"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 Wales ...

band Bon Jovi's sixth studio album, ''

These Days These Days may refer to: Music Albums * ''These Days'' (Bon Jovi album), and the title song (see below) ** These Days Tour, a 1995–1996 tour by Bon Jovi in support of the above album * ''These Days'' (Crystal Gayle album), 1980 * ''These ...

'' (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, Finland, Iceland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

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 said that 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 after discussing the incident with Jon Bon Jovi, they wrote "Hey God".

Chart performance

The song charted at number 13 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and number 44 on Canada's ''

RPM Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines. Standards ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...

'' 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 wa ...

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 A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

" (live) – 4:00 # "

Livin' on a Prayer "Livin' on a Prayer" is a song by the American rock band Bon Jovi, and is the band's second chart-topping single from their third album '' Slippery When Wet''. Written by Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and Desmond Child, the single, released in ...

" – 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. It originally ran on the Fox network from January 21, 2009, to January 31, 2011. In the show, Dr. Cal Lightman (Tim Roth) and his colleagues in The Lightma ...

" (remix) – 4:40 European CD single # "Hey God" (edit) – 4:47 # "

" (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 music duo Simon & Garfunkel from their fourth studio album, '' Bookends'' (1968). Written specifically for the 1967 film ''The Graduate'', the song was released as a single on April 5, 1968, by Columbia Re ...

" (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 performed by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can be manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or t ...

" (live) – 3:29 # " Tumblin' Dice" (live) – 4:17 # "Heaven Help Us" (live) – 4:34

Charts

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