“She Believes In Me” by Kenny Rogers

It’s challenging to choose exactly what category to classify “She Believes in Me” under. It’s easy to call it a love song, considering that the titular “she” is the singer’s significant other and all. But honestly the lyrics being relayed are more indicative of his frustration than anything else.

Kenny Rogers (1938-2020) was a master storyteller during his heyday. And even though this classic has a romantic premise, what is really going down is that the singer is largely lamenting the fact that he is putting the woman he loves through financial hell, so to speak.

He has assured her that he could in fact make a decent living for the both of them via a music career. But that has not proven to be the case. Instead the implication is that not only has he failed to make any money as a musician, but overall they’re living under depressing monetary conditions. And this is at least partially due to the fact that he continues to pursue said music career, even though logically speaking at this point he should have given up already.

Conclusion

So conclusively we can say that this is a song of celebration, albeit a pathetic one if you will. For amidst his financial impotence, the singer is actually celebrating – in a humble, one could even say pitiful sort of way – that his woman still believes in him. But all lyrics considered, the word ‘believe’ may be sort of an overstatement. It’s more like even though she – and even the singer himself to some extent – have lost faith in the prospect of him having a fruitful music career, she still remains by his side.

“She Believes In Me” Facts

This is the second and final single from Kenny Rogers’ classic “The Gambler” album. The United Artists Group issued the track on 16 April 1979. The album’s first single was the iconic hit “The Gambler“.

Kenny Rogers did not write “She Believes In Me”. It was penned by an artist named Steve Gibb. And the producer of the track was one of Kenny’s regular collaborators, Larry Butler.

“She Believes in Me” is considered to be a crossover hit in that it topped Billboard’s Hot Country Songs as well as its Adult Contemporary listing. It should be noted that the former was a genre in which Kenny Rogers had already established himself.  Furthermore, it accomplished the same feat on Canada’s RPM charts. It also managed to impressively peak at number 5 on the iconic Hot 100.

This classic has been covered by other artists throughout the years, such as Johnny Mathis in 1979 but most notably Irish singer Ronan Keating in 2003, as he did so to notable international success.