Bob Seger releases cover of Lou Reed's Busload Of Faith

Singer-songwriter Bob Seger has released a cover version of Lou Reed’s Busload Of Faith. Taken from his upcoming album I Knew You When, the song originally appeared on Reed’s classic 1989 album New York.

In what appears to be a thinly veiled criticism of US President Donald Trump, Seger has changed some of the song’s lyrics, altering the original’s “You can’t depend on any churches / Unless there’s real estate you want to buy” to read “You can’t depend on the President / Unless there’s real estate you want to buy.”

Click to play.

In 1989, Reed talked to World Of Rock Radio about Busload Of Faith: “For Europe, I wanted the lyrics translated for the various countries, because the lyrics are important. So we picked four countries. When we checked in with Italy, it seemed to be a mistake to bring it to their attention, because when they came back to me they said, ‘we’re afraid we’ll get into difficulty with papal law [regulations made or adopted by The Vatican for members of the Catholic Church]’.

“So I asked what the lines were they objected to, so we could just leave them blank, and they said it wasn’t the individual lines the objected to, but the ideas behind the song. They don’t want the lyrics there: not in Italian, and not in English.”

Seger is currently playing in the US on his Runaway Train tour, which includes this evening’s final show to be performed at Detroit’s famed Palace Of Auburn Hills venue. The tour finishes in Chicago on November 17, the day I Knew You When is released.

Tour Dates

Every Bob Seger Album ranked, from Worst to Best