Life is a mystery
Everyone must stand alone
I hear you call my name
And it feels like home

When you call my name it's like a little prayer
I'm down on my knees, I wanna take you there
In the midnight hour I can feel your power
Just like a prayer, you know I'll take you there

I hear your voice
It's like an angel sighing
I have no choice, I hear your voice
Feels like flying
I close my eyes
Oh God, I think I'm falling
Out of the sky, I close my eyes
Heaven help me

When you call my name it's like a little prayer
I'm down on my knees, I wanna take you there
In the midnight hour I can feel your power
Just like a prayer, you know I'll take you there

Like a child
You whisper softly to me
You're in control just like a child
Now I'm dancing
It's like a dream
No end and no beginning
You're here with me, it's like a dream
Let the choir sing

When you call my name it's like a little prayer
I'm down on my knees, I wanna take you there
In the midnight hour I can feel your power
Just like a prayer, you know I'll take you there
When you call my name it's like a little prayer
I'm down on my knees, I wanna take you there
In the midnight hour I can feel a power
Just like a prayer you know I'll take you there

Life is a mystery
Everyone must stand alone
I hear you call my name
And it feels like home

Just like a prayer
Your voice can take me there
Just like a muse to me
You are a mystery
Just like a dream
You are not what you seem
Just like a prayer
No choice, your voice can take me there

Just like a prayer, I'll take you there
It's like a dream to me
Just like a prayer, I'll take you there (I'll take you there)
It's like a dream to me (oh)
Just like a prayer, I'll take you there (I'll take you there)
It's like a dream to me (yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)
Just like a prayer, I'll take you there (oh)
It's like a dream to me

Just like a prayer
Your voice can take me there
Just like a muse to me
You are a mystery
Just like a dream
You are not what you seem
Just like a prayer
No choice, your voice can take me there

Just like a prayer
Your voice can take me there
Just like a muse to me
You are a mystery
Just like a dream
You are not what you seem
Just like a prayer
No choice, your voice can take me there
Your voice can take me there
Like a prayer

(It's like a prayer)
(It's like a prayer)
(Your voice can take me there)
(It's like a prayer)
(It's like a prayer)
(Your voice can take me there)
(It's like a prayer)


Lyrics submitted by Novartza, edited by Prettydoll_Pebetsi

Like a Prayer Lyrics as written by Madonna Ciccone Patrick Leonard

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, MUSIC.INFO FINLAND OY, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Like a Prayer song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

111 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +10
    General Comment

    I cant believe how many people think this is about a blowjob. Its ridiculous.

    Tbis song is about the correlation between being in love and having a relgious experience. Let me break it down.

    "Life is a mystery, everyone must stand alone I hear you call my name And it feels like home"

    Ok, here she is saying that she loves this person so much that when she hears him call her name she feels safe and secure kind of like someone who has been saved feels safe in the home of God's kingdom.

    "When you call my name it's like a little prayer I'm down on my knees, I wanna take you there In the midnight hour I can feel your power Just like a prayer you know I'll take you there"

    Again, its like prayer has been answered that she has fallen so madly in love. Also, some religons are known for late night masses such as Catholics and their midnight masses where the "power" of the Lord is felt.

    "I hear your voice, it's like an angel sighing I have no choice, I hear your voice Feels like flying I close my eyes, Oh God I think I'm falling Out of the sky, I close my eyes Heaven help me"

    When she hears his voice, its melodic and soothing like an angel singing and being in love with him is like walking on air. Falling out of the sky refers to the intensity that she is falling for me and "Heaven help me" is saying she is out of control with her feeling.

    "Like a child you whisper softly to me You're in control just like a child Now I'm dancing It's like a dream, no end and no beginning You're here with me, it's like a dream Let the choir sing"

    This refers to being love just like being a child with not a care in the world.In other words, her love is a dream, something she hopes to never wakes up from.

    The on my knees bit is not a blow job but symbolizes prayer in relgion and in love which she is praying to. This song shows how we as people tend to put more faith in the ones we "love" than the ones that created us. I hate religon and this song was the easiest to figure out. A blowjob? Perverts I say.

    acidsexon December 11, 2005   Link
  • +7
    General Comment

    The song isn't about a blowjob or worshipping the devil!

    If you look at the lyrics of the song, other songs in the album, and even parts of the music video, the answer seems clear to me - Madonna is questioning her faith as a Catholic/Christian, and is looking to god (the power itself, not of a religion) for an answer. There is so much hypocrasy in religion that she's found it hard to believe everything that she was taught to believe from the bible. This also explains why there's a burning of a cross in the music video. The controversy of it is an added bonus for her as well. Finally, not long after Like a Prayer, Madonna started getting interested and involved with Kabbalah. Therefore, the song is about religion, NOT a sexual experience.

    mmm10on January 29, 2010   Link
  • +7
    My Interpretation

    I don't understand why some people find it so outrageous that it could be about giving a Blowjob... I think 'I wanna take you there' gives you enough of an idea that shes talking about a loved one. And it's not religious... 'It's like a little prayer'. 'A little prayer' takes all the seriousness off of a religious message... she's just on her knees trying to get him off. It's cute I think... People attribute blowjobs to kinkiness and sluttiness... but no... she likes the man enough to make the effort to get him off...

    vix993on February 06, 2012   Link
  • +6
    General Comment

    this song is definitely about something sexual. I mean HELLO, this is a madonna song. Maybe it is about "heavenly sex" or what someone had stated before, or a blow job. but it definitely has little to do with actual religion. The song is titled "LIKE a prayer"...like is the key word

    hellogoodbye11on June 25, 2007   Link
  • +6
    General Comment

    Sorry, but I agree that it's about a sexual experience (not specifically a blowjob, but that does work).

    To be more exact, my interpretation was it's a more submissive girl singing to someone more dominant over her. She may be considering him almost as her god, hence the religous sounding references. But the sexual references are too blatent for it to just be a "religous experience".

    apologies about my english, not my first language

    koyisxoxoon July 27, 2010   Link
  • +5
    General Comment

    I think it is about love that is so freely spirited that she feels like she is having a religous experience. You have to read between the lines or you will think it is about a blow job. You can have lots of fun trying to interpret Madonna's songs.

    suttonmomon November 28, 2004   Link
  • +4
    General Comment

    I think the song is about a woman giving a guy a blowjob.

    "I'm down on my knees, I wanna take you there In the midnight hour I can feel your power"

    Those two lines are repeated throughout the song and this is just my interpretation of it. I would like to know what everyone else thinks.

    SoylentBlueon May 14, 2002   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    to the person above me.... you shoudnt be a fan of madonna if the thought of a heavenly sexual experience makes you sick to your stomach.. you probably don`t understand half of her songs :/

    jasssson April 21, 2007   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    It sounds too romantic to be about a bj...:/ I think it's the way someone feels in the beginning of falling in love. "In the midnight hour i can feel your power", she probably can't stop thinking about him no matter where he is. She's started to worship him like a god, he makes her "feel like home"

    moulin.rouge2001on December 06, 2007   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    i think its a sexual song. she talks about "falling", and "heaven help me" its like a religious reference to her love turning to LUST. its like doin something wrong but it feels so right. hahaha

    l_gamblezon November 07, 2008   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him. There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Album art
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Album art
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988. "'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it." "There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Album art
Just A Little Lovin'
Dusty Springfield
I don't think it's necessarily about sex. It's about wanting to start the day with some love and affection. Maybe a warm cuddle. I'm not alone in interpreting it that way! For example: "'Just a Little Lovin’ is a timeless country song originally recorded by Eddy Arnold in 1954. The song, written by Eddie Miller and Jimmy Campbell, explores the delicate nuances of love and showcases Arnold’s emotive vocals. It delves into the universal theme of love and how even the smallest gesture of affection can have a profound impact on our lives." https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-just-a-little-lovin-by-eddy-arnold/
Album art
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.