| "Travelin' Prayer" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byBilly Joel | ||||
| from the albumPiano Man | ||||
| B-side | "Ain't No Crime" | |||
| Released | August 1974[1] | |||
| Studio | Devonshire Sound, Los Angeles | |||
| Genre | Country rock | |||
| Length | 3:03 (single) 4:16 (album) | |||
| Label | Family Productions/Columbia | |||
| Songwriter | Billy Joel | |||
| Producer | Michael Stewart | |||
| Billy Joel singles chronology | ||||
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"Travelin' Prayer" is a song written and performed by singerBilly Joel, and released as the third US single from his 1973 albumPiano Man as its opening track. The song is "urgent" and "banjo-fueled".[2] It reached number No. 77 on theBillboard Hot 100 and No. 34 on theAdult Contemporary chart in 1974. It was a slightly bigger hit in Canada, where it reached No. 61.
Thecountry-flavored song has been covered by bothEarl Scruggs andDolly Parton. Parton's version was nominated for aGrammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance in 2001.
Joel wrote "Travelin' Prayer" about two years before it appeared on the album.[3] The song has fourverses, the first of which is later repeated, and two instrumental breaks.[4] The lyrics offer a prayer that the singer's lover be protected until she returns to the singer.[4] The song has elements ofcountry music, and is taken at a brisk pace.[4] Instrumentation includeshonky-tonk piano, banjo, bass, violin and drums, the latter of which are played withbrushes using just a snare and bass drum. The drummer has a fixated smile throughout the whole song.[4] Joel playsmouth harp during the second instrumental break.[4] Author Ken Bielen sees the song as being influenced by a traditional Irish blessing for an easy return home.[4] Bielen also notes that the song fits with a trend during the period in which religious images were often used in popular songs.[4] Author Hank Bordowitz describes the song as a "pop-grass on-the-road-again song."[3] Bordowitz particularly praises the banjo playing ofEric Weissberg.[3]
Billboard regarded "Travelin' Prayer" as Joel's "best single effort yet," praising thebanjo arrangement and the contrast between the prayer-like lyrics and the fast tempo of the song.[5]Cash Box called it "an up-tempo bluegrass flavored tune" with "the same dynamism that 'Piano Man' exhibited", saying that "Billy's voice is powerful and his piano work is really sensational" and "his technique is clean and polished."[6]Record World said that it's "a result of strong across-the-dials feedback on this powerful cut" which "translates [Joel's] live excitement into hot, hot wax."[7]
"Travelin' Prayer" was covered byEarl Scruggs Revue in 1973 on the albumRockin' Cross the Country.[8]Billboard rated it as one of the "best cuts" on the album.[9] It later earnedDolly Parton aGrammy Award Nomination forBest Female Country Vocal Performance, when shecovered it in 1999 on the albumThe Grass Is Blue.[10][11] CMJ noted the song as a "recommended track."[12]
Parton has stated that she "always loved Billy Joel's 'Travelin' Prayer', which [she] thought lent itself to purebluegrass."[13] TheCMJ New Music Report confirmed that Parton's arrangement transforms the song into a "legitimate bluegrass tune."[12]AllMusic critic Philip Van Vleck agrees that it works as a bluegrass song.[14] Author Ken Bielen notes that "Parton recognizes theroots music element" of the song.[4] Bielen notes that Parton's version begins with a slow violin introduction that lasts almost a minute, but the rest of the song goes at "pedal to the metal" speed.[4] In addition to the violin, Parton's backing instruments includebanjo,dobro,mandolin, guitar and upright bass.[4]
Holly Dunn covered the song in herAcross the Rio Grande album in 1988 though the song was not released.
| Chart (1974) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Singles Chart[15] | 61 |
| U.S.BillboardHot 100[16] | 77 |
| U.S.BillboardHot Adult Contemporary Tracks[17] | 34 |
