George Michael - Praying For Time

"Praying for Time" is a song written, produced, and performed by George Michael, released in 1990.

The song is a dark and somber reflection on social ills and injustice. George Michael stated that no event inspired the song, describing it as his way of trying to figure out why it's so hard for people to be good to each other. The song explores themes of poverty, hypocrisy, greed, and humanity's lack of compassion.

Michael explained the song addresses how the media has affected consciousness, teaching people that resources and time are running out, leaving almost no time for compassion.

"Praying for Time" was the first single from his second studio album, Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 (1990), spending one week at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, making it Michael's seventh number one in the US and his last solo single to top the chart. It also reached number one in Canada.

The music video, directed by Michael Borofsky, didn't feature Michael as it only featured the lyrics of the song. This was part of Michael's effort to step away from celebrity and focus on the music itself. As a compromise with his label Columbia, Michael allowed a video where the song's words simply appeared in classy fonts against a black background — essentially creating one of the first lyric videos.

George Michael - Praying For Time Lyrics

Oh-oh, yeah
Mmm
To-do-do, oh-oh

These are the days of the open hand
They will not be the last
Look around now
These are the days of the beggars and the choosers

This is the year of the hungry man
Whose place is in the past
Hand in hand with ignorance
And legitimate excuses

The rich declare themselves poor
And most of us are not sure
If we have too much but we'll take our chances
'Cause God's stopped keeping score
I guess somewhere along the way
He must have let us all out to play
Turned His back and all God's children
Crept out the back door

And it's hard to love
There's so much to hate
Hanging on to hope
When there is no hope to speak of
And the wounded skies above
Say it's much, too much, too late
Well, maybe we should all be praying for time

To-do-do, oh-oh
Mmm, whoa-whoa, yeah

These are the days of the empty hand
Oh, you hold on to what you can
And charity is a coat you wear twice a year
This is the year of the guilty man
Your television takes a stand
And you find that what was over there is over here

So you scream from behind your door
Say what's mine is mine and not yours
I may have too much but I'll take my chances
'Cause God's stopped keeping score
And you cling to the things they sold you
Did you cover your eyes when they told you
That he can't come back 'cause he has no children
To come back for?

It's hard to love
There's so much to hate
Hanging on to hope
When there is no hope to speak of
And the wounded skies above
Say it's much too late
So maybe we should all be praying for time

To-do-do
Oh-oh, yeah