When I was young and full of grace
And spirited a rattlesnake
When I was young and fever fell
My spirit I will not tell
You're on your honor not to tell

I believe in coyotes and time as an abstract
Explain the change, the difference between
What you want and what you need, there's the key
Your adventure for today what do you do
Between the horns of the day?

I believe my shirt is wearing thin
And change is what I believe in

When I was young and give and take
And foolish said my fool awake
When I was young and fever fell
My spirit, I will not tell
You're on your honor, on your honor

Trust in your calling, make sure your calling's true
Think of others, the others think of you
Silly rule, golden words make, practice, practice makes perfect
Perfect is a fault, and fault lines change

I believe my humor's wearing thin
And change is what I believe in

I believe my shirt is wearing thin
And change is what I believe in

When I was young and full of grace
And spirited a rattlesnake
When I was young and fever fell
My spirit, I will not tell
You're on your honor, on your honor
I believe in example
I believe my throat hurts
Example is the checker to the key

I believe my humor's wearing thin
And I believe the poles are shifting

I believe my shirt is wearing thin
And change is what I believe in


Lyrics submitted by xpankfrisst

I Believe Lyrics as written by Michael E. Mills John Michael Stipe

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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I Believe song meanings
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    General Comment

    Lifes Rich Pageant has a lot of nature themes throughout, with almost every song referring to nature in some way:

    "Begin the Begin" - "Birdy in the hand" "These Days" - "March into the ocean" "Fall on Me" - "Buy the sky and sell the sky" "Cuyahoga" - "We burned the river down" "Hyena" - "Hyena (I see the day ahead)" "The Flowers of Guatemala" - "The flowers cover everything" "I Believe" - "When I was young and full of grace I spirited a rattlesnake," "I believe in coyotes and time as an abstract" "Swan Swan H" - "Swan swan hummingbird, hurrah, we are all free now"

    "What If We Give It Away?," "Underneath the Bunker," "Superman," and "Just a Touch" include no mention of nature.

    Crane42on November 25, 2012   Link

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