So is this track -roughly- based on the life of Doris Duke or what?

Firts time I heard it, she immediately popped into my mind, even
before I heard him mention "Her name was Doris.."

That's what made me go

i stopped listening top the song when i realized 'doris' is being put down for, among other things. her skin being too white.
it was about then i also stopped listening to the album entirely.

She knew which fork 2 use but she couldn't dance
So he hipped her 2 the funk in xchange 4 the finance
Who's pimpin' who if nobody gets a second chance?
This is the story of illusion, coma, pimp & circumstance

She was older but rich beyond compare
She'd drop a thousand dollars at the saloon just 2 get her hair did
He was good at compliments, better in the bunk
She laced him with a crib in Paris, he hipped her 2 the funk

Way 2 fine he was 4 her
A dirty dog in expensive fur
As long as she's providing chips and whips
We can do this funky thang
As long as she was playing the host
He figured he would make the most of them hips and lips
He hooked her up, rocked her coast 2 coast

Ugly...
So ugly, rich beyond compare
She's dropped a couple hundred thousand dollars on a silver whip
Just 2 match the color of her hair
She said "Eye got plenty of what U need.
Put the spoon down honey, c'mon, let mama feed U"

She knew which fork 2 use but she couldn't dance
So he hipped her 2 the funk in xchange 4 the finance
Who's pimpin' who if nobody gets a second chance?
This is the story of illusion, coma, pimp & circumstance

Where was Eye? Oh yeah...
A gentleman he was
He never spoke about her nose
So prominent because in the dark it'd glow
If she was only tan instead of so lily white
Her name was Doris but he called her "Fluo"
As in "-Rescent" - That ain't right
Fluorescent every night
A situation bound 2 fail
As sure a Doris' skin was pale

Money might talk, but what does it say?
U better get busy if U wanna get paid
"Boy, Eye was fine back in the day"

She knew which fork 2 use but she couldn't dance
So he hipped her 2 the funk in xchange 4 the finance
Who's pimpin' who if nobody gets a second chance?
That's the story of illusion, coma, pimp & circumstance
Now, dance

Dance

He spent her money oh so well
Take a bath in cold Kristal
He took a trip 2 burn an old flame in 'Frisco, like wow
But Doris caught him in her arms
She shrugged her shoulders and said "No harm"
Just put Ur name on this pre-nup and we can all hit the disco

She knew which fork 2 use but she couldn't dance
So he hipped her 2 the funk in xchange 4 the finance
Who's pimpin' who if nobody gets a second chance?
This is the story of illusion, coma, pimp & circumstance

She knew which fork 2 use but she couldn't dance
So he hipped her 2 the funk in xchange 4 the finance
Who's pimpin' who if nobody gets a second chance?
This is the story of illusion, coma, pimp & circumstance
Now, dance

Dance

i mean, if i sang a song about a guy and said 'if only he was white instead of so black'
i'd be called out for racism in a big way.

i happen to have lily white skin and i think it's beautiful. if prince is living in a world where he thinks anything else then fuck him and his fucked up music

XxAxX said:

I'll never hire you to decipher lyrics.
The "put downs" you speak of are coming from the guy in the song, not Prince.

OdysseyMiles said:

Not to mention that the guy in the song may be white as well...his skin color is never revealed. A White gigolo wishing his elderly "client" had at least a tan hardly sounds racist...


...that ain't right edit.
[This message was edited Mon Aug 9 7:53:02 2004 by Byron]

Speaking of borderline racist lyrics, what's a "black sweat"? And how is that different from a "white sweat"?

OdysseyMiles said:

yeah whatever. too bad they're in prince's song. i still find it offensive.

XxAxX said:

forgive me while i rant but i'm really, really sick of reading shit that comes from prince about race issues these days.

that remark of his on the interview thread about toronto - where he says that people who call him 'outlandish' are actually calling him negro, and then segues into a little diatribe about how negro people can afford nice clothes too.... when actually the interviewer was lreferring to his make up and high heels

imo since the rainbow children prince has been pro-black to the point of crossing the line and becoming anti-white.

XxAxX said:

pardon m'french, but what in the sam-fuckin-hell are you going on about? you're takin things way too seriously, methinx. you should honestly know better than to look into whatever p says as serious.

XxAxX said:

excuse me but i am not making things up. i am expressing me reaction to what i read in prince lyrics and recent interviews.

you are black and your reaction will be differnt from mine.

i guarantee if the shoe were on the other foot you would see things and feel differently

XxAxX said:

i honestly wouldn't. it's a song for fux sake, not a stance on who/what he supposedly hates and whatever for.

XxAxX said:

Girl, you can't guarantee anything. To be honest, I see your post as an overreaction to the lyric. You're trying to see something that simply isn't there.

OdysseyMiles said:

seriously, you're totally overreacting to all this stuff, and you really shouldn't be so angry about it.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

are you trying to invalidate my point because 'it's just a song'?

it's also a message, and it's one i'm sick of paying for, exPECially coming from someone i used to admire for his open mind.

i'd love to debate this with you but i have work to do and i ain't of a mind to cheat my employer. i'll catch you later.

and in the meantime, until 5:00 p.m., if you think i'm the only person who feels this way about prince's recent messages about race, try reading some of the comments on the 'toronto - no pretension' thread. hell, just dig up any thread about TRC, or 'the moors' for that reason.

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

Word

XxAxX said:

All the more reason why I'll never hire you to decipher lyrics.

methinks someone has too much time on their hands....

XxAxX said:

um....I'm white and I'm as pale as they come. I have no idea how you can possibly be so offended by this. It's a friggin' story!!! He has plenty of songs about people doing or saying things that they shouldn't be. If I write a song about a woman who beats her child, are you going to get offended and insinuate that I'm a child abuser? I'm really confused as to where you're coming from.

XxAxX said:

You may have some valid points to make on the subject concerning a few of his past songs and comments...but this particular song ain't one of them.


And...to stay on topic...lol

kellyann22 said:

How's my favorite vegan??..

(you're the only vegan I know, so don't let it get to your head...lol)

XxAxX said:

folks overreacted on all those threads as well. big whoop. i still think that you're lookin way too closely into the song, and whatever's buggin you about it does not exist. trust me.

i'm done on this end.

Byron said:

I'm just fine, baby! Thanks for the mushrooms!

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

no. enough folks have been upset about the racial content of some of his lyrics recently that it isn't strictly related to my interpretation.

the only point on which i think maybe you're right is that i shouldn't take prince's messages too seriously since his lyrics are 'whimsical' at best and 'confusing' at worst. and i sure shouldn't take what he says personally, since he doesn't even know me.

i AM likely overreacting to what i see in his work lately. that is, he's not coming right out and saying 'white people suck'. but, more and more lately i find myself uncomfortable listening to words that come from an artist i used to put right up there at the top.

i guess it comes down to prince, i love you but i don't trust you anymore

erm


Who is Doris Duke?

XxAxX said:

believe me, a lot of ppl r taking notice!

Snap said:

A lot of people are also confused by their own misguided reasonings.

I was speaking about this song on another post, too. I think I said something similar to what someone said above. I said if someone else said, "If only her skin was fair & white instead of sooo dark as night," it would be called racist. Prince kind of crossed the line in this song.

TheDreamingPeasant said:

He was singing about what another character was saying - and he followed up the "fluorescent" comment with a "that ain't right".