on

Everyone takes risks. It’s only human. It’s our disadvantage. Everyone labors to get by in this cruel world, and yet we still “want a thrill,” we still need to keep searching for that reason to live. Occasionally we might be struck down in a philosophical sense, but that’s life, there aren’t always happy endings because in reality there are no “endings.” Life goes on, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it; you can only keep on living. This verse speaks, like so many Journey songs, about everyday people who are just trying to get along in the world as they live. It speaks of the overlooked part of world culture, the part in the shadows that works every day just to survive.

Finally, after another bout of the “pre-chorus” Journey finally thrusts down to the heart and principle of the song with their final “chorus.” The band knew immediately that the verse and song were both something exceptional because of the way they felt as they sang it. Talking about it, Jonathon Cain, who was the keyboardist and background vocalist at the time, said of the last chorus while in an interview, “We knew we wanted to save it. It's like a wave about to happen -- the anticipation of something happening, a change in your life."

Don’t stop believin’
Hold on to that feeling
Streetlight people
Don’t stop believin’

Shocking everyone, the final words, “Don’t stop believing” chime out loud and proud as the song slowly fades out. According to many people’s interpretations, mine included, Journey is speaking to the “streetlight people” and telling them to never give up hope; even when they may not know what to do; even when they’re lost and the going is tough; even when they’re afraid to venture out from their, “streetlight” to visit the dark unknown abyss beyond. Only because of examples in our culture like this do people who need it are inspired to continue on with their lives, although they may at times not feel the slightest desire to.

Finally the question must again be thrust forward. Why is it that “Don’t Stop Believin’” has become so admired? The song that was adopted as the Chicago White Sox’s Theme Song that they played if they were down points; and they claim caused their victory at the World Series. The song that became the most downloaded song of the 20th century. The song that children, teens, and adults alike still rock out to nearly thirty years after its release in 1981. The answer is simple. Don’t Stop Believin’ appeals to the soul of all mankind, the part of the soul that constantly yearns not only for an answer, but for love, and comfort as well. Besieging us is overwhelming evidence that “Don’t Stop Believin’” has become a solid foundation that men and women around the world who never stop believing can lean on to alleviate their fears when they’re afraid, to lift them up when they’re down, and to guide them if ever they are lost. And it’s all possible because they will never stop believing.