I Do Believe (The Highwaymen song)

Last updated
"I Do Believe"
Song by The Highwaymen
from the album The Road Goes on Forever
ReleasedApril 4, 1995 (1995-04-04)
Genre Country
Length3:25
Label Liberty/Capitol/EMI
Songwriter(s) Waylon Jennings
Producer(s) Don Was

"I Do Believe" is a song recorded by the American country supergroup The Highwaymen for their 1995 album The Road Goes on Forever . It was written by Waylon Jennings and produced by Don Was, with Jennings providing lead vocals on the track.

Contents

Background and composition

"I think the best song I've ever written is 'I Do Believe.' It's off of one of the Highwaymen albums. It wasn't a hit, but it's a good song. Most people who have heard it feel the same way. It's about what a lot of people in this world are turning to now in the name of religion. But I think spirituality is where it's at. It's how you feel yourself. It's how I felt and the way I still feel about things." [1]

— Waylon Jennings

The song has highly pandeistic-sounding overtones, as it derides conventional religious belief in Heaven and Hell while affirming a religious belief under which one ought to "live life to the fullest." In his autobiography, Jennings related of I Do Believe that, "when I finished the song, and before the Highwaymen recorded it, I showed it to Will"—that being 'bootleg preacher' Will D. Campbell—who simply responded, 'That'll preach.'" [2]

Release

The song was originally released on The Highwaymen album The Road Goes on Forever (1995), and was later included as the last song on Jennings' Nashville Rebel box set. It also appeared on the Red Hot and Country video. [3] It was covered by Bonnie Bramlett on her 2008 album, Beautiful. [4]

Reception

The song wasn't a commercial hit, however, it is considered one of Jennings' finest compositions. Musicologist Colin Larkin, in his Encyclopedia of Popular Music , described the song as "thought-provoking" and wrote with respect to Jennings that the song "showed him at his best, questioning religious beliefs." [3]

Personnel

The Highwaymen
Technical personnel

Related Research Articles

Waylon Jennings 20th-century American country music singer, songwriter, and musician

Waylon Arnold Jennings was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as one of the founding pioneers of the Outlaw Movement.

Troy Harold Seals is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist.

<i>Highwayman</i> (The Highwaymen album) 1985 studio album by The Highwaymen

Highwayman is the first studio album released by country supergroup The Highwaymen, comprising Kris Kristofferson, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson. Highwayman, released through Columbia Records in 1985, was the group's first and most successful album.

The Highwaymen was an American country music supergroup, composed of four of country music's biggest artists who pioneered the outlaw country subgenre: Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson. Between 1985 and 1995, the group recorded three major label albums as The Highwaymen: two on Columbia Records and one for Liberty Records. Their Columbia works produced three chart singles, including the number one "Highwayman" in 1985.

<i>Highwayman 2</i> 1990 studio album by The Highwaymen

Highwayman 2 is the second studio album released by American country supergroup The Highwaymen. This album was released in 1990 on the Columbia Records label. Johnny Cash had left Columbia several years earlier, making this a "homecoming", and ultimately his final work for Columbia as the next Highwaymen album would be issued on another label.

<i>Heroes</i> (Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings album) 1986 studio album by Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings

Heroes is an album by country singers Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings, released on Columbia Records in 1986.

<i>Only the Greatest</i> 1968 studio album by Waylon Jennings

Only the Greatest is an album by American country music artist Waylon Jennings, released in 1968 on RCA Victor. It includes the single "Only Daddy That'll Walk the Line," which Jennings took to #2 on the country music charts that year.

<i>Good Hearted Woman</i> 1972 studio album by Waylon Jennings

Good Hearted Woman is an album by American country music artist Waylon Jennings, released in 1972 on RCA Nashville.

<i>This Time</i> (Waylon Jennings album) 1974 studio album by Waylon Jennings

This Time is an album by American country music artist Waylon Jennings, released on RCA Victor in 1974, at the peak of the outlaw country movement. It was produced by Jennings and Willie Nelson.

<i>Ive Always Been Crazy</i> album by Waylon Jennings

I've Always Been Crazy is an album by American country music artist Waylon Jennings, released on RCA Victor in 1978.

<i>Will the Wolf Survive</i> 1986 album by Waylon Jennings

Will the Wolf Survive is an album by American country music artist Waylon Jennings. It was released in 1986 as his debut for MCA Records.

<i>Hangin Tough</i> (Waylon Jennings album) Album by Waylon Jennings

Hangin' Tough is an album by American country music artist Waylon Jennings, released on MCA Records in 1987.

<i>My Very Special Guests</i> 1979 studio album by George Jones

My Very Special Guests is a duet album by American country music artist George Jones released in 1979 on the Epic Records label.

<i>Waymores Blues (Part II)</i> 1994 studio album by Waylon Jennings

Waymore's Blues is an album by American country music artist Waylon Jennings, released on RCA Nashville in 1994.

"Highwayman" is a song written by American singer-songwriter Jimmy Webb, about a soul with incarnations in four different places in time and history: as a highwayman, a sailor, a construction worker on the Hoover Dam, and finally as a captain of a starship. The song was influenced by the real-life hanged highwayman Jonathan Wild. Webb first recorded the song on his album El Mirage, released in May 1977. The following year, Glen Campbell recorded his version, which was released on his 1979 album Highwayman. In 1985, the song became the inspiration for the naming of the supergroup the Highwaymen, which featured Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson, and Kris Kristofferson. Their first album, Highwayman, became a number one platinum-selling album, and their version of the song went to number one on the Hot Country Songs Billboard chart in a 20 week run. Their version earned Webb a Grammy Award for Best Country Song in 1986. The song has since been recorded by other artists. Webb himself included a different version on his 1996 album Ten Easy Pieces, a live version on his 2007 album Live and at Large, and a duet version with Mark Knopfler on the 2010 album Just Across the River.

Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way

"Are You Sure Hank Done It This Way" is a song written and performed by American country music artist Waylon Jennings. It was released in August 1975 as the first single from the album Dreaming My Dreams. The song was Waylon Jennings' fourth number one on the country chart as a solo artist. The single stayed at number one for one week and spent a total of sixteen weeks on the country chart.

Good Hearted Woman (song)

"Good Hearted Woman" is a song written by American country music singers Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson.

<i>Goin Down Rockin: The Last Recordings</i> 2012 studio album by Waylon Jennings

Goin' Down Rockin': The Last Recordings is a posthumous album by American country music artist Waylon Jennings, released on September 25, 2012. The release includes eight unreleased songs written and recorded by Jennings along with his bassist Robby Turner during the last years of his life as well as eight songs never released before in any version.

Bob Wills Is Still the King

"Bob Wills Is Still the King" is a song written and performed by American country music artist Waylon Jennings, as a tribute of sorts to the Western swing icon Bob Wills.

References

  1. ↑ Waylon Jennings, From the Vault: Waylon Jennings (1999) Wendy Newcomer | Published: Dec 10, 2010
  2. ↑ Waylon Jennings, Lenny Kaye (1998). Waylon: An Autobiography. p. 393. ISBN   0-44660-512-3.
  3. 1 2 Colin Larkin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music . p. 401. On the Red Hot And Country video, his thought-provoking 'I Do Believe' showed him at his best, questioning religious beliefs.
  4. ↑ Blues Revue , Issues 110-115, 2008, p. 68.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.