[This week, the Think Tank tackles a seminal work of 1980's literature: the lyrics to Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer." Stay tuned next week for music theory analysis.]

Literary Theory, Mlawski
Knowing nothing about music theory and unable to come up with anything of note to say about “Living on a Prayer” as poetry, I’ve decided to complete an assignment I once had to do when I was getting my masters in English education. It’s… the literary theory assignment! Behold!
Living on a Prayer, the New Criticism reading: The lyrics start with the claim that this story happened “once upon a time, not so long ago,” which is our cue to read the text as a modern day fairytale. What happens in the text itself, however, is not the stuff of fairytale at all. “Tommy,” our dock-worker, is no knight in shining armor, though he tries to be by putting his six-string in hock. But, like Prince Charming in the fairy stories of old, Tommy does represent Everyman, the ideal. Likewise, “Gina” is no princess, but she is indeed a damsel in distress, the Everywoman in need of protection. Thus, the “once upon a time” introduction to the song is meant to be a somewhat ironic reference that suggests that “Living on a Prayer” is at once a fairytale and something of a satire of one.