Billy Joel - Travelin' Prayer

Fictional single cover. Photo: Don Hunstein

Said now if this song seems strange
It's just because I don't know how to pray

Fans of Billy's music must have been surprised to put Billy's second album Piano Man on their stereo and hear the country song "Travelin' Prayer" kick off the record. The song is an unabashedly country song, complete with a catchy banjo solo by Eric Weissberg. Like many other recording artists in the early 70s, as well as filmmakers, Billy was interested in America's country and western roots (e.g., Elton John's Tumbleweed Connection, and Bob Dylan's work on the Sam Peckinpah movie Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid). "Travelin' Prayer" was one of several country-tinged songs that would appear on Billy's early albums. And it works. Although he is just a kid from New York, Billy sounds genuinely country, both lyrically and musically.

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Travelin' Prayer
Piano Man (1973)

Hey Lord, take a look all around tonight
And find where my baby's gonna be.
Hey Lord, would ya look out for her tonight
'Cause she is far across the sea.
Hey Lord, would ya look out for her tonight
And make sure that she's gonna be alright
And things are gonna be alright with me.

Hey Lord, would ya look out for her tonight
And make sure that all her dreams are sweet.
Said now, would ya guide her along the roads
And make them softer for her feet.
Hey Lord, would ya look out for her tonight
And make sure that she's gonna be alright
Until she's home and here with me.

Hey, Lord would ya look out for her tonight
If she is sleepin' under the sky.
Said now, make sure the ground she's sleepin' on
Is always warm and dry.
Mmm, don't you give her too much rain,
Try to keep her away from pain
Because my baby hates to cry.

Hey Lord, would ya look out for her tonight
'Cause it gets rough along the way.
Said now if this song seems strange it's just because
I don't know how to pray.
Mmm, won't you give her peace of mind,
And if you ever find the time
Won't ya tell her I miss her every day.

Hey Lord, take a look all around tonight
And find where my baby's gonna be.
Hey Lord, would ya look out for her tonight
'Cause she is far across the sea.
Hey Lord, would ya look out for her tonight
And make sure that she's gonna be alright
Until she's home and here with me.
With me.

Billy stated during his live concert on WMMR in 1971 that he wrote the song as a sort of prayer for a friend who was about to embark on a trip to Europe. Since Billy was not religious and didn't know how to pray, he wrote "Travelin' Prayer." Billy discusses the composition of the song on Sirius XM radio in 2016. Click on the player below.

Billy on "Travelin' Prayer" from SiriusXM (audio)

Many years later, Dolly Parton covered the song on her 1999 album, The Grass Is Blue, which received the Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass album. She also received a Grammy nomination for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for the song. This made "Travelin' Prayer" Billy's second-most popular country song, next to Garth Brooks' 1991 cover of "Shameless."

Dolly Parton: "I've always loved Billy Joel's 'Travelin' Prayer', which I thought lent itself to pure bluegrass." Billboard (9-25-09)

Videos

A live performance of "Travelin' Prayer" from 1975 on the television program The Midnight Special. Another live performance from 1975 on the Old Grey Whistle Test can be seen here.

Another good live performance from 1978 on German television (Live at Musikladen).

Dolly Parton was nominated for a Grammy for her rendition of "Travelin' Prayer" in 2001. This is a fan video that incorporates some of her performance of the song at the CMAs in 2001.

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