Last week I wondered how many people in this country have swayed to “Try” or another Blue Rodeo composition as their first wedding song. Which got me thinking about mine, a song that I still love today a couple of calendar flips shy of 30 years later.
Utterly obscure at the time, John Hiatt’s “Have a Little Faith in Me” appeared on the now officially great American roots singer-songwriter’s 1987 album “Bring the Family.”
Propelled by its simple piano score and poignant lyrics – “Come here darlin’/
from a whisper start” – and, no doubt, the endorsement of our wedding, the song became perhaps the most beloved in his repertoire and has gone on to be used in close to a dozen movie scores over the years and covered copiously by the likes of Joe Cocker, Bon Jovi, and even a bouncier version by Mandy Moore.
Hiatt, who once said he only writes a piano song about once every seven years, re-recorded a slicker version of the song himself for later anthologies, but the raw, heartfelt emotion of the original, the first song he recorded after overcoming drug and alcohol abuse and following the suicide of his estranged wife, is unsurpassed.
And should you happen to be looking, wedding worthy indeed.
This performance comes from a German TV show the year of the song’s release.
Lyrics
When the road gets dark
And you can no longer see
Just let my love throw a spark
And have a little faith in me
And when the tears you cry
Are all you can believe
Just give these loving arms a try
And have a little faith in me
And
Have a little faith in me
Have a little faith in me
Have a little faith in me
Have a little faith in me
When your secret heart
Cannot speak so easily
Come here darlin’
From a whisper start
To have a little faith in me
And when your back’s against the wall
Just turn around and you will see
I will catch, I will catch your fall baby
Just have a little faith in me
Have a little faith in me
Have a little faith in me
Have a little faith in me
Have a little faith in me
Well, I’ve been loving you for such a long, long time
Expecting nothing in return just for you to have a little faith in me
‘Cause see time, time is our friend
‘Cause for us there is no end
And all you gotta do is a have a little faith in me
I will hold you up
I will hold you up
And your love gives me strength enough to have a little faith in me
Oh, heeeeey, oh darlin’
Have a little faith in me