“Scroll down to the end of the article to listen to music.”
Introduction
The live performance of “Believe” by Brooks & Dunn featuring Jelly Roll at the CMA Awards 2024 tells a narrative about faith, loss, and the search for meaning in life. The song is about an old man named Wrigley, who greatly changes how the narrator understands belief and hope. Through storytelling and emotional delivery, the performance looks at themes of dealing with grief, finding comfort in faith, and the lasting power of belief.
The song starts by introducing Old Man Wrigley, who lives nearby and becomes friends with the narrator. Wrigley, a Navy veteran who lost his wife and baby, becomes a symbol of wisdom and strength. The narrator, thinking about Wrigley’s past, asks how he deals with such deep loss. Wrigley’s answer is simple: he finds comfort in faith, stating he is “finding more and more Truth at the words written and read they tell me that there’s more to life than just what I can see”. This statement becomes the main theme of the song, showing that belief offers comfort and a sense of purpose beyond earthly suffering.
As the narrator goes to college, he hears about Wrigley’s death. Thinking about their past talks, the narrator considers how Wrigley peacefully accepted life and death. The lines, “I didn’t know whether to cry or Al if there ever was anybody deserves a ticket to the other side the other side it to be that sweet old man who looked me in the eyes,” show a sense of hope and belief that Wrigley has found peace. The narrator recognizes Wrigley’s deserving nature and suggests a belief in an afterlife.
The song continues with the narrator’s own thoughts on faith. Even though he says, “I can’t quote the good book don’t know the chapter or the verse,” he believes that life can’t end “in a slow ride in a hearse”. This verse shows a growing belief that there is more to life than just what we experience on Earth. The repeating lines “I raise my hand I raise my hand i b my head oh I’m founding more and more truth in the words written in tell me that there’s more life just what I can see I believe oh I believe I believe I believe oh I believe I believe I I love you Lord I believe” strengthens the transformative power of faith and belief when facing life’s uncertainties.
The performance by Brooks & Dunn, with Jelly Roll, gives the song a genuine and real feel. The emotional delivery and the combination of voices make the song’s message stronger, turning it into a powerful message of faith and hope. The song asks listeners to think about their own beliefs and find comfort in the thought that there is more to life than what we can see.