Sanctuary Lyrics

[Spoken Intro]
Surely whoever speaks to me in the right voice
Him or her I shall follow


[Verse 1]
Who needs the sun, when the rain's so full of life
Who needs the sky
It's here in your arms I want to be buried
You are my sanctuary
Who needs the sun, when the rain's so full of life?
Who needs the sky?
It's here in your arms; I want to be buried
You are my sanctuary

[Verse 2]
Who needs a smile, when a tear's so full of love
Who needs a home, with the stars up above
It's here in your heart I want to be carried
You are my sanctuary
Who needs the light, with the darkness in your eyes
Who needs to sleep, with the stars in the sky
It's here in your soul I want to be married
You are my sanctuary

[Spoken]
And the earth was void and empty
And darkness was upon the face of the earth
[Bridge]
Is all of this pain so necessary
You are my sanctuary

[Spoken]
Surely whoever speaks to me in the right voice
Him or her I shall follow
As the water follows the moon, silently


[Outro]
Who needs the sun? (With fluid steps)
Who needs the sky? (Around the globe)
Who needs to sleep? (I hear your voice)
You are (You are) my sanctuary
You are (You are, you are)
You are (You are) my sanctuary

How to Format Lyrics:

  • Type out all lyrics, even repeating song parts like the chorus
  • Lyrics should be broken down into individual lines
  • Use section headers above different song parts like [Verse], [Chorus], etc.
  • Use italics (<i>lyric</i>) and bold (<b>lyric</b>) to distinguish between different vocalists in the same song part
  • If you don’t understand a lyric, use [?]

To learn more, check out our transcription guide or visit our transcribers forum

About

Genius Annotation

“Sanctuary” is an R&B ballad from Madonna’s Bedtime Stories. The song–about finding security in a lover despite the uncertainty`of the outside elements–began as collaboration with Atlanta producer Dallas Austin. When Madonna began working with Nellee Hooper on additional material for Bedtime Stories, she heard a demo he was working on and thought that “Sanctuary” might sound even better over that beat, so she had Hooper remix the song using that track.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

Comments