‘Don’t Stop Believin’: 6 Surprising Facts About The Hit Journey Song

She was just a small town girl living in a lonely world, and he was just a city boy born and raised in South Detroit. Soon they both took a midnight train going anywhere, and the rest is history. But what is the song "Don't Stop Believin'" really about and whose father was the inspiration for the song's iconic name? These are the things that inquiring minds want to know and questions they're about to get the answers to.

"Don't Stop Believin'" is the song released in 1981 by Grammy nominated rock and roll band Journey, consisting of lead singer Steve Perry , lead guitarist Neal Schon , bassist Ross Valory , rhythm guitarist George Tickner , keyboardist Jonathan Cain and drummer Aynsley Dunbar . Over time, "Don't Stop Believin'" would become the band's most famous and well-known song, finding itself selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Recording Registry. Keep reading to learn facts about "Don't Stop Believin'" that helped it get there.

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1. The chorus doesn't appear for quite a long time

"Don't Stop Believin'" is 4 minutes and 11 seconds long, filled with great verses, a bridge and glorious instrumental breaks. However, the song's chorus doesn't start until 3 minutes and 21 seconds in, also serving as the track's end.

2. The song's title came from Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain

The song's iconic name, "Don't Stop Believin'," came from keyboardist Jonathan Cain, who was attempting to honor his father.

"It was all based on some advice my father had given me back when I was struggling in Hollywood ," Cain explained. "My dog got hit by a car and I had to put her back together. It was a $900 vet bill and I’m barely making my rent. I call my dad up and said, 'I need a loan. ... Am I just dreaming? Should I just come back to Chicago?'"

"He said, 'I’ll give you the loan, you gotta stay put. ... And he said, ' Son, don’t stop believin .' I was like, 'That’s beautiful, Dad.'. I had my little lyric book, and I’m doodling "Don’t stop believin.' This was in the '70s. So, I took my lyric books with me and my spirals with me all up to San Francisco and (had them) when (Journey) asked me to join."

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3. "Don't Stop Believin'" was the band's second single for their album Escape

"Don't Stop Believin'," appears on Journey's seventh studio album, Escape , which was released in 1981. It was the second single for the album, and is the first song to appear on the record.

4. "Don't Stop Believin'" was written by three of the band members

The iconic song was written by lead singer Steve Perry, lead guitarist Neal Schon and keyboardist Jonathan Cain.

"The lyric is a strong lyric about not giving up, but it’s also about being young," Perry explained. "It’s also about hanging out, not giving up and looking for that emotion hiding somewhere in the dark that we’re all looking for. It’s about having hope and not quitting when things get tough, because I’m telling you — things get tough for everybody .”

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5. The song did not hit number one on the Billboard charts

When "Don't Stop Believin'" hit the music scene in 1981, the song reached number nine on the Billboard music charts. But over time, the song nonetheless grew into one of the band's most well-known songs of all time. In 2009, it also became the top selling track in iTunes history.

6. Facts about "Don't Stop Believin'": The song was remade in 2009

A large reason the song became so popular in 2009 was because of the cover version presented on Fox's Glee musical comedy series that aired for six seasons.

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The song actually appeared on the show seven times: First in the "Pilot" (2009), then again briefly in the episode "The Rhodes Not Taken" (2009), before being sung in the season finale "Journey to Regionals" (2010). It would make an appearance again in the season four episode "Sweet Dreams" (2013), and a season later in "New Directions" (2014). Lastly, it was in the shows finale "2009" (2015).