PRAYER

  (Music by Rick Springfield, Bob Marlette & Tim Pierce /Words by Rick Springfield)

In my perfect world
There's no need to right the wronged
Laid down my burden
I know I did not carry the weight
Not sure to who
Responsibility belonged
I turned a blind eye
While waiting for the hand of fate
To still the waters
Heal all the broken hearts
And hope it could be done
Without a sacrifice
And maybe
I just wouldn't pay the price
I've fought this long enough

Now I send the prayer to heaven
For the chance to be
A better man than the man I see
I send the prayer to heaven
Lay your hands on me
I ain't a saint but to this I swear
I send the prayer

And now I feel
All I can do is not enough
My Rome is burning
And I'm standing at the deep abyss
But every passion
Started with an act of love
And every act of love started with a single kiss
Father, father
Your gift was my world of light
And I've betrayed you with
A single Judas kiss
I've been my own executioner
But it's not just me anymore

Now I send the prayer to heaven
For the chance to be
A better man than the man I see
I send the prayer to heaven
Lay your hands on me
I ain't a saint but to this I swear

Burn my wasted pride
Open your heart to this
There's a voice that's crying
Somewhere deep inside my soul - for shelter

Now I send the prayer to heaven
For the chance to be
A better man than the man I see
I send the prayer to heaven
Lay your hands on me
I ain't a saint but to this I swear

Now I send the prayer to heaven
For the chance to be
A better man than the man I see
I send the prayer to heaven
Lay your hands on me
I ain't a saint but to this I swear

Now I send a prayer to heaven
I send a prayer to heaven...


(total playing time 4:01)

Rick says:
Clean up your own back yard. It was originally a 'save the world' type thing but I rewrote the words at the last minute. It's one of my favorite choruses on the album. - melodicrock.com

Song Facts: This can be found on Karma.

 According to US

I've been waiting for someone else to point out some of the obvious similarities this song has with some others, and heck since no one else has done it yet I guess I'll have to be the one to get it out of the way. The music sounds like Tears for Fears "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" and the words remind me of Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror", or any other "better man" songs that are out there. The Tears for Fears sound didn't strike me until I was shopping one day, and the song started up in the mall I was walking through. For one brief moment my heart started that racy thing it does when it hears Rick's music unexpectedly, but then my head realized it wasn't Rick I was hearing and it made my heart stop doing that. 

Don't get me wrong. This is an excellent song, continues on with the same theme carried out in the whole album of Karma, and carries quite a punch in the lyrics that make you stop and think. Knowing what I know now about Rick and about how personal most of his songs are, I was kind of taken aback at the harshness of the words. I kept thinking that Rick was really beating himself up on this song, and someone should really tell him that for all the bad he thinks he has done in his life, it was his lyrics that "saved" a lot of teenage girls in their formative years. I was one of them. It also got me thinking that if Rick thinks he needs to be a better man, well then I've got some cleaning up of my own to do.

I've always disliked the fact that this song started up immediately at the end of a live show (for most of the Karma & GHAlive tour). Firstly, because it meant that the show was over and he wasn't coming back out. :-) Secondly, it seemed like a waste because not that many people heard it and/or paid attention to it. If they did hear it, it always sounded a bit distorted so they weren't really sure if that was Rick they were hearing anyway (if they didn't own Karma). Then I began to think that maybe Rick was trying to send out some kind of subliminal message to the masses that they needed leave this show trying to be a better person. Which is actually a good message to receive when you are leaving a Detroit venue after a concert! (Have you ever tried to get out of Pine Knob in a timely and orderly fashion? It's just not possible.)

Now that I've said more than Rick has about this song....I will sum it up by agreeing with Rick that it is one of my favorite choruses on the album. I find myself humming it to myself way after I'm done listening, even though I wouldn't list this song as one of my favorites.  - Michelle P.

This is one of my absolute favorites on the album. Another song full of lessons plus I"ve always thought the tune was catchy. I can listen to this when I want to be quiet, when I need to think, but I can also listen to it when I'm working out or want to be happy. It's a good all purpose tune.

I love the way the language of this song is crafted: "Not sure to who responsibility belonged..." "There's no need to right the wronged..". "My Rome is burning and I'm standing at the deep abyss." There is just a flow and a feel to these words that we've heard a million times that seems so effortless but is really powerful. 

I also like that the message here is pretty straightforward. "I send a prayer to heaven, for the chance to be a better man than the man I see...I ain't a saint but to this I swear..I send a prayer..." Like no one is perfect, but we are all trying. 

There's also a neat dichotomy/analogy between his religious references "Father father...your gift was my world of light..." and the plain meaning of talking to his father. The lines could be taken either way, since his father has passed and ostensibly in Heaven to be prayed to.

Finally, I love this song because it says Rick is just like the rest of us: "There's a voice crying somewhere deep inside my soul for shelter..." Just a man (an "ordinary man") trying to do the best he can. What's not to love about that? - Amy SP

When I was first listening to this cd, this is the song that really grabbed me and really effected me the most. It actually threw me into a bit of a panic - I'm not doing enough with my life, I need to be a better person, I need to do more to make the world a better place. I was in a total tailspin and in such a deep depression for about a month (gee thanks Rick :-). It really did make me look deeper. I agree with Rick's comments on this song, a very powerful chorus.
This seems to go so hand and hand with the song Karma and something I tend to forget, especially lately. We need to look into ourselves, be a better person, and not worry so much about the people around us and what they are doing and what they are getting, just that we are being the best person we can be, and the payoff in that should be immeasurable.

This is so profound:
While waiting for the hand of fate 
To still the waters
Heal all the broken hearts
And hope it could be done 
Without a sacrifice
And maybe 
I just wouldn't pay the price 

Wanting something but not wanting to pay the price. I actually think this song probably has an even better lesson in it than Karma does, kind of personalizing it to human behavior and personal responsibility.