"Hey God" is a song from American
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...
band
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983. The band consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarists John Shanks and Phil X, percussionist Everett Bradley ...
's sixth studio album, ''
These Days'' (1995), released as the album's fifth and final single on June 24, 1996. Although it did not chart in the United States, it became a moderate hit in Canada and several European countries.
Background
As with most of the songs on ''These Days'', "Hey God" is one of Bon Jovi's darker songs. It brings together different stories of people living on the edge of breakdown and despair, such as a father who claims his family are "two paychecks away from living out on the street", a single mother with a wayward son who has been convicted of killing a police officer, and a young man growing up in the ghetto. Throughout the course of the song, each of these characters cries out for spiritual help.
Richie Sambora
Richard Stephen Sambora (born July 11, 1959) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter, best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Bon Jovi from 1983 to 2013. He and lead singer Jon Bon Jovi formed the main songwriting unit for the ...
said that his inspiration for the song came when he was sitting in his limo and made eye contact with a derelict huddling in a cardboard box on the pavement. Sambora's sense of guilt at this was immense and discussed the incident with
Jon Bon Jovi
John Francis Bongiovi Jr. (born March 2, 1962), known professionally as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He is best known as the founder and Lead vocalist, frontman of the rock band Bon Jovi, which was fo ...
, who was inspired by the view out of the window from 57th St. and Broadway in New York, where a man wearing an Armani suit was next to a man who's sleeping on the street. They then wrote the song in Jon's basement.
Chart performance
The song charted at number 13 on the
UK Singles Chart and number 44 on Canada's ''
RPM
Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or r⋅min−1) is a unit of rotational speed (or rotational frequency) for rotating machines.
One revolution per minute is equivalent to hertz.
Standards
ISO 80000-3:2019 def ...
'' 100 Hit Tracks chart.
Live performances
"Hey God", like most of the songs from the album, is rarely played live by the band. A performance of the song can be seen as part of the encore from the ''
Live From London'' DVD. In 2008, the song made a comeback in some of the band's concerts during their
Lost Highway Tour
The Lost Highway Tour was a worldwide concert tour by American rock band Bon Jovi in support of their 10th studio album, '' Lost Highway''. It took place from October 2007 to July 2008. Originally planned as a 2008 greatest hits tour, the tour w ...
.
Track listings
UK CD1
# "Hey God" (edit) – 4:47
# "The End" – 3:39
# "When She Comes" – 3:29
# "Hey God" (live from South Africa) – 7:17
UK CD2
# "Hey God" (edit) – 4:47
# "
House of the Rising Sun
"The House of the Rising Sun" is an American traditional folk song, sometimes called "Rising Sun Blues". It tells of a person's life gone wrong in the city of New Orleans. Many versions also urge a sibling or parents and children to avoid the ...
" (live) – 4:00
# "
Livin' on a Prayer
"Livin' on a Prayer" is a song by the American rock band Bon Jovi from their third studio album, '' Slippery When Wet''. Written by Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and Desmond Child, the single, released in late 1986, performed strongly on both ...
" – 4:12
UK cassette single
# "Hey God" (edit) – 4:47
# "
Lie to Me
''Lie to Me'' (stylized as ''Lie to me*'') is an American crime drama television series created by Samuel Baum that aired on Fox from January 21, 2009, to January 31, 2011. In the show, Dr. Cal Lightman ( Tim Roth) and his colleagues in The ...
" (remix) – 4:40
European CD single
# "Hey God" (edit) – 4:47
# "
These Days" (live) – 5:57
European maxi-CD single
# "Hey God" (edit) – 4:47
# "When She Comes" – 3:29
# "The End" – 3:39
# "These Days" (live) – 5:57
Japanese CD1
# "Hey God" (LP version) – 6:10
# "Fields of Fire" (demo) – 4:10
# "
Mrs. Robinson
"Mrs. Robinson" is a song by American folk rock duo Simon & Garfunkel from their fourth Album, studio album, ''Bookends (album), Bookends'' (1968). The writing of the song was begun before the 1967 film ''The Graduate'', which contained only f ...
" (live) – 3:21
# "
I Thank You" – 3:14
# "Let's Make It Baby" (demo) – 6:19
Japanese CD2
# "Hey God" (edit) – 4:47
# "
Crazy
Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors caused by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to other ...
" (live) – 3:29
# "
Tumblin' Dice" (live) – 4:17
# "Heaven Help Us" (live) – 4:34
Charts
Release history
References
{{Authority control
Bon Jovi songs
1995 songs
1996 singles
Mercury Records singles
Song recordings produced by Peter Collins (record producer)
Songs written by Jon Bon Jovi
Songs written by Richie Sambora
Songs about religion