The song that hid more than a love story

Due to the immense popularity of the song "Don't Stop Believin'", which has appeared in numerous series for years, from "The Sopranos" to "Glee", many would think that the band Journey had dominated the Billboard charts for years.

However, although the song reached 18x platinum in the United States, upon its release in 1981, it only reached number nine on the Billboard charts.

Interestingly, the singles "Who's Crying Now" and "Open Arms", released from the same album "Escape", achieved even better placement.

Although today they are considered one of the most recognizable American rock bands, Journey did not achieve the success that one might have expected during the early stages of their career. They never reached number one on the main Billboard charts, and after the 1987 album “Raised on Radio”, the band went on hiatus until 1995.

The comeback was followed by the album "Trial by Fire", and many fans believed that it would mark a new chapter in the band's career.

One of the reasons for the original split was frontman Steve Perry, who decided to retire from the music industry due to physical and mental exhaustion. His return after eight years was seen by many as a sign that he had found his motivation again, but it turned out that “Trial by Fire” would be the last album he recorded with the band after the reunion.

The album yielded the hit "When You Love a Woman," which topped Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart and peaked at number 12 on the mainstream chart. However, Perry was also struggling personally during this period.

He was diagnosed with a degenerative hip disease that required surgery, which he was reluctant to undergo. At the same time, he realized that his love for music had not returned as he had expected.

Many see "When You Love a Woman" as a classic love ballad about heartbreak and the belief that true love still exists. However, some music critics believe that the lyrics may have a deeper meaning, reflecting Perry's disillusionment with the music industry and a feeling that he had not found his place where he belonged.

It wasn't the first time he'd considered quitting music. His first band, Alien Project, broke up after the bassist was killed in a car accident, causing Perry to seriously consider ending his career. It was then that he received an invitation from Journey's management to join the band, and his mother convinced him to accept the offer.

Journey gave him a new lease on life, but two decades later he felt he had to leave again.

Health problems forced him to permanently leave the band in 1998, after numerous concerts were canceled due to his condition. He only returned as a solo artist in 2018.

The reason for this return, as he later discovered, was love.

After numerous failed relationships, he met Kelly Nash, a psychologist and breast cancer survivor, in 2011. The moment they began dating, her disease returned, and she passed away a year later.

In an interview with The Guardian in 2018, Peri admitted that he knew their love wouldn't last long.

"I grieved for two years. It was a whole new level of heartbreak. I was completely broken. I went through all that and then, all of a sudden, I started writing music again," he said.

This is precisely why some critics believe that the song "When You Love a Woman" is not just a love ballad, but also a reflection of a period in which Steve Perry was lost between his private life and his musical career, long before he found peace and inspiration for a new beginning.