I'll Pray for you. No?

“Pray for You," recorded by Jaron and the Long Road to Love is a fairly humorous example of irony in text. The song starts with the narrator explaining a message the preacher delivered in a Sunday church service...

He said you cant go hating others who have done wrong to you.

Sometimes we get angry, but we must not condemn.

Let the good Lord do His job and you just pray for them.

With this intro, the audience expects the rest of the song to be a wholesome, church-like message. However, this certainly is not the case, which is made apparent as the narrator proceeds to list all that he is praying for. He prays her tire blows out, her dreams never come true, and other hateful wishes.

Yes, this text is a play on words. It is also ironic. The tone conveys positive wishes and a kind-hearted message. Prayers are ordinarily in the best interest of whoever is being prayed for. Thus, it is ironic that this song is actually a hateful, angry post-breakup ballad. 

The clever use of irony allows the listener to relate with the narrator. Rather than following the country music stereotype of wining or sulking, "Pray for You" breaks the mold and gets the point across without the annoyance. Using irony also implies that the text should not be taken completely seriously. Clearly, the narrator doesn't actually want his ex-girlfriend to be "flying high when [her] engine stalls." It does, however, convey the magnitude of his bitterness toward her.