I Believe In You

It's a love song, naturally. They're both very uncertain about it--he has doubts, and she had to "make" herself love him.

The main question is, is their love real?

A lot of Neil's lyrics are vague! I like that. This one I read differently. I see it as Neil's response to someone who is idolising him when he feels he doesn't deserve it.

Now that you found yourself losing your mind Are you here again? Finding that what you once thought was real Is gone, and changing?

This suggests that she is the one with feelings rather than Neil. Gone and changing meaning that her view is not entirely accurate.

Now that you made yourself love me Do you think I can change it in a day? How can I place you above me? Am I lying to you when I say That I believe in you I believe in you.

She has made herself love him - not the otherway round. Neil can't change that quickly... and he can't put her on a pedestal either All he is able to do is believe in her - not love her.

Coming to you at night I see my questions I feel my doubts Wishing that maybe in a year or two We could laugh and let it all out

I'm not going to speculate on why he would go to her at night. Note though that Birds, also on ATGR is about the end of a relationship.. the last two lines mean, to me, that he hopes that with time, her feelings will fade and they can remain friends.

I'm not sure if my take on this works for anyone else but I think it is at least credible!

Now that you've found yourself losing your mind Are you here again? Findin' that what you once thought was real is gone and changin'

Perhaps he and the woman have reconciled after she left him for someone else (or just plain cheated on him) and that relationship went awry. They still love each other enough to forgive one another but their love just not the same the second time around.

Now that you've made yourself love me Do you think I can change it in a day? How can I place you above me? Am I lying to you when I say That I believe in you I believe in you

Perhaps she has come back to him suddenly and he can't resist because he hasn't found another woman and he really loves her regardless. Despite the newly repaired relationship, the sting from their breakup still lingers and he is unable to trust her completely after what she did to him.

Coming to you at night I see my questions I feel my doubts Wishing that maybe in a year or two we could laugh and let it all out

This is him basically repeating what he expressed in the last three lines of the chorus: can I really trust you? He is cautiously optimistic, however, and hopes that time will heal their wounds and make them forget about this dark patch.

This is one of Neil's best gentle songs. Beautiful, heartfelt, and simple lyrically but the words say more than their volume. An underrated masterpiece, perhaps overshadowed only because it sits next to nine other masterpieces on ATGR.

In the liner notes from "Decade", Neil's comment on this song is: "I don't want to talk about it".

Obviously the situation Neil alludes to in this one was a very personal and emotional experience, because as far as I know he has only performed it live once. And that was many, many years after it was released on After the Gold Rush.

He didn't wish to sing about it, either.

"Now that you've made yourself love me, do you think I can change it in a day?"

That line strikes a familiar chord, as played in the non-stories of my own failed relationships...

This song always reopens my wounds from this past year. I was in a really rocky relationship and I'm not sure who is more to blame because we both had the worst flaws. One morning I played this song as I was getting ready and my partner, who was in the bathroom, came out and asked who played this. I told him who it was and the name of the song, not really thinking much about it. I want to say that a week or so later he then abandoned me... he didn't leave me, he literally abandoned me. He left a letter... few pages long... explaining he had to leave.... not sure if meant anything he had written in his letter to this day but I finally just ripped it up in little pieces this summer so that I could finalize moving on. I don't think he realizes how much grief his absence caused me but... it almost shames me to think he does but that it doesn't affect him.

I really feel that he asked me who played this song because he knew what he was about to do and this song speaks about having that doubt. Whether or not he wants to be with that person....

It still breaks my heart.. It'd be foolish and cowardly to say that it didn't still... I still cry about it...

This is one of Neil’s very best songs, the lyrics can be interpreted a few different ways I think, but then I can also see what seems like one obvious meaning, especially after all these years of following NY, reading bios (‘Shakey’, specifically. What a great read!)...that he was so young when he wrote it (<25!) makes me think that when these great writers claim to be just “conduits” for inspiration, there’s something to it. Or he was a precociously intelligent young man - probably both are true.

There’s an element of the passive-aggressive present (of which NY has been guilty many times) - OK, I gave you time to come to love me, but now I’M confused about MY feelings about YOU. So there. And regardless of whether Neil was being petty or not, this passage, and the entire song, contains an honesty rare in popular music.

Of course there’s more to it than that but I don’t wanna write a short story.

watch out Neil, the love's not real.

I think you above me are wrong. This song is for my old friend... I promised 54 songs.

Hi to you, my ex. I will ALWAYS believe in you. Whether you are mean, whether you are a jackass, whether you need to feel in power, whether you feel hatred for me, whether you throw me to the dogs, whether you are insane, whether you are gay, whether you confuse me, etc. No matter f-ing what, I believe in you. I will always forgive you for anything you had to put me through. Are you happy? I hope so because that's all I want for you.

Grab life by the balls! Find peace and happiness - or at least as much as you can of both. That's what I want for you.

You are never far from my thoughts. I believe in you, old pal. And I love this sad song.

I think that if he doubts her in the first place, than the chances are that he doesn't believe in her, & more so that he wants to. Perhaps maybe even in denile about it.

To me, it may possibly mean that although he doesn't have alot of confidence in her, he may still love & that she may wat more than that.

The fact that he says "Do you think I can change it in a day?" may mean he is hiding something and that if he revealed all about his true self, she may not love him.

This is somewhat similar to "The Final Cut" by Waters from Pink Floyd.

One night I was feeling really depressed. I had so many hopes and dreams growing up but I felt sad and lost. I looked at the cross on my wall, and I prayed to God to clear the way for me and give me strength.

"Now that you found yourself losing your mind Are you here again?" "Coming to you at night I see my questions I feel my doubts" "I believe in You."