Like A Prayer (song) - Composition

Composition

"Like a Prayer" is a pop rock song that incorporates elements of gospel and funk music. According to the sheet music from Alfred Publishing, it was composed using common time in the key of D minor, with a moderate tempo of 120 beats per minute. Madonna's vocals range from the lower octave of A₃ to the two-lined higher note of F₅. "Like a Prayer" follows a Dm–C–D–Gm–D chord progression in the opening chorus, and a Dm–C–E–C₇–B♭–F–A sequence in the verses. The song begins with the sound of heavy rock guitar that is suddenly cut off after a few seconds, and replaced with the choir and the sound of an organ. Madonna sings the opening lines alongside the light sound of percussion, as drums start during the first verse. The percussion and the choir sound are added interchangeably between the verses and the bridges, until the second chorus. At this point the guitars start flickering from left to right, accompanied by a bubbling sequenced bassline.

Rikky Rooksby, author of The Complete Guide to the Music of Madonna, commented that "Like a Prayer" was the most complex track that Madonna had ever attempted. According to him, the complexity builds up more after the second chorus, in which the choir fully supports Madonna's vocals and she re-utters the opening lines, but this time accompanied by a synthesizer and drum beats. As Madonna sings the lines "Just like a prayer, your voice can take me there, Just like, a muse to me, You're a mystery", an R&B-influenced voice backs her up along with the choir. The song ends with a final repetition of the chorus and the singing of the choir gradually fading out.

Taraborrelli noted in Madonna: An Intimate Biography that the lyrics of the song consist of "a series of button-pushing anomalies". With Madonna's inclusion of double entendres in the lyrics, "Like a Prayer" refers to both the spiritual and the carnal. Taraborrelli felt that the song sounds religious, but with an undertone of sexual tension. This was achieved by the gospel choir, whose voice heightens the song's spiritual nature, while the rock guitar sounds keep it dark and mysterious. Author Lucy O'Brien explained how the song's lyrics describe Madonna receiving a vocation from God: "Madonna is unashamedly her mother's daughter—kneeling alone in private devotion, contemplating God's mystery. She sings of being chosen, of having a calling." The album version features bass guitar played by Randy Jackson, while the 7" version has a different introduction by Pratt, doubled by an analogue Minimoog bass synthesizer. "Like a Prayer" was also remixed as a dance song by Shep Pettibone for Madonna's 1990 compilation album The Immaculate Collection.