Why We Almost Lived in a World Without Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer”—at Least as We Know It Today

The chorus to Bon Jovi‘s “Livin’ On A Prayer” is one of the most beloved rock moments ever. It is the primo example of what arena rock can do; the unifying power it can hold. But, according to songwriter Desmond Child, we almost didn’t get this version of the song. It was almost a completely different listening experience.

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How “Livin’ On A Prayer” Was Almost Completely Different

Child has penned many classic rock songs. Arguably, he’s the most prolific rock songwriter of all time, earning over 80 Top 40 tracks. “Livin’ On A Prayer” is one of his best, though, becoming a generation-defying hit that brings listeners of all ages together. If you’ve ever been in a room while this song was playing, you know just how infectious the chorus is.

According to Child, the Bon Jovi frontman had the original idea for this iconic track.

“Jon came in saying, ‘I want to write a song about a struggling working-class couple,’” Child once said. “And later on, he said that he had friends of his that had married in high school, Bonnie and Joe, who had a very difficult time, so that’s what was on his mind.”

This eventually evolved into a story about a fictional couple who faced financial difficulties but didn’t let them get in the way of their love. “She says, ‘We’ve gotta hold on to what we’ve got / It doesn’t make a difference if we make it or not,’” the lyrics read.

Though Child laid out the basic structure of the song, getting Bon Jovi on board was a tough ask, surprisingly. The pre-chorus was originally the chorus, meaning we would have never gotten the “Whoa, we’re halfway there…” line, and that would’ve been a rock calamity.

“The ‘We’ve gotta hold on’ was the first chorus,” Child continued. “And Jon was happy with that, and I said, ‘No, no, no, that’s just the B section. Let’s write the chorus now.”

This song’s troubles didn’t end at the chorus debate. The original version of the song was a piano ballad. Clearly, that changed, but Bon Jovi struggled to see this song as the anthem it became.

“Jon still thought that, because I’d written it on the piano, it was piano-driven,” he added. “And he was a guitar band and all that – he thought, ‘this isn’t gonna work.’ But Richie [Sambora] and I knew what we had, and at another writing session we got on our hands and knees, literally, and begged him to at least try it.”

Eventually, they convinced the frontman, and this song became what it was supposed to be. Revisit the version of “Livin’ On A Prayer” that has been stuck in our heads for decades on end, above.

(Photo by Paul Natkin/Getty Images)