The next Prince CD I buy is Dirty Mind. Yes, I'm a newb.

But I read the lyrics to Sister and wasn't sure what to think at first. Is he implying that this woman twice his age is fucking him, but to kill any suspicion from the neighbors, they're telling everyone he just comes over to visit big sis?

Nope.

It's just a song about nailing his big sister.

It's (hopefully) just a story. Some people think he had some sort of fight with one of his real sisters and to piss her off, he wrote the song.

Some people speculate that it's not a piece of fiction though.

What do his sisters and brothers think about that(personally, I'd be embarassed with my brother releasing Dirty Mind. Look at the cover and what he wore on stage. And all his songs on that were only about sex. That's it). If anyone has info, please share it.

If I were a fan back then, I'd be seriously turned off. I mean this was 1980. What were people thinking? This is where he picked up most of his original fans. Old fans, I'd like all your original impressions.

doctamario said:

Prince wasn't really a well-known 'star' until 1999 really, and not till Purple Rain internationally.

The 80s were great for music, lots of chances being taken, much more freedom in the mainstream.

Artists are still taking chances, but you rarely see them in the mainstream charts, it's all about image and business these days.

For me, Sister, is one of my favourite Prince songs, always, always put in my top 10 tracks because it's a reminder, even the pinacle, of his time as someone who wanted to stir things up with his music (where I guess now he does so with his business).

Was his sister really twice his age?

The song is fictional.

The radio was pumping "Uptown", "Head", "Dirty Mind", and "Partyup" at the time. People never heard "Sister" until they bought the album and then they didn't seem to care.

vainandy said:

they'd play "partyup" on the radio? with the f-bomb intact?

doctamario said:

AFAIK, none of his siblings have said anything about it.

Prince was a very well known star in the R&B world during the "Dirty Mind" era and the following album, "Controversy", made him even bigger. Not only was he very well known, he was one the biggest stars.

"Sister" is not advocating incest. It's a tragic narrative.

I love it. It's nothing for Prince or his family to be ashamed of.

Second, Dirty Mind is not just about sex. There are some really profound themes in these songs beneath the sexual veneer. Casual fans always took his songs to be about the superficial connatation of the lyrics, but if you analyze the songs... they are deep, and poetic. Dylanesque even.

doctamario said:

I’m going to “date” myself but what the heck…!
I was Freshman in college and my roommate had the Dirty Mind album. He
Told me that his oldest sister had met gone out with Prince a few times and
had given her his latest album.
I knew Prince was but had only heard the songs that had gotten airtime on the Radio.
Well “Uptown”, “Head”, and “Sister”…heck the whole album was like nothing I had
head before. The “surf guitar & keyboard sound” of “When you were mine”,
the talk of a counter-culture group in “Uptown”, I could go on and on!
I’ll attempt to put things in context:
-I grew up in Jacksonville, Fl
-I was in college at the UofFL (Go Gators)
-Disco had ended approximately a year earlier(late 1979/early 1980)
-AM Radio ruled the airwaves (FM was just in its “tweener” years)
-The mainstays of Rap were GrandMaster Flash & The Furious Five and Kurtis Blow.
-Hard rock bands were groups like Pink Floyd, AC/DC, Bad Company, Deep Purple, and 38 Special.
-The Funk was played by Cameo, Rick James, Con Funk Shun, and Zapp, and The Gap Band
-Soft rock was Air Supply, Christopher Cross, Elton John, and Paul Simon.
After listening to “Dirtymind”, I was hooked!!!!

GGD

SynthiaRose said:

i keep tellin these bastids that but nobody wanna listen...

I enjoy hearing all of this stuff from all of you.

Sister Ugly, that's the truth, she's at peace in the back yard, asleep on the roof.

I Wish You Heaven Parts I, II and III

Say's it all really.

67TBirdHeartAttack said:

i always thought it was "she eats pizza in the backyard"

but to stay on topic i think he was just trying to shock with Sister.

So what CD's are those from or are those just bootlegs and outtakes as well?

muirdo said:

Found some lyrics to this Pt. thing. Muirdo was just toning down the lyrics, but I don't think he was talking about his own sister. Well, what do I know? And what CD is I Wish You Heaven Parts 1,2, and 3?

doctamario said:

IWUH is from Lovesexy, but pts. 1,2 and 3 are from one of the best 12" singles he ever released (arguably).

muirdo said:

it is.

vainandy said:

Hmmm, yes, sorry I probably should've explained that a little more. By 'star' I meant that even a little old white lady in a middle-class neighbourhood would know of them (that is, when someone in the public eye has permeated right through to masses fully, not just a star, or well known in the big cities, or in their respective genres.

//

Great analysis by SynthiaRose too