Composition
"Cherish" is a doo-wop style pop song and opened the second side of Like a Prayer. It begins with the sound of synths and keyboard and Madonna repeatedly singing the words "cherish, cherish". This is followed by the sound from drum machine, as percussion and guitars accompany her voice. During the bridge, Madonna sings the line "Cupid please take your aim at me", as the keyboard sound becomes pronounced. The drum changes its rhythm and Madonna moves into the chorus, "Cherish the joy, of always having you here by my side", accompanied by background vocals and a bass guitar. The second verse continues in the same way, with Madonna singing the line "Romeo and Juliet, they never felt this way I bet, So don't underestimate my point of view."
As the second chorus ends, a saxophone starts playing as Madonna softly asks the listener, "Who? You! Can't get away, won't let you", followed by Leonard's The Association inspired line. Background vocals continue repeating words over a horn, playing in B♭ minor. The drums and the percussion start again and the chorus is sung twice, before fading out. According to the sheet music published by Alfred Publishing Co. Inc., "Cherish" is composed in the time signature of common time, with a moderately fast tempo of 130 beats per minute. Set in the key of D major, "Cherish" has Madonna singing between the tonal nodes of A3 to D5. The song follows the sequence of G/D–D–Em7–D in the beginning as its chord progression, which changes to D–Dm–C–Em7 during the verses and shifts to G–D/G–A–D/F♯ in the chorus.
The lyrics of "Cherish" makes it a simple love song, where Madonna talks about devotion and having her lover by her side, whom she would never leave. According to semiotician Thomas Sebeok, the backbone of "Cherish" is constructed by incorporating titles of previous romantic pop hits. Songs such as "Cupid" (Sam Cooke), "You Are My Destiny" (Paul Anka) and "I Can't Let Go" (The Hollies) are used within the first verse, while other verses use the words of such song titles as "Burning Love" (Elvis Presley) and "Two Hearts" (Bruce Springsteen). Other instances include The Association song reference and Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Richard Burt, author of Shakespeare After Mass Media, deduced that the lines on Rome and Juliet and "I Can't Let Go" makes the speaker alternate between assertiveness and dependency. Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine felt that although "Cherish" was a "radiant" song invoking the pop music of the 60s, "in the grand pop scheme, pales only in comparison to their glorious counterparts, making Like a Prayer one of the quintessential pop albums of all time."
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