What's the meaning of purple rain and the color purple?

Purple means ROYALTY.
Exactly what he is

Dont know if that answered ur question but uh.....

DanceWme said:

Royal Rain ?!?!?
see, I told you,You're Nuttz !
*just kiddin*

it's said that after the detonation of an atomic bomb, a purple rain falls from the sky.
my feeling is that Prince at one point in his life had a fear of a nuclear weapon being used on the united states (Ronnie talk to Russia..."mommy, why does everyone have a bomb)...and he wanted to make sure he survived...

purplerein said:

so,the "purple rain" is a symbol of survival? If you live to see the rain,then you survived the atomic bomb attack...

I only want to see you laughing in the purple rain

I think I finally get it now!

purplerein said:

purplerein said:

Is it? Really? I thought just bird ashes fell from the sky.

stopHATING said:

lol im startin to think i am too
but ...royal rain doesnt sound too bad

DanceWme said:

Hahaha! I know,right ?!?
*signs us both up for professional help*

stopHATING said:

LOL

purplerein said:

"As bombs explode around us and hate advances on the right
The only thing that matters, baby, is the love that we make 2night"

Anyway I like your theory even thinking it's not a correct one.

Purple Rain isn't a meaning, it is a nod to Jimi Hendrix as a huge inspiration, and especially (perhaps solely) in regard to that particular album.

The purple craze he re-sparked was large enough for him to incorporate it for his own persona, but really...., you have to believe he really dug Jimi and Purple Haze turned him on to the color Purple.

I can only think that it is the special kind of light u feel on a stage.

When I´m performing, I think that the light is actually purple!

Love KirsE

It's about Kool-Aid.
Why isn't this in the FAQ's already? Damn.

OneMoreTimeP said:

I knew it!!! lol

purple rain is a reference to global warming and the ill effects of pollution.

he stole it from a song called "Ventura Highway" by America.
the chorus goes like this.....

"Wishin' on a falling star
Waitin' for the early train
Sorry boy, but I've been hit by purple rain
Aw, come on, Joe, you can always
Change your name
Thanks a lot, son, just the same"

is it a coincidence that our man even changed his name too?

Thanks. I appreciate all of your answers.I've wondered what Purple Rain meant for 20 years, and now I found a place to get all my Prince questions answered.

"If you know what I'm singing about up here
C'mon raise your hand"

muirdo said:

yeah,I thought of that,too.Could Prince have really been inspired by the America song,which is from 1972?

God's red Blood dripping down into the blue ski = purple rain

i don't really like to think of the meaning of that- it gets too trivial. i like it just b/c it sounds beautiful.

It means the great purple dinosaur is pissing on your head.
"Oh what a rain that would be..."

AndGodCreatedWoman1 said:

It's just Princes way of saying he likes grape kool-aid. He just got all high faluttin with it as an act.

I think he's trying to say something without saying something - If you know what I mean.

Okay you probably don't.

I'll try again. Prince has a thing about rain. Think "Nothing can stop this lonely rain from falling". He amends his original version which actually has the lyrics "Nothing can stop these lonely tears from falling"

Like in a Thomas Hardy novel rain represents tears. Sadness. He can't say he's sad. He's a bloke. Boys don't cry. So he uses rain as a euphenism.

Now the rain is also Purple. Well that's Prince. Prince is adding his own personal creativre touch to the rain. It's like an extra description. Like Cherry Moon. But this time it's meaningless. (The Cherry Moon is childlike and whimsical)

Purple Rain symbolising Prince trying to say something but not quite getting there. Like all of us really. When we have something on our minds but not quite the right words to say what we feel.

It's kind of goofy because on a subscience level we know what he means.Okay maybe in a stupid, silly kind of way.

In short Rain represents his emotions and Purple represents his creativity.

It's the Prince spin on things. He loves to be different and put things in his own unique way. Like "It's been 7 hours and 14 days". In real life we would say "It's been 14 days and 7 hours". It shows his imagination. It shows his indivuality. I'm not gonna run with the crowd kind of thing.

Purple Rain, Purple Rain, Purple Rain...

muirdo said:

I love this I'm gonna look it up!!

...It shows his imagination. It shows his indivuality. I'm not gonna run with the crowd kind of thing.

Purple Rain, Purple Rain, Purple Rain...[/quote]


I really like that interpretation. I've always thought purple somehow smybolized emotion. Although I was thinking along the lines of sex and joy ... I guess sadness works too.

Purple is the color most associated with royalty.

Rain is unescapable.

Prince has made purple his trademark color.

Rain is his symbol for covering you in his idea...


In short. Prince wants to pee on you.

muirdo said:

yep. prince did america the song at the time.
[Edited 10/16/06 22:42pm]

pepper7 said:

there's nothing princey about it... there's nothing original about it. I think it's his way of uniting and connecting all people. the song refers to the heart, how the body flows to become one with the music.

I've always believed that "Purple Rain" was the tears at the end of a relationship. The Apocalypse. Purple Rain is the end of the world, and thats what it feels like when you lose someone you love. But it also stands for a new begining. It can mean heaven is finally found, for they will both be happier on their own.

"I never meant 2 cause u any sorrow,
I never meant 2 cause u any pain/
I only wanted 2 one time see u laughing,
I only wanted 2 see u laughing in the purple rain/

I never wanted 2 be your weekend lover,
I only wanted 2 be some kind of friend/
Baby I could never steal u from another,
Its such a shame our friendship had 2 end/"

**Also pink for girl and blue for boy. Mix them together and you get purple. The Purple rain is the tears you cry together, once you have reached the end...


I hope I've made this as clear to others as it is in my own imagination.
[Edited 10/16/06 23:21pm]