He switches styles quite often and he doesn't write his lyrics in the same structure everytime. But, there's always something that is undeniably Prince about them. I feel like there's something in the drums or the horn/string sections but I can't tell what. His melodies are also quite distinct, but I don't know what makes them that way either.

Has anyone studied his songs long enough to discover some commonalities in his song structure, lyricism, melodic themes, keys, etc...?

Interesting, but i do nor know.

thebanishedone said:

NorthC said:

thebanishedone said:

Trademarks are linn drum and oberheim synth

That's instrumentation, not songwriting. He has made plenty of records without those instruments. But here's a few recurring themes in his lyrics: ever since Soft and Wet he has been talking about water and bathing a lot. I don't know why, but there's hardly a Prince album without some reference to rivers, lakes or baths. And ever since Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad, he has written lots of songs about women wjo do him wrong.

He has ablutophilia. In my opinion anyway. Nobody can talk about one specific thing (and sometimes not always in a sexual context) and not have some form of sexual fetish for it.

I think it ties in heavily with his spiritual side as well. As in ritual cleansing etc.

BobGeorge909 said:

Some do this on occasion, but Prince OFTEN references other songs of his, regardless of their age...a La Sexy Dancer and Kiss in stare. Grand progression...etc.

I like the way he does that, I find those little details cool. Another good example is on Time were Andy Allo sang bits of This Is What It Feels Like and Breakdown.

AnonymousFan said:

He switches styles quite often and he doesn't write his lyrics in the same structure everytime. But, there's always something that is undeniably Prince about them. I feel like there's something in the drums or the horn/string sections but I can't tell what. His melodies are also quite distinct, but I don't know what makes them that way either.

Has anyone studied his songs long enough to discover some commonalities in his song structure, lyricism, melodic themes, keys, etc...?

This is a great question! The answer could begin by identifying the particularities associated with
the "Minneapolis Sound."

It appears that Pitchfork has a decent write up about this here. And the wiki page on this topic
appears decent as well.

As far as Prince's lyrics go, in the 80s, there seemed to be an eternal tension between his odes
on the sacred and lustily singing about the profane. On top of that, there were the regular
lyrical tropes for hippies: fraternity, equality; love; blah blah blah.

He likes using the word "dirty" a lot.

NorthC said:

thebanishedone said:

Trademarks are linn drum and oberheim synth

That's instrumentation, not songwriting. He has made plenty of records without those instruments. But here's a few recurring themes in his lyrics: ever since Soft and Wet he has been talking about water and bathing a lot. I don't know why, but there's hardly a Prince album without some reference to rivers, lakes or baths. And ever since Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad, he has written lots of songs about women wjo do him wrong.

it doesn't have to be in every song to be a "trademarked songwriting elements". Otherwise by your own reasoning there would be no "trademarked songwriting elements." Certainly the instrumation/music is every bit as important as the lyrics.

fms said:

iZsaZsa said:

iZsaZsa said:

iZsaZsa said:

He used to (?) use "honey" a lot as a pet name.

Now I notice it's "sugar". Which I like better because I don't eat honey.

I always think of the repetitive popping snare sound he uses. See "Hot Thing", "Irresistable Bitch", "DMSR", "NewPowerGeneration", "17 Days", "Shockadelica", "Clorren Baconskin"...stuff like that. That driving snare.

I also am always taken by his use of layers, subtle changes and clever callbacks to stuff that happened in previous measures. Songs like "Automatic" and "Lady Cab Driver", for instance, feel like a repetitive jams but they're not. That's why they can go on for so long but never get boring.

god, water, pussy, purple, guitar, beauty...

Sex, love and God.

Well I'm not sure this is what you mean exactly, but at least in the eighties, he did use a lot of the same ideas/metaphors/imagery over and over again...

Off the top of my head, he mentions weather/the sky in 1999, Purple Rain, Raspberry Beret, Christopher Tracy's Parade, Girls and Boys, Sometimes it Snows in April, Sign O' the Times, Play in the Sunshine, Eye No, maybe Dance On, Lovesexy (if you think "rain is wet" counts), When 2 R in Love, and Clouds.

He mentions breakfast and/or breakfast foods a lot too in Life Can Be So Nice, Starfish and Coffee, If I Was Your Girlfriend, Breakfast Can Wait (in which he went full breakfast) and I'm sure others I can't think of right now.

Some of his more successful songs' titles involve a noun described by a color which usually is represntative of something else. Purple Rain, Computer Blue, Raspberry Beret, Little Red Corvette.

Apocalyptic or seemingly apocalyptic events must've been very interesting to him. 1999, Let's Go Crazy, Sign O' The Times, Adore, The Most Beautiful Girl in the World.

And then there's obviously the concepts of love, sex, and God in almost every third song he writes. Occasionally he'll put all three in the same song (Adore).

[Edited 12/15/15 20:34pm]

Certainly in the 80s and first half of the 90s, he often seemed to ask questions in his lyrics, without giving specific answers (songs like The Cross and parts of Lovesexy excepted), while from late 90s up until recent years, he seems to think he has all/ most of the answers (ie. God, the New Translation, his own pomposity etc).

I definitely think this method was more appealing and 'inclusive' and that something was lost when this gradually changed and he seemed to become more dogmatic in his beliefs. However, I do think this has changed slightly especially on AOA, where he seems to be 'seeking' again, rather than just giving us mere mortals 'the answers' he thinks we need.

Another thing that struck me a few months ago is how pretty much every single one of his album titles and many of his songs could be names for nightclubs, music venues and discos . Think about it - Controversy, 1999, Purple Rain, Parade, Dream Factory, Sign o' the Times, Lovesexy, Grafitti Bridge, Diamonds and Pearls, The Gold Experience, Emancipation, The Truth, Musicology, 3121, Planet Earth, Lotusflower, Art Official Age, Hit n' Run ...

I'm sure this is often deliberate on his part. I wonder if he conceptualises his albums as a nightclub experience or something.

[Edited 12/19/15 8:36am]

Singing in octaves (bass and falsetto). Building a song around a bass line. Putting a unique drum sound on every other 4th beat. Employing a bridge that doesn't lead to a chorus.

[Edited 12/19/15 8:59am]

iZsaZsa said:

I can't remember now which song it was that I believe I could hear him chewing gum while he was singing. I'm so glad it's been the only one I know of and not a trademark element.

RJOrion said:

iZsaZsa said:

I can't remember now which song it was that I believe I could hear him chewing gum while he was singing. I'm so glad it's been the only one I know of and not a trademark element.

Singing "Miss You" (rolling stones) in an afterparty video..

He goes off-key in the bridge a lot.

Chicken Grease.

Descending chord runs.

Lots of wah in the guitar.

He ALWAYS has the strongest rhythm section.

No one can touch his harmonies.

Those are my observations.

SchlomoThaHomo said:

Putting a unique drum sound on every other 4th beat.

Employing a bridge that doesn't lead to a chorus.

This is interesting. Could you give examples of the two?