Deleted

[Edited 6/25/16 13:49pm]

sunset3121 said:

Prince did not look amused when he said 'Sister' was serious. However, there does seem 2 halves to this song. The first half seems jokey and the 2nd half seems angry. The 2nd half could be about the sister who lived near New York (Sharon) and their fight.

In which interview did Prince say the song 'Sister' was serious?

I wish I could remember. I can't remember who was interviewing him either.

I hate to say it, but Lorna was pretty cute. Never saw a picture of her before.

trn22 said:

PurpleMusic07 said:

trn22 said:

I was unable to access the interview so I'll have to take your word for it.

Did Tyka say anything about whether or not Prince ever lived with Lorna Nelson when he was 16 years old or ever?

QueenofCardboard said:

I think it is based on things that really happened, and I think that Prince puts the age details in there to make sure that we don't think that it is about his younger sister Tyka or any of his other sisters that aren't 16 years older than him (like Sharon who is 18 years older). I also think that he wrote it to get even, and since he was only 16, and she was 32 he may see himself as the victim, or if not a victim, at least not the responsible party involved. He also said the she is the reason for his 'sexuality'. I think that this kiss and tell song is payback, for Lorna using him as a toy boy, and then kicking him out of her house after things got wierd. Only, I can't find out if he ever stayed with her.

I've read that the actual lyrics are that she is the reason for his "bisexuality."

PurpleMusic07 said:

mrfog said:

I've wondered before whether the lyric 'put me on the street' means the sister character evicted him from her home, or if it means she made him work as a prostitute. The line 'she only wanted to turn me out' suggests it could be the latter, as 'turn out' is pimp slang for turning someone to prostitution. This could also be interpreted as meaning evict, but I doubt that's the case here, because a moment later she's taking a whip to him! Very hard to tell whether the song is sincere. It could easily just be Prince goofing around on a sick joke or whatever. There's definitely a sense of fun in the delivery I think, like its meant to be a comedy number, though there are many details that make you question if it's actually autobiographical.

Getting turned out also refers to being coerced into doing something you dont want to do, or that you dont normally do. So in this case the sis turned him out by introducing him to sex and incest. He uses the phrase on i wanna be your lover too. I always took the song as he was letting the sis fuck him to continute having a place to stay, but maybe he was like naah one day so she kicked him out and he's saying hold on wait dont kick me out etc...

Getting "turned out" can also mean being introduced to someting that you wouldn't have otherwise done...and liking it, to the point of no turning back. For instance, Urban Dictionary defines it thus:

TOP DEFINITION

turn out

To turn a good person with minimal or shy sexual experience into a freaky sex hungry nympho!

sunset3121 said:

The "Sun" had this photo of Lorna

Wow. But still no adult photos of him and Tyka?

jdcxc said:

sunset3121 said:

The "Sun" had this photo of Lorna

Now only she knows. I think the song is more about being "put on the streets" by people he cares about in complex family relationships (dad/mom) and it was his way of expressing anger toward them.

Isn't she deceased?

FlyOnTheWall said:

QueenofCardboard said:

I think it is based on things that really happened, and I think that Prince puts the age details in there to make sure that we don't think that it is about his younger sister Tyka or any of his other sisters that aren't 16 years older than him (like Sharon who is 18 years older). I also think that he wrote it to get even, and since he was only 16, and she was 32 he may see himself as the victim, or if not a victim, at least not the responsible party involved. He also said the she is the reason for his 'sexuality'. I think that this kiss and tell song is payback, for Lorna using him as a toy boy, and then kicking him out of her house after things got wierd. Only, I can't find out if he ever stayed with her.

I've read that the actual lyrics are that she is the reason for his "bisexuality."

That is incorrect.

Rollingstone magazine made the same mistake long ago, and they never corrected it.

That is probably where you heard that.

The Lyrics are;

[Edited 6/25/16 13:57pm]

[Edited 6/25/16 13:58pm]

QueenofCardboard said:

FlyOnTheWall said:

I've read that the actual lyrics are that she is the reason for his "bisexuality."

That is incorrect.

Rollingstone magazine made the same mistake long ago, and they never corrected it.

That is probably where you heard that.

The Lyrics are;

I was only 16 but I guess that's no excuse
My sister was 32, lovely, and loose
She don't wear no underwear
She says it only gets in her hair
And it's got a funny way of stoppin' the juice

My sister never made love to anyone else but me
She's the reason for my, uh, sexuality
She showed me where it's supposed to go
A blow job doesn't mean blow
Incest is everything it's said to be
Oh, sister
Don't put me on the street again
Oh, sister
I just want to be your friend

I was only 16 and only half a man
My sister didn't give a goddamn
She only wanted to turn me out
She [took a whip to] me until I shout
"Oh, [motherfuckersjustamotherfucker]
Can't you understand?"

Oh, sister
Don't put me on the street again
Oh, sister
I just want to be your friend
I know what you want me to do
Put me on the street
And make me blue
Oh, sister, oohoohoooow

LyricWiki

[Edited 6/25/16 13:47pm]

I actually read it in the Pitchfork article, "Do it All Night: The Story of Prince's Dirty Mind."

Though “Sister” was the Dirty Mind track where Prince spells it out (“She’s the reason for my bisexuality,” often transcribed as “my, uh, sexuality”) the subtle hints in “When You Were Mine” were apparently enough to keep the song off the air. Positioning the song’s narrator as even a little queer was another touchstone with the notably gay-friendly space of new wave. The lyrics’ ambiguities are clearly deliberate.

Is that a direct quote from Prince? Are there any other instances of Prince referring to his bisexuality?

FlyOnTheWall said:

jdcxc said:

sunset3121 said: Now only she knows. I think the song is more about being "put on the streets" by people he cares about in complex family relationships (dad/mom) and it was his way of expressing anger toward them.

Isn't she deceased?

Yes. Lorna Nelson died in 2006 at the age of 63. Lot of Prince's family seem to have died pretty young.

QueenofCardboard said:

Is that a direct quote from Prince? Are there any other instances of Prince referring to his bisexuality?

The quotes above are the two alternative lyric transcriptions from "Sister." I just listened to it again and it's hard to tell. He does this little cough on the word. Deliberate? Who knows.

FlyOnTheWall said:

QueenofCardboard said:

Is that a direct quote from Prince? Are there any other instances of Prince referring to his bisexuality?

The quotes above are the two alternative lyric transcriptions from "Sister." I just listened to it again and it's hard to tell. He does this little cough on the word. Deliberate? Who knows.

Just to be clear, Prince's sexual proclivities matter not to me. I love him unconditionally.

Maybe it's about emotional truth?

Remember his father kicked him out of his home for fooling around or doing something in bed with another girl. It's not known if this girl is the same age, younger or older than Prince was; all three ring alarm bells. We don't know what happened between getting kicked out and when he found a place to stay. There are, however a lot of predators who prey on teens and offer them a place to stay. Prince was known to fuzz details, so he might have had a worse time than he let on. He was small and young and probably looked it. Something may or may not have happened with the sister or some older woman who gave him shelter. He says he was staying with people but he also said he was so hungry and broke he'd stand outside McDonald's sniffing meals. This person or people that offered shelter might justified their treatment of him based on the idea he was already getting around. Or he was just prematurely getting lucky as a ladies' man. If Prince was abused, one way people cope with abuse is to be more sexually active and provocative, in an effort to exercise control.

So maybe it's not about a specific person, but several people? I mean, some of his supposedly autobiographical soundingsongs about being young are queasy making (Schoolyard). There's this trope that an older woman is just making a man out of a young boy regardless of age or consent so he could just be tweaking the listener with that too.

People seem to be forgetting the reality of incest which manifests as a sexual act (rape) it is actually an act of violence & power. Most survivors are female and children because they are physically coerced thru the threat of bodily harm. It is possible to mentally intimidate/coerce someone. Many suffer trauma for years because their bodies may get a natural (Autonomic Nervous System) biological response of pleasure although consciously they are not consenting as the act is repulsive & a total betrayal & violation. It is repulsive that this discussion centers around someone (LNelson) being a possible Predator & someones response is that she is attractive? WTF? It is typical sexism that negates that young boys can and are sexually abused and they all
"want it" because all males do-no matter how young. Only two people will ever know what happened. They aren't here. P. has shown that there's little he wouldn't do for shock value to promote his music. It is also clear he had no problem using incest as a typical porn influenced patriarchal male thru the use of the talentless "Twinz" and their complicitancy to go right along with the male Porn fantasy to promote their "careers".

[Edited 6/25/16 18:02pm]

It boggles my mind that people think every song has to be about a real life event Prince went through. Some things come from the creative imagination alone.

witnessmystyle said:

FlyOnTheWall said:

QueenofCardboard said:

I actually read it in the Pitchfork article, "Do it All Night: The Story of Prince's Dirty Mind."

Though “Sister” was the Dirty Mind track where Prince spells it out (“She’s the reason for my bisexuality,” often transcribed as “my, uh, sexuality”) the subtle hints in “When You Were Mine” were apparently enough to keep the song off the air. Positioning the song’s narrator as even a little queer was another touchstone with the notably gay-friendly space of new wave. The lyrics’ ambiguities are clearly deliberate.

How does Prince "spell it out"? Does he spell it out in an interview? If so, which interview?

Marrk said:

It boggles my mind that people think every song has to be about a real life event Prince went through. Some things come from the creative imagination alone.

Agreed. Doesn't it just seem like fictionalized fantasy? Is Head based on a real life event?? Or Lady Cab Driver?

farnorth said:

Marrk said:

It boggles my mind that people think every song has to be about a real life event Prince went through. Some things come from the creative imagination alone.

Agreed. Doesn't it just seem like fictionalized fantasy? Is Head based on a real life event?? Or Lady Cab Driver?

Like the song 'Papa' the song 'Sister' is semi-autobiographical. The song 'Sister.' is about his half sister Lorna Nelson, and the song 'Papa' is about his biological father.

QueenofCardboard said:

FlyOnTheWall said:

How does Prince "spell it out"? Does he spell it out in an interview? If so, which interview?

I think "spell it out" is a figure of speech here. Lots of his handwritten lyrics are floating around these days, so perhaps those for "Sister" will turn up. That's likely the only way we will ever know with absolute certainty.

farnorth said:

Marrk said:

It boggles my mind that people think every song has to be about a real life event Prince went through. Some things come from the creative imagination alone.

Agreed. Doesn't it just seem like fictionalized fantasy? Is Head based on a real life event?? Or Lady Cab Driver?

But would he really make such a song, mentioning a sister and her age, as just fictionalized fantasy? If that were the case, he could have made such a song without such specifics, and without casting aspersions on a family member.

There was an interview where Prince claimed the song was true. He said it wasn't a negative song or a positive song, just a song about something that had happened. However, I believe it's also the interview where he claims he used to spend a lot of his time cycling around Uptown, nude. So that's a good chance he's lying.

However, factually the song checks out, doesn't it? When he was 16 he lived with Lorna for a time while he was looking for a record contract in New York?

Toure discussed this in his book and he said it might have been Sharon, but there was no proof.