Imagine Dragons frontman Dan Reynolds has been suffering from attention deficit disorder, neurosis, and ankylosing spondylitis (Bekhterev’s disease) for many years. In 2016, the musician experienced a severe depression, which he managed to get out of with incredible efforts.
In the song Believer from the album Evolve, he shares his psychological problems, tells what it took him to fix his emotional state, and claims that from now on he looks at life with new eyes.
Believer – Imagine Dragons
Dan Reynolds co-wrote Believer with lyricist-songwriter Justin Tranter, who has written compositions for many rock and pop stars.
Reynolds described how they worked together:
My wife Aja Volkman sings in Nico Vega, who used to tour with Justin’s Semi Precious Weapons, so we were friends initially.
Actually, I haven’t written with anyone else before, so I was a little worried about it. Justin was polite. We sat in a room and I told him that it was important for me to write my entire text. He was extremely happy about this.
Billboard
Believer – Imagine Dragons Meaning
Dan Reynolds talked about what the song Believer is about in several interviews:
The main idea of the song is thinking about specific things in my life that were painful. About anxiety, interacting with masses of people, feeling fed up with this or the success of the group, illness, depression – about everything that was a source of pain in my life. And how I got over it and found a perspective where I can be grateful for the pain in my life and make it my greatest strength.
People, 2016
Believer means a lot to me because she symbolizes my progress as a human being and a step forward from [album] Smoke + Mirrors. I suffered from depression for a year, and then I returned home, reunited with family and friends, helped myself and went to a therapist. We reworked a lot of the shit that I was living with, and it allowed me to look at the band from a different angle and see everything with a clearer eye. I am very grateful for the ups and downs in life. That’s what Believer is about, and it’s great that it resonates with people.
Billboard
Last year [2016] really was the most concentrated and positive in my life. The song explains my realization that the emotional pain I have experienced in recent years has helped me achieve a healthier state of mind, that it is adversity that makes me believe in myself.
The lyrics of the song Believer also reflected the religious beliefs of Reynolds, who was raised in a Mormon family. Let’s hear from Dan:
It seems to me that spiritual things have always interested me, starting from a young age. Actually, supernatural things… But as far as faith is concerned, I’ve always had a hard time with that. In fact, I have resisted the belief in Mormonism since I was young. I grew up in a large family: eight boys, one girl… It was hard for me to believe in anything, even in God…
But anyone who has struggled with depression knows that it comes and goes. Who knows what will happen to me next year, but right now, at this moment, I am really happy and … tired of searching and asking if there is a God. Or is he not? I’m tired of asking these questions.
NPR.org
Release and achievements
On February 1, 2017, Imagine Dragons released Believer as the first single from their album Evolve. The composition hit the charts of several dozen countries. The track peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100. It also topped Billboard’s Adult Top 40 and Hot Rock Songs charts.
On television, Imagine Dragons performed Believer for the first time on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
Believer – Imagine Dragons Video Meaning
On March 7, 2017, the music video for Believer – Imagine Dragons was released. It was directed by Matt Eastin. The video features Dan Reynolds in a boxing match against actor Dolph Lundgren.
Reynolds explained the main idea behind the video:
Believer is about finding peace and self-confidence. The video shows a man standing face to face with his inner self, the most demanding critic. It also pays homage to the classic films we grew up with.
Watch the online video Believer – Imagine Dragons.
Interesting Facts
- The cover art for the single was created by artist Beeple.
- In 2018, Dan Reynolds directed the documentary film Believer about how Mormons treat gay people.
- The song is often used in advertisements and on television. For example, it sounds in the Nintendo Switch commercial and the trailer for the movie Murder on the Orient Express.
Believer by Imagine Dragons Lyrics
First things first
I’ma say all the words inside my head
I’m fired up and tired of the way that things have been,
the way that things have been,
second thing
Second, don’t you tell me what you think that I can be
I’m the one at the sail, I’m the master of my sea
The master of my sea
I was broken from a young age
Taking my sulking into the masses
Writing my poems for the few
That looked to me, took to me, shook to me, feeling me
Singing from the heart ache from the pain
Take up my message from the veins
Speaking my lesson from the brain
Seeing the beauty through the
chorus:
(pain)
You made me a, you made me a believer, believer
(pain, pain)
You break me down, you build me up, believer, believer
(pain)
I let the bullets fly, let them rain
My life, my love, my drive, they came from
(pain)
You made me a, you made me a believer, believer
third things
Send a prayer to the ones up above
All the hate that you’ve heard has turned your spirit to a dove
Your spirit up above
I was choking in the crowd
Building my rain up in the cloud
Falling like ashes to the ground
Hoping my feelings, they would drown
But they never did, ever lived, ebbing and flowing
Inhibited, limited
Till it broke up and it rained down
It rained down like
Chorus
last things last
By the grace of the fire and the flames
You’re the face of the future, the blood in my veins,
The blood in my veins
But they never did, ever lived, ebbing and flowing
Inhibited, limited
Till it broke up and it rained down
It rained down like
Chorus
Believer Lyrics Imagine Dragons Alternative
First, about the main
I will say all the words that are in my head
I’m angry, I’m tired of the way things used to be
How it was before
Secondly,
Don’t tell me what you think I could be
I’m on my own, I’m the master of my sea
Master of your sea
I’ve been broken from an early age
Passed on my blues to people
Wrote poems for those few
Who worried about me, considered me, encouraged me, understood me
I sing out of heartache
I bring a message from the veins
Sharing a lesson learned from the mind
I see beauty through…
Chorus:
(Pain)
You made, made me believe, believe
(Pain, pain)
You crush me, you strengthen me, believe, believe
(Pain)
Let the bullets fly, let it rain
My life, my love, my drive, they all come from…
(Pain)
You made, made me believe, believe
Thirdly,
Pray for those in heaven
The hate you heard turned your soul into a dove
Your spirit is in heaven
I suffocated in the crowd
Accumulated by rain in a cloud
Turned to dust on the ground
Hoped to drown out my feelings
But this did not happen, they survived, now weakening, now strengthening,
Restrained, limited
And then they broke and they came down in a downpour
It rained down like…
Chorus
And the last
By the grace of fire and flame,
You are the face of the future, the blood in my veins
Blood in my veins
But this did not happen, they survived, now weakening, now strengthening,
Restrained, limited
And then they broke and they came down in a downpour
It rained down like…
Chorus
- Compare with the phrase “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul” from William Henley’s poem Invictus.
Song quote
…a transition from a darker place to a place full of light.
Dan Reynolds, Radio.com
I consider Believer to be the first song ever written in my career that I can look at from the outside and say, “This is the essence of Imagine Dragons.”
Dan Reynolds, Radio.com
