"Somebody Said a Prayer" is a song written by

Neil Thrasher Joe Neil Thrasher Jr. (born July 13, 1965) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Between 1995 and 1997, he and Kelly Shiver comprised the duo Thrasher Shiver, which recorded a studio album for Asylum Records in 1996 and charted two ...

and

Craig Wiseman Craig Michael Wiseman is an American Country music songwriter and producer, and the owner/founder of the Big Loud enterprise. He has been writing since the late 1980s, and his songs have been recorded by Lorrie Morgan, Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney, ...

, and recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artist

Billy Ray Cyrus Billy Ray Cyrus (born August 25, 1961) is an American country singer and actor. He has released 16 studio albums and 53 singles since 1992, and is known for his hit single "Achy Breaky Heart", which topped the U.S. Hot Country Songs chart and ...

. It was released in August 2008 as the first single from the album ''

Back to Tennessee ''Back to Tennessee'' is the eleventh studio album released from country music singer Billy Ray Cyrus. The album was released on April 7, 2009, on Lyric Street Records. It is also the follow-up album to 2007s '' Home at Last''. Originally planned ...

''. The song first charted on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart at number 53 for the chart week of August 16, 2008. "Somebody Said a Prayer" was also made into a music video with a cameo from Cyrus' son,

Trace Cyrus Trace Dempsey Cyrus (born Neil Timothy Helson; February 24, 1989) is an American musician. The son of country singer Billy Ray Cyrus and brother of recording artists Miley Cyrus and Noah Cyrus, he is the backing vocalist and guitarist of the ban ...

Content

The song is a mid-tempo detailing two people — a mother in the first verse, and a teenager in the second verse — both of whom are dealing with stress in their lives. The mother in the first verse "almost let her job, her kids, her mind, her life go up in smoke" and the teen-ager attempted

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

by taking a bottle of pills. Both characters, however, find their lives improved (the mother is now "laughin' and lovin' and content", and the teenager is now seen every week by the narrator). According to the chorus, the two characters' lives were improved because of prayer. The song features backing from a

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

and a string section.

Critical reception

Roughstock.com described the song favorably, saying "'Somebody Said a Prayer' finds Cyrus soaring vocally while the layered production backs him up. Fans of softer country production may not like the 'bombastic' elements of this song all that much because it seems as if it is overshadowing or ompeting withBilly Ray but it's a technique that's been used in pop/ Christian markets for ages… The lyrics are heartfelt and are right on par… If Billy Ray Cyrus was looking at sustaining his music career with 'Somebody Said A Prayer', Billy Ray has certainly delivered a song that will do just that."

Music video

The music video for "Somebody Said a Prayer" first premiered in September 2008. The video was directed by award-winning director,

Roman White Roman White is a music video and film director who has directed most of Carrie Underwood's videos. He has also directed music videos for Taylor Swift, Kelly Clarkson, Florida Georgia Line, Kelsea Ballerini, Cassadee Pope, Josh Groban, Easton Corbin ...

. It also has a cameo from Cyrus' son,

Metro Station A metro station or subway station is a station for a rapid transit system, which as a whole is usually called a "metro" or "subway". A station provides a means for passengers to purchase Train ticket, tickets, board trains, and Emergency eva ...

lead-singer,

. The video focuses around a grieving widow, her teenaged son, and her little girl, who are crushed by the death of her husband. Her little boy walks through the house to his room, after seeing his mother and siblings distraught, and kneels beside his bed to say a prayer. The prayer lifts the spirits of his family, and they join him in his room. In September 2009, the video was nominated for the

Gospel Music Channel UP TV (stylized as UPtv; formerly GMC TV and originally Gospel Music Channel) is an American basic cable television network that was founded to have a focus on gospel music. It has expanded into family-friendly original movies, series, and special ...

's Music Video Awards.

Chart performance

"Somebody Said a Prayer" debuted at number 53 on the ''Billboard''

chart. In September 2008, the song become Cyrus' fifteenth Top 40 single on the country charts. It reached a peak of number 33 on the week of November 15, 2008, giving Cyrus his first solo Top 40 single since "You Won't Be Lonely" reached number 17 in 2000.

References

{{Billy Ray Cyrus singles 2008 singles 2008 songs Billy Ray Cyrus songs Country ballads Songs written by Neil Thrasher Songs written by Craig Wiseman Music videos directed by Roman White Lyric Street Records singles Song recordings produced by Mark Bright (record producer)