Here is my understanding of "Say a Little Prayer." A woman has "breathed through" her boyfriend's departure; he is off to Vietnam. Though the woman is ostensibly making her way through mundane weekday life, she is really, spiritually, in a jungle, guiding this one guy above and around and under the paths of various bullets: The moment I wake up, before I put on my makeup-- I say a little prayer for you. (It seems to me that Hal David had an impact on Sondheim: "The sun comes up, I think about you. The coffee cup, I think about you.") Our heroine hoists herself out of bed: While combing my hair now, and wondering what dress to wear now-- I say a little prayer for you. And, inevitably, we make our way into the office: At work, I just take time--and all through my coffee-break time-- I say a little prayer for you. The yearning becomes overwhelming; the speaker forgets she is praying to God, and instead directs her pleas to the guy in Vietnam: My darling,...