Almost Like a Prayer

Do It For Them

2019

I won't freeze up.

Won't turn back.

Won't abandon hope.

Not as long as I say the names.

The names of those depending on me.

So I say them.

As I wander through this haunted hotel,

I say their names.

Almost like a prayer.

Almost like a prayer...

Mario.

Princess Peach.

Toad.

Do it for them.

A chance to relax and unwind

At a mysterious resort

Turned into the worst nightmare imaginable.

The welcoming environment

Has become a death trap.

I'm miles from home

And my friends are missing.

By myself

With no one to rely on

But my trusty vacuum

And a gooey doppelganger.

But there's nothing to fear

Nothing to dread

As long as I say the names.

The names of my friends

In the clutches of the king

Who made good on his threat.

I walk these halls with my gooey clone

And say their names.

Almost like a prayer.

Almost like a prayer...

Mario.

Princess Peach.

Toad.

Do it for them.

My vacuum is better than ever.

When fighting a ghost,

I can slam them into the floor

Into each other

Into anything I see fit.

I've always wanted to get more aggressive with these ghosts.

When I'm almost overrun,

I'll give myself some room

With a quick burst of air.

And finally,

I can fire a plunger on a rope.

It gets rid of obstructions like shields

And works as a good tether, too.

My gooey clone has a vacuum, too.

It works the same,

But it's still nice to have a helping hand this time

Rather than a snarky professor.

We negotiate obstacles

Solve puzzles

And take down every ghost in our way.

I remember who I'm fighting for—

Why I'm still fighting

And not running—

Each time I say the names.

The names of three of the people

Who've been nothing but courteous toward me.

I work my way up floor after floor

And say their names.

Almost like a prayer.

Almost like a prayer...

Mario.

Princess Peach.

Toad.

Do it for them.

One floor is medieval-themed

And ends with me slamming around a ghostly king.

Another is movie-themed

And ends with me starring in a ghost-director's monster movie.

So many floors.

So many ghosts.

So many adventures.

So many frights.

The only way for me

To keep powering forward

Is to say the names.

The names of those

At my old foe's mercy.

And so—

Softly, almost reverently,

I say their names.

Almost like a prayer.

Almost like a prayer...

Mario.

Princess Peach.

Toad.

Do it for them.

DO

IT

FOR

THEM.

(Song: "Flight Hymn" by Ross Bugden: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQKGLOK2FqmVgVwYferltKQ)