The Annotated "Believe It Or Not"

Lyrics omitted. The annotations below are reproduced by permission of David Dodd; the song lyrics themselves are copyrighted and are not reproduced here. Read them at the official source: dead.net/songs.

• Key: C
• Time signature: 3/4 (Directions: "In one")
• Chords used: G, E-flat, B-flat, F, D7, G6, Fmaj7,Am, Em, B, Em7, A7, B7

Recorded for Built to Last, but not included.

Songbook availability:

• Anthology II

First performance: June 23, 1988, at Alpine Valley Music Theatre in East Troy, Wisconsin. "Believe It Or Not" appeared in the second spot in the second set, following "Hey Pocky Way" and preceding "Man Smart, Woman Smarter." The other first in the show was "Blackbird." Performed seven times between its debut and 1990.

Note: Carl Anderson, of Bellingham, Washington, called to say that the song was actually first played on February 26, 1977, at the Swing Auditorium in San Bernardino, California. Any solid evidence out there?

This note from a reader:

Subject: believe it or not
Date: Thu, 7 May 1998 17:59:33 EDT
From: PMayerAdv

I have the complete swing auditorium 2-26-77 show, and 'believe it or not' is not included on it.... stylistically, it's fairly obvious that the song would not have been played then