Dear Michaelangelo,color the dreams in my head
I look at your paintings and I'm with you in your bed
Dear Michaelangelo,save me from death's invitation
I'll make love to no one unless he's of your persuasion

No responses yet? This is my jam. One of the best songs on the album. I love it when it starts out with the lilting strings, then drum machine kicks in about two measures in. I also thought her vocals were really strong on this one.

Although I have to be honest and say the lyrics are a little silly.

By the way, I loved the picture you posted!! Sexy.
[Edited 11/2/07 9:05am]

I love, love, love that song. The way it starts off softly and kicks in with the rhythm at the right moment. I always blast this song.

Love it, especially how it leads into Love Bizarre. I never really understood what the lyrics were trying to say, though--Michaelangelo was gay, so she won't sleep with anyone unless he's of that persuasion? Huh?

Efan said:

I never thought about that,lol

Great song! Love it!

Cool song and cool album. Underrated album too. It's not better than The Glam Life but it's good. P did some cool stuff with Sheila in 84-85. The Family is a good album as well. It DESTROYS Ice Cream Castles. Mainly cuz songs like High Fashion and Mutiny were originally intended for that album. But P knew Morris was going to leave so he saved those for The Family. Which he basically formed to replace The Time anyways.

The things I love about this song...

***the slow,dramatic intro that quickly kicks into high gear after the second line

***the lengthy saxophone solo near the end


.
[Edited 11/5/07 5:22am]

Efan said:

Funny. . . I always thought Michaelangelo was a euphemism for Prince.

SCNDLS said:

Yeah, me too. And Prince wrote it during the time when he loved to fuck with people's heads about whether he was gay or not. Romance 1600 is a great album, but its sexuality is just, well, bizarre. Sheila kind of hints to being a lesbian in "Sister Fate," says she'll only sleep with gay men in "Dear Michaelangelo," and then craves the kink in "Love Bizarre." Then there's the whole creepy thing she did with her brother during the "Toy Box" prelude in the video. "Yellow" is just about sleeping with people to get what you want (which I wholly support).

Efan said:

Definitely my fave Sheila album all the sexual ambiguity and Edwardian costumes was just too much. LOL!

I've always really liked the song, but they should have dropped that part near the end where Sheila sings "Dear....Mi...chael...angelo, angelllll".
That part was silly crap. Other than that, the song rocks. Especially the intro.

As far as Prince writing a song from a woman's point of view about a gay man, I never really thought Prince even knew Michaelangelo was gay. He's famously ignorant of art and culture in general, and no where near as "book-smart" as people seem to think. Another case in point: Susannah had to tell him who Dorothy Parker was AFTER he wrote the Ballad of Dorothy Parker.

Well, forgetting about that part at the end, the way Sheila used a TOTALLY original syncopation in pronouncing "Michael...an...ge...lo" in the chorus is what got my attention and changed the way I looked at phrasing in songs.
[Edited 11/10/07 23:56pm]