| George Michael – Praying For Time Lyrics | 7 years ago |
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Forethought: I think that many of George's songs were very superficial or situational depending on his relationship status, but this song showed he understood and saw the deeper roots of the problems regardless of the media and his own representation of shallowness and materialism. This has always been one of my favorites, if he could see the problems then everyone can. This song is a clear interpretation of the greed and selfishness of humanity, the thoughtless actions that go on, and the media influence. "These are the days of the open hand...etc" is the first phrase of the song referring to everyone having enough but wanting more and greed progressing, getting worse. "Beggars and the choosers" is a phrase used in reference to people who have what they need but choose to want different or more because they can, not because they need. "The hungry man" phrase is a reference to those starving due to lack of compassion and people's ignorance to want and want regardless of what they already have creating deficit to others. It should be something already known because we surpassed the times of true hunger, but now it is a cause of greed. "The rich declare themselves poor etc" is in reference to greed and an insatiable appetite for materialism and money. George had his levels of materialism and want but he has been quoted with wanting to give up collecting money from the public and wanting to allow his music to be free because he didn't need any more money...this phrase in the song comments on the exact opposite, those who never have enough in their own mind regardless of who they hurt, what is right or wrong, and what problems it creates. Aside from the hopelessness in the chorus line, the song also lays thought to the fact that the "wounded skies above say its much too late" referring to the problems with the ozone layer and the hole that was discovered over the Arctic and South American area in the late 80's. This was a new discovery then (song recorded in 1989) during a time when global warming was just coming to be pushed as a big problem and international agreements such as the Montreal Protocol where they were projecting to eliminate CFCs were being broadcasted to all saying we were damaging the ozone layer. The problems of humanity progressing negatively combined with the world being "wounded" were topics for the entire length of the song. He does bring God into the song and that is a way to relate to so many of his listeners as well as his own history given his family, and father specifically, were Greek Cypriots where Orthodox Christianity dominated. His father played a large role in challenging George in his early years and making him work to be as great and famous as he became. Anyway, in most basic christian views, God taught to be kind, be generous, treat each other with respect, love they neighbor, do not covet, pretty much everything humanity has become the opposite of. Christian belief also states that God (specifically Jesus) will return for the final judgement and those who have lived the correct path will be given eternal life spiritually while the others will be cast into hell. The song states that he has given up and there are no good people left to come back for because humanity just keeps getting worse; God quits counting "keeping score" because there is so much wrong and so many people have deviated from the path of truth and righteousness (according to Christianity) so he turns his back and walks away because there is nothing left. (I am not saying George was christian or not but I'm sure given his family history it played some role in his growing up one way or another). This song is a reminder to people that we have strayed so far from what it means to be a good, kind, loving person that "there is no hope to speak of". Greed, anger, hatred, jealousy, envy, closed minds and many other negative progressions exist today and continue. This even effects the "good" in people because "its hard to love, there's so much to hate". "When will it stop" is the emotion that comes with it, the loss of faith in humanity. The sad part is that this song was recorded in the fall of 1989 and released in 1990 on the Listen Without Prejudice album, but this is now 2017, almost 20 years later, and this song still applies...if not even more so now then ever before. |
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