Believer

“Believer” is about deriving love and goodness from pain and sadness. Pain has pushed the singer through good and bad times and made them stronger, healthier, and more motivated. Dan Reynolds says that while Smoke+Mirrors was written during a very dark time in his life, Believer and the rest of Album 3 represent his transition from that darkness to “a place of color and reflection and emotion." The song marked the end of Imagine Dragons' hiatus following the release of their 2015 sophomore album Smoke + Mirrors.

[Verse 1] 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, oh-ooh The way that things have been, oh-ooh [Verse 2] Second things second Don't you tell me what you think that I could be I'm the one at the sail I'm the master of my sea, oh-ooh The master of my sea, oh-ooh [Pre-Chorus] I was broken from a young age Taking my sulkin' to the masses Writing my poems for the few That look at me, took to me, shook at me, feelin' me Singing from heartache from the pain Taking 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! You break me down, you build me up Believer, believer Pain! Oh, let the bullets fly, oh, let them rain My life, my love, my drive, it came from… Pain! You made me a, you made me a Believer, believer [Verse 3] Third things third Send a prayer to the ones up above All the hate that you've heard Has turned your spirit to a dove, oh-ooh Your spirit up above, oh-ooh [Pre-Chorus] I was chokin' 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, ebbin' and flowin' Inhibited, limited 'til it broke open and rained down It rained down, like… [Chorus] Pain! You made me a, you made me a Believer, believer Pain! You break me down, you build me up Believer, believer Pain! Oh, let the bullets fly, oh, let them rain My life, my love, my drive, it came from… Pain! You made me a, you made me a Believer, believer [Verse 4] Last things last By the grace of the fire and the flames You're the face of the future The blood in my veins, oh-ooh The blood in my veins, oh-ooh [Pre-Chorus] But they never did, ever lived, ebbin' and flowin' Inhibited, limited 'til it broke open and rained down It rained down, like… [Chorus] Pain! You made me a, you made me a Believer, believer Pain! You break me down, you build me up Believer, believer Pain! Oh, let the bullets fly, oh, let them rain My life, my love, my drive, it came from… Pain! You made me a, you made me a Believer, believer