Today’s song of the day is “Comin’ In On A Wing And A Prayer.” This World War II song was written by Harold Adamson, composed by Jimmy McHugh and released by Robbins Music Corp in 1943.

Fun Facts 

• The Song Spinners recorded it for Decca Records, and it peaked at number one on the Billboard charts for pop on July 2, 1943.
  
• The lyrics describe the arrival of a bomber plane and its occupants following a mission. The operation was successful (“we actually struck our objective for tonight”), but the plane was damaged in action and one engine was destroyed. Despite this, the crew remains unhurt and in good spirits as they crawl back to their home base “on a wing and a prayer.”
  
• The only song with a military connection to emerge in the top twenty best-selling songs of 1943 in the United States was “Comin’ in on a Wing and a Prayer.”
  
• The song was also famous in the Soviet Union thanks to a 1943 version named “Bombers” by popular vocalist and jazz bandleader Leonid Utyosov. The lyrics are roughly true in Russian, however, the term “prayer” is mistranslated as “word of honor.” This Russian phrase implies “only just managing”, “just holding on”, or “in poor condition”.

Lyrics 

(Musixmatch)

Comin’ in on a wing and a prayer

Comin’ in on a wing and a prayer

With our one motor gone

We can still carry on

Comin’ in on a wing and a prayer

What a show, what a fight

Boys, we really hit our target for tonight

How we sing as we limp through the air

Look below, there’s our field over there

With our one motor gone

We can still carry on

Comin’ in on a wing and a prayer

Comin’ in on a wing and a prayer

Comin’ in on a wing and a prayer

With our full crew on board

And our trust in the Lord

We’re comin’ in on a wing and a prayer