Brooks & Dunn’s “Believe” asks one of life’s hardest questions: What happens after we lose the people we love? Through a story of heartbreaking loss and unwavering faith, the song offers hope that death may not be the end of our time with those closest to us.
Released in 2005, the country-gospel hit was written by Ronnie Dunn and Craig Wiseman and centers on an elderly man whose belief in heaven helps him endure the loss of his wife and baby.
The song speaks to something deeply human: the desire to believe that losing someone doesn’t mean losing them forever.
What Is Brooks & Dunn’s “Believe” About?
Old Man Wrigley has suffered a devastating loss, but his faith gives him hope that he will see his family again.
Years later, his words take on new meaning for someone who remembers him and begins to understand the strength behind his beliefs.
Read More: Brooks & Dunn’s Debut Album Changed Country Music Forever
The song speaks to something deeply human: the desire to believe that losing someone doesn’t mean losing them forever. When grief leaves us searching for comfort, faith can offer the hope of a reunion someday.
“Believe” doesn’t make light of heartbreak or suggest that faith makes losing someone easy.
Read More: 12 Country Covers Better Than the Original + Two That Just Aren’t
For all of us who have struggled to say goodbye to someone we love, the song offers a simple but meaningful message: Sometimes, hope begins with believing there’s more beyond what we can see.
Brooks & Dunn’s “Believe” Lyrics:
Old man Wrigley lived in that white house
Down the street where I grew up
Momma used to send me over with things
We struck a friendship up
I spent a few long summers out on his old porch swing
He said he was in the war when in the Navy
Lost his wife and lost his baby
I broke down and asked him one time
I said, ‘How ya keep from going crazy?’
He said, ‘I’ll see my wife and son in just a little while.’
I asked him what he meant
He looked at me and smiled, and said
I raise my hands, I bow my head
I’m finding more and more truth in the words written in red
They tell me that there’s more to life than just what I can see
Oh, I believe.
Few years later I was off at college
Talking to mom on the phone one night
Phone one night
Getting all caught up on the gossip
The ins and outs of the small-town life
She said, ‘Oh, by the way, son: old man Wrigley died.’
Later on that night, I laid there thinking back
Thought ’bout a couple long-lost summers
I didn’t know whether to cry or laugh
If there was ever anybody deserved a ticket to the other side
It’d be that sweet old man who looked me in the eye
He said, ‘I raise my hands, bow my head
I’m finding more and more truth in the words written in red
They tell me that there’s more to life than just what I can see.’
I can’t quote a good book
Don’t know the chapter or the verse
You can’t tell me this all ends in a slow ride in a hearse
You know I’m more and more convinced the longer that I live
This can’t be
No, this can’t be
No, this can’t be
This can’t be
This can’t be all there is
I raise my hands, I raise my hands
I bow my head, bow my head
I’m finding more and more truth in the words written in red
They tell me that there’s more to life, there’s more to life than just what I can see
I believe
Oh, I
Oh, I believe
11 Country Stars Who Speak Out About Their Faith
When it comes to country music, you don’t have to search for too hard to find songs that bring Jesus in.
Country stars tend to be bold in speaking out about their faith and the struggles they’ve had trying to walk that straight and narrow path to find God.
It’s also no surprise that many of fans’ favorite artists have either released Christian-leaning songs or have collaborated with gospel-singing neighbors.
We’ve rounded up several country singers who have unapologetically spoken to their faith for the world to see and who spread the Gospel, one song at a time.
Gallery Credit: Jess Rose
