 "Prayer of the Refugee" is three minutes and nineteen seconds, and combines elements of hardcore punk and melodic hardcore.According to the song's sheet music, the composition is written in the time signature of common time, with a fast tempo of 144 beats per minute.It follows verse-chorus form, and is composed in the key E♭ minor, with a melody that spans a tonal range of A♭3 to C♭6.