The song George Michael wrote to attack the media
The late Wham! frontman George Michael had a complicated relationship with the media. Unsurprisingly, he used his music to outline his feelings about this dynamic, with one of his most celebrated solo songs critiquing the media for how he believed it negatively affects humanity. A comprehensive demonstration of Michael’s brilliance as a songwriter, it’s an effective analysis of where the power lies in the world.
The track in question is ‘Praying For Time’, the lead single from his second studio album, 1990’s Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1. A sombre composition, in it, Michael offers the healing nature of time as the only relief for those around the world suffering abject poverty and injustice. Notably, the record went to the top of the UK Albums Chart, but a disappointing performance in the US led to Michael entering a legal battle with Sony Music, where he accused them of not fully supporting him as an artist.
Despite the noise surrounding Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1., it is still one of George Michael’s best efforts, with ‘Praying For Time’ reflecting this solo verve. When speaking to The New York Times in 1990, the British musician revealed how the media influenced him to pen such a profound number: “No event inspired the song. It’s my way of trying to figure out why it’s so hard for people to be good to each other. I believe the problem is conditional as opposed to being something inherent in mankind.”
He continued: “The media has affected everybody’s consciousness much more than most people will admit. Because of the media, the way the world is perceived is as a place where resources and time are running out. We’re taught that you have to grab what you can before it’s gone. It’s almost as if there isn’t time for compassion.”
Later, Michael would analyse the meaning of ‘Praying For Time’ and the broader album in an MTV documentary (per Songfacts). He said: “There comes a point where you have to write something which you have not written before and which your interest in any particular topic or subject will inspire you,” he said. “And that’s why I suppose, eventually, most lyricists do approach wider topics than sex and love, you know?”
Referring to the lyrics, “These are the days of the open hand / They will not be the last / Look around now, these are the days / Of the beggars and the choosers”, Michael described how the number of people below the poverty line in Britain compelled him to write such words.
He said: “The ‘open hand’ to me represents the vast numbers of people – specifically in this country – who are actually on the poverty line or below the poverty line, which is something that’s going to go on. And I like the idea of ‘beggars and the choosers’ because you take a phrase – what’s the phrase – ‘beggars can’t be choosers,’ and you completely change it. In other words, ‘the beggars and the choosers’ and nothing in-between, which was really my point, because it does seem to be not that much in-between these days.”
Not done with his critique of the powers that be, Michael sings after, “This is the year of the hungry man / Whose place is in the past / Hand in hand with ignorance / And legitimate excuses”. Regarding this juncture, he explained: “That verse is really about the fact that the hungry men of today are completely, where there is a full knowledge of them, people know what’s going on, in this country and abroad, and the legitimate excuse of yesterday was that ignorance and that’s gone, obviously.” He added: “So, in other words, the hungry man today is a well-known fact.”
For his final analysis, Michael looked to the lyrics, “I guess somewhere along the way / He must have let us all out to play / Turned his back and all God’s children / Crept out the back door”. The former Wham! legend revealed: “I’ve always liked the term ‘God’s children,’ somehow as though we were that innocent, in a way, and the idea being that we ran out on God, in a sense – ‘crept out the back door’ – and because of that we’re left to make our own decisions. ‘We’ll take our chances because God stopped keeping score,’ like saying there’s no one here to pull back the reins so we have to make our own decisions.”
