Lyrics to
Too Late For Prayin’

This version of Too Late For Prayin’ was released by Gordon Lightfoot in 1974.

Here's more interesting things in songs and lyrics tied to Gordon Lightfoot or about the 1970s in general.

It was only yesterday
When I heard the teacher say
Patiently, one and two make three
We were children, you and me
Let us pray for the ones they call
The children of today
Nothin’ left but promises
Nothin’ much is certain
All we see is want and need across the board, why thank you lord
We’re livin’ in the glory of your care
Skies of blue have all turned brown
To the sound of cryin
Lord abide, let us stem the tide
Of broken dreams
Sometimes you seem to tell us
It’s too late for prayin’

See the ocean wild and blue
Think of all that’s in her
She will not surrender to the likes of us, but then she must
They tell us, wise men tell us, it’s too late
For each child with eyes that smile
There’ll be ten more cryin’
Lord abide, let us stem the time
Of helplessness
But then I guess we’re livin’
Is it too late for prayin’

Nothin’ here but grains of sand
Nothin’ much worth savin’
Guess we’ve all got problems of our own to bear, and still we share
Tomorrow could get better than today
To the ones who’ve loved in vain
Will ya be beholden
Lord abide, let us stem the tide
Of broken dreams
Sometimes ya seem to tell us
It’s too late for prayin’

---

Gordon Lightfoot has released many songs over the years besides Too Late For Prayin’. Gordon Lightfoot released songs from 1966 to 2004 spanning across albums like Lightfoot!, The Way I Feel, Back Here On Earth, Did She Mention My Name, Sunday Concert, Sit Down Young Stranger / If You Could Read My Mind, Summer Side Of Life, Don Quixote, Old Dan's Records, Sundown, Cold On The Shoulder, Summertime Dream, Endless Wire, Dream Street Rose, Shadows, Salute, East Of Midnight, Waiting For You, A Painter Passing Through, and Harmony. Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by Gordon Lightfoot.

If you're a fan of 1970s songs looking for more songs from 1974 or the 1970s overall, you've come to the right place!

The lyrics for Too Late For Prayin’ are made up of the words, verses and background chorus for the popular 1974 song by Gordon Lightfoot. Like a lot of songs, the lyrics to Too Late For Prayin’ have both direct meanings and metaphorical context hidden within the song's words. All of the meanings are only truly known by the creators of the lyrics for Too Late For Prayin’ - Gordon Lightfoot and any of the writers who worked with them on the song.

If you have an interest in the structure of words and phrases, you can dissect the lyrics to Too Late For Prayin’ by Gordon Lightfoot in multiple ways. The word "lyric" itself derives from the Latin word lyricus, with the actual English word lyrics applied to the definition "words set to music" listed in Stainer and Barrett's 1876 Dictionary of Musical Terms. Continuing the chain, the Latin word lyricus derives from the Greek word λυρικός or lyrikós. This somewhat means "poetry accompanied by the lyre" or "words set to music." You can easily see that by looking at the background of the word lyric, that the "lyrics to Too Late For Prayin’" means the words set to the music of Too Late For Prayin’, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by Gordon Lightfoot. The singular form "lyric" is still used to mean the complete words to a song. However, the singular form lyric is also commonly used to refer to a specific line (or phrase) within a song's lyrics. Hence, by this analysis of word structure, you could say that the lyric to Too Late For Prayin’ and the lyrics to Too Late For Prayin’ are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of Gordon Lightfoot who came here looking just for the lyrics to Too Late For Prayin’, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

More Songs & Lyrics by Gordon Lightfoot

Visit our Gordon Lightfoot profile for more Gordon Lightfoot songs, lyrics & info!

)