Songfacts®:

• Much of Loreena McKennitt's oeuvre is inspired by Celtic tradition, but this song draws from an Italian work: The Divine Comedy by Dante. It deals with the journey of one's soul as it makes its transitions.
  
  McKennitt traveled throughout Europe when preparing her album The Book Of Secrets. A journey on the Trans-Siberian Railway led her to this song.
• McKennitt is best known for another "The Mummers' Dance," another track from The Book Of Secrets, but she rates this song much higher. "'The Mummers' Dance' wasn't anything too spectacular," she told Songfacts. "Whereas with 'Dante's Prayer,' I think I came close to capturing something that had a little bit more depth to it."
• The choir on the track is the St. Petersburg Chamber Choir singing part of a traditional Russian song called "Alleluia, Behold The Bridegroom."