‘Livin' on a Prayer’ is a song by the American rock band Bon Jovi, and is the band's second chart-topping single from their third album Slippery When Wet. Written by Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and Desmond Child, the single, released in late 1986, was well received at both rock and pop radio and its music video was given heavy rotation at MTV, giving the band their first No. 1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart and their second consecutive No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hit.
‘Livin' on a Prayer’ is the band's signature song, topping fan-voted lists and re-charting around the world decades after its release. In 2013, the song was certified triple platinum for over 3 million digital downloads. The official music video reached 1 billion views on YouTube in January 2023.
The song spent two weeks at number one on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, from January 31 to February 14, 1987, and four weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, from February 14 to March 14. It also hit number four on the UK Singles Chart.
In 2006, online voters rated ‘Livin' on a Prayer’ No. 1 on VH1's list of The 100 Greatest Songs of the '80s. It was also No. 1 on the "Sing-a-long Classics List". In the Billboard Hot 100 50th Anniversary list, ‘Livin' on a Prayer’ was named the 46th greatest rock song of all time. In 2021, Rolling Stone ranked the song at number 457 in their updated list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
The song describes two characters, Tommy and Gina, a working-class couple who struggle to make ends meet. Tommy loses his job as a dockworker due to a strike while Gina works as a diner waitress. The storyline was loosely based on real-life events that Jon Bon Jovi and songwriter Desmond Child experienced in the 1970s. Before becoming successful artists and songwriters, Desmond Child and his then-girlfriend, singer-songwriter Maria Vidal, lived together. They had already begun their music careers, but worked day jobs; Child was a taxi driver in New York while Vidal worked as a waitress in a diner named "Once Upon A Stove", similar to Gina in the song. The owner, manager, and other employees of the diner nicknamed Vidal "Gina" due to her slight physical resemblance to Italian actress and photographer Gina Lollobrigida.
"It deals with the way that two kids – Tommy and Gina – face life's struggles," noted Jon Bon Jovi, "and how their love and ambitions get them through the hard times. It's working class and it's real… I wanted to incorporate the movie element, and tell a story about people I knew.”
Label – Mercury
Songwriters – Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, Desmond Child
Producer – Bruce Fairbairn
SONG LYRICS
[Intro]Once upon a time, not so long ago
[Verse 1]
Tommy used to work on the docks
Union's been on strike, he's down on his luck
It's tough
So tough
Gina works the diner all day
Workin' for her man, she brings home her pay
For love
Mm, for love
[Pre-Chorus]
She says, "We've gotta hold on to what we've got
It doesn't make a difference if we make it or not
We've got each other and that's a lot for love
We'll give it a shot"
[Chorus]
Woah, we're halfway there
Woah-oh, livin' on a prayer
Take my hand, we'll make it, I swear
Woah-oh, livin' on a prayer
[Verse 2]
Tommy's got his six-string in hock
Now he's holdin' in, when he used to make it talk
So tough
Ooh, it's tough
Gina dreams of runnin' away
When she cries in the night, Tommy whispers
"Baby, it's okay
Someday"
[Pre-Chorus]
We've gotta hold on to what we've got
It doesn't make a difference if we make it or not
We've got each other and that's a lot for love
We'll give it a shot
[Chorus]
Woah, we're halfway there
Woah-oh, livin' on a prayer
Take my hand, we'll make it I swear
Woah-oh, livin' on a prayer, livin' on a prayer
[Guitar Solo]
[Bridge]
Ooh, we gotta hold on, ready or not
You live for the fight when that's all that you've got
[Chorus]
Woah, we're halfway there
Woah-oh, livin' on a prayer
Take my hand and we'll make it, I swear
Woah-oh, livin' on a prayer
Woah, we're halfway there
Woah-oh, livin' on a prayer
Take my hand and we'll make it, I swear
Woah-oh, livin' on a prayer
Woah, we're halfway there
Woah-oh, livin' on a prayer
Take my hand and we'll make it, I swear
Woah-oh, livin' on a prayer