"Travelin' Prayer" is a single written and performed by singer Billy Joel, and released as the 3rd single from his 1973 album Piano Man. The song is described as an urgent, banjo-fueled gem. It reached number #77 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #34 on the Adult Contemporary chart in 1974. It was a slightly bigger hit in Canada, where it reached #61.

The country-flavored song has been covered by both Earl Scruggs and Dolly Parton. Parton's version is particularly noteworthy, having been awarded a Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance in 1999.

Joel wrote "Travelin' Prayer" about two years before it appeared on the album. The song has four verses, the first of which is later repeated, and two instrumental breaks. The lyrics offer a prayer that the singer's lover be protected until she returns to the singer. The song has elements of country music, and is taken at a brisk pace. Instrumentation includes honky-tonk piano, banjo, bass, violin and drums, the latter of which are played with brushes. Joel plays mouth harp during the second instrumental break. Author Ken Bielen sees the song as being influenced by a traditional Irish blessing for an easy return home. Bielen also notes that the song fits with a trend during the period in which religious images were often used in popular songs. Author Hank Bordowitz describes the song as a "pop-grass on-the-road-again song." Bordowitz particularly praises the banjo playing of Eric Weissberg.

"Travelin' Prayer" was covered by Earl Scruggs Revue in 1973 on the album Rockin' Cross the Country.Billboard Magazine rated it as one of the "best cuts" on the album. It later earned Dolly Parton a Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance, when she covered it in 1999 on the album The Grass Is Blue. CMJ noted the song as a "recommended track."

...
Wikipedia