Aretha Louise Franklin (born March, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Although known for her soul recordings and referred to as The Queen of Soul, Franklin is also adept at jazz, blues, R&B, and gospel music. Rolling Stone magazine ranked her atop its list of The Greatest Singers of All Time as well as the ninth greatest artist of all time. She was the only featured singer at the 2009 presidential inauguration of Barack Obama. On May 23, 2010, Franklin received an Honorary Doctorate in Music from Yale University.
 
She released her first single for Columbia in September 1960, aged 18. Franklin began recording her first songs for Atlantic in early 1967. By the end of the year, Franklin not only became a superstar but she stood as one of the symbols of the civil rights movement partially due to her rendition of "Respect", which had a feminist-powered theme after Franklin recorded it. Franklin's other hits during the late sixties included "Think", her rendition of Dionne Warwick's "I Say a Little Prayer", "Ain't No Way" and "The House That Jack Built" among others.

"I Say a Little Prayer" is a song written by songwriters Burt Bacharach and Hal David for Dionne Warwick which was a Top Ten hit in 1967. The song also returned to the Pop & R&B Top Ten in the fall of 1968 via a recording by Aretha Franklin taken from her 1968 Aretha Now album; Franklin and her backup singers the Sweet Inspirations were singing the song for fun while rehearsing the songs intended for the album and the viability of Franklin actually recording "I Say a Little Prayer" became apparent. Franklin's version of "I Say a Little Prayer" has an especial significance in her UK career, as with its September 1968 #4 peak it became Franklin's biggest UK hit; subsequently Franklin has surpassed that track's UK peak only with her #1 collaboration with George Michael: "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)".

I say a little pray for you

The moment I wake up
Before I put on my makeup
I say a little prayer for you
While combing my hair now,
Wondering which dress I wanna wear now,
I say a little prayer for you
Oh, yes, I do.

Forever and ever, you'll stay in my heart
and I will love you
Forever, and ever, we never will part
Oh, how I love you
Together, together, that's how it must be
To live without you
Would only mean heartbreak for me.

I run for the bus, dear,
While riding, I'm thinking of us, dear,
I say a little prayer for you.
At work I just take time
And all through my coffee break-time,
I say a little prayer for you.

Forever, and ever, you'll stay in my heart
and I will love you
Forever, and ever we never will part
Oh, how I'll love you
Together, together, that's how it must be
To live without you
Would only mean heartbreak for me.

Forever, and ever, you'll stay in my heart
and I will love you
Forever, and ever we never will part
Oh, how I'll love you
Together, together, that's how it must be
To live without you
Would only mean heartbreak for me.
For nobody but me.

My darling believe me, (believe me)
For me there is no one but you!
Please love me too
This is my prayer (answer my prayer, baby)
Answer my prayer (answer my prayer, baby)
This is my prayer (This is my prayer, baby)
Come on, come on, answer me, baby (answer my prayer, baby)

Forever, and ever, you'll stay in my heart
and I will love you
Forever, and ever we never will part
Oh, how I'll love you
Together, forever, that's how it must be
To live without you
Would only mean heartbreak for me.

Darling believe me
For me there is no one, nobody but you
Oh please, love me too.
And answer my prayer (answer my prayer, baby)...

THE MOMENT I...= As soon as I..., immediately after I...

PRAYER= If you say a prayer you pray. To pray is to talk with God, often to ask him for a favour. If you say a prayer for someone, you ask God to favour them and protect them.

COMBING=  /kəʊmɪŋ/ To tidy your hair using a comb (see picture)

WONDERING= Trying to decide.

FOREVER AND EVER= A very emphatic form of ALWAYS.

PART= Separate.

HEARTBREAK= Suffering because of a sentimental problem.

RIDING= If you are on the bus or other transport, you are riding.

TAKE TIME= To take time is to have a break, to pause for a while.

ALL THROUGH MY COFFEE BREAK TIME= While I’m having my coffee break.
Your coffee break is a moment you stop working to rest and have a coffee (if you like it).

MY DARLING= My love.

ANSWER MY PRAYER= If you answer my prayer, you make my dreams come true. In this case, I’ve been praying God for you to love me, so if you answer my prayer that means that you love me too.