Prayin' For Daylight

This was the first single by the country-rock group Rascal Flatts, off their self-titled debut album. The music is upbeat and somewhat goofy, but the narrator explains that since his lover left him, he has been unable to sleep. He begs her to come back so he could stop the lonely nights of "prayin' for daylight."

Lead singer Gary LeVox recalled to Dan Rather on AXS TV's The Big Interview the song was originally just a demo, which was on hold for somebody else. He added: "And our producers at that time said, 'Hey, you know what... let's just take this song and work with it, see what we can do.'" That proved to be a life-changing decision for Rascal Flatts as it helped land the trio their first record deal and flew to #3 on the Country chart.

The song was penned by Steve Bogard and Rick Giles, whose other songwriting collaborations include Michelle Wright's "New Kind of Love" and Juice Newton's "'Til You Cry." Speaking to Bart Herbison of Nashville Songwriters Association International in 2019, Giles recalled how the pair wrote together every Wednesday for around 15 years. They would typically arrive about 9 a.m. and would spend the first hour catching up over coffee with their wives. On the day they penned this song, Bogart asked Giles if he had anything going. Giles replied that he didn't, then Bogart turned to his Beverly and asked her, "Honey, how'd you sleep last night?" Her reply: "I was praying for the light of day." That phrase clicked with Bogart and Giles and was the inspiration for this song.