One of the most poignant songs of our times is The Prayer, a crossover duet recorded by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli and Canada’s best-selling recording artist Celine Dion. Written by David Foster, Carole Bayer Sager, Alberto Testa and Tony Renis, it won a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song in 1999 and, a year later, was nominated for an Academy Award and Grammy Award.
The ballad was originally recorded in two solo versions – one in English and the other in Italian – for the film Quest for Camelot, appearing on the official soundtrack. However, the decision was later made to combine the two songs into a single bilingual track and release it as a single on March 1st 1999. It appears on their respective albums Sogno (Bocelli) and These Are Special Times (Dion).
The Prayer – Listen on YouTube
Here is one of the most famous performances of The Prayer at Central Park, New York in 2011. It has been viewed more than 170 million times on YouTube.
The Prayer – English & Italian Lyrics (with Translation)
I pray you’ll be our eyes
And watch us where we go
And help us to be wise
In times when we don’t know
Let this be our prayer
When we lose our way
Lead us to a place
Guide us with your grace
To a place where we’ll be safe
La luce che tu dai (the light that you give)
I pray we’ll find your light
Nel cuore resterà (In my heart it will remain)
And hold it in our hearts
A ricordarci che (To remind us that)
When stars go out each night
L’eterna stella sei (You are the eternal star)
Nella mia preghiera (In my prayer)
Let this be our prayer
Quanta fede c’è (There is so much faith)
When shadows fill our day
Lead us to a place
Guide us with your grace
Give us faith so we’ll be safe
Sogniamo un mondo senza più violenza (We dream of a world with no more violence)
Un mondo di giustizia e di speranza (A world of justice and hope)
Ognuno dia la mano al suo vicino (Everyone shakes hands with their neighbour)
Simbolo di pace e di fraternità (A symbol of peace and fraternity)
La forza che ci dai (The strength you give us)
We ask that life be kind
È il desiderio che (And the desire that)
And watch us from above
Ognuno trovi amor (Everyone will find love)
We hope each soul will find
Intorno e dentro a sé (Around and inside themselves)
Another soul to love
Let this be our prayer
Let this be our prayer
Just like every child
Just like every child
Need to find a place,
Guide us with your grace
Give us faith so we’ll be safe
E la fede che (And the faith that)
Hai acceso in noi (You have ignited within us)
Sento che ci salverà (I feel it will save us)
The Prayer – Italian Lyrics (with Translation)
Bocelli’s Italian version of The Prayer is available on the soundtrack of the film Quest for Camelot, alongside Dion’s English version. You can listen to it below and follow along with the lyrics and translation.
Oh, Dio che tutto sai, ricordati di noi
Insegnaci la via, che a te ci condurrà
Se ti giungerà, questa mia preghiera
Tu l’ascolterai e ci salverai
I tuoi figli siamo noi
Oh, God you know all, remember us
Teach us the way, which will lead us to you
If it reaches you, this prayer of mine
You will listen to it and you will save us
We are your children
La luce che tu dai
(I pray you’ll be my light)
Nel cuore resterà
(And watch us where we go)
E ricordarci che
(And help us to be wise)
Eterna stella sei
The light that you give
(I pray you’ll be my light)
Will remain in my heart
(And watch us where we go)
And remind us that
(And help us to be wise)
You are the eternal star
Nella mia preghiera
(Let this be our prayer)
Quanta fede c’è
(When we lose our way)
Se ci guiderai, tu ci salverai
Gli occhi nostri sono i tuoi
In my prayer
(Let this be our prayer)
There is so much faith
(When we lose our way)
If you guide us, you will save us
Our eyes are yours
Sogniamo un mondo senza più violenza
Un mondo di giustizia e di speranza
Un nuovo dio d’amore su ogni terra
Simbolo di pace, di fraternità
We dream of a world with no more violence
A world of justice and hope
A new god of love on every land
Symbol of peace, of fraternity
La forza che ci dà
È il desiderio che
Ognuno trovi amor
Intorno e dentro sé
Questa mia preghiera
Rivolgiamo a te
E la fede che hai acceso in noi
Sento che ci salverà
E la fede che hai acceso in noi
Sento che ci salverà
The strength it gives us
Is the desire that
Everyone finds love
Around and within themselves
This my prayer
We appeal to you
And the faith you ignited in us
I feel it will save us
And the faith you ignited in us
I feel it will save us
Heather Broster is a graduate with honours in linguistics from the University of Western Ontario. She is an aspiring polyglot, proficient in English and Italian, as well as Japanese, Welsh, and French to varying degrees of fluency. Originally from Toronto, Heather has resided in various countries, notably Italy for a period of six years. Her primary focus lies in the fields of language acquisition, education, and bilingual instruction.
