RB is a song I've listened to for a long time. Only recently have I began to get an idea of the meaning.

Not too long ago I found out what a beret is. Take the lines"He told me several times that he didn't liek me kind, cause I was bit too leisurley.". I think we all pretty much agree on Prince being black. I'm guessing his boss doesn't liek blacks(his kind) cause they had a reputation for being lazy a few decades back.


But the line that's really got me is"They say the first time aint the greatest.".
I'm gonna take a wild guess that RB is about Prince loosing his virginity. I just wonder if it's a real story.

fluid said:

Oh Lawd? >>> they had a reputation for being lazy a few decades back

AsianBomb777 said:

ILUVIT!

AsianBomb777 said:

and you don't want to know what "in thru the out door" is a metaphor for....!!?


****
[Edited 8/26/05 4:48am]

LittleSmedley said:

oh god.

AsianBomb777 said:

George Clinton: "All that is good is nasty."

The "Berret" has absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the thematics with the song. Yes, it does hint at Prince's skin colour and it's about his first sexual encounter (imaginary, I'd believe). He also makes fun of his own size and body type. It's a funny good lyric all in all, wish he would manage to do something like that even today. Instead of you know "2045 Radical Man".

HAHAHA this thread is hilarious!! OMG!

Novabreaker said:

thats the point wendy was trying to make during the first largo show..somehow that got turned into a wendy hates prince moment.

Novabreaker said:

During which line does he make fun of his size and body type?

Oliver said:

Well yes back in the 70s blacks had many stereotypes about them like they look alike,the men have big penises,they're tough,and they don't liek to work.

fluid said:

Serioulsy, we get it.

It's just that this whole thread seems a little "how to make obvious points about old songs". It happens.

Funny, I always thought "she wore a raspberry beret" referred to the hat the chick was wearing.





Unless there's some secret racial hat code I'm not aware of, I think you guys are reading into things too much.

woooow....deep

I never once considered the "my kind" reference to be racial. It simply refers to lazy folks, which exist in every color. Mr. McGee didn't like "the kind" of people who did next to nothing, which Prince admits he does.

Had it been a racial reference, I sincerely doubt Prince would have jokingly affirmed that he was lazy by saying "I was busy doing something next to nothing but different than the day before."

The social impact of his joke would be worse than Mr. McGee's prejudice.

I don't see this as a race lyric.

Listen to Synthia.

I sing this song "Raspberry Parfait".

SynthiaRose said:

Hmmm. Well you can read into it. A "race lyric" doesn't have to be all-covering, well-thought piece of information - it can be also be executed in a more subtle, tongue-in-cheek fashion. He could be both, genuinely lazy and African-American, right?

fluid said:

I always understood it as "the 1st time between 2 people", interesting point of view

meow85 said:

I agree

meow85 said:

I always thought it was about her hat too

fluid said:

Yeah, call me slow, but I just listened to the song and I completely
missed any line where he makes fun of his size and body type

thekidsgirl said:

"Built like she was, she had a nerve to ask me if I planned to do her any harm."

Novabreaker said:

I guess I just don't get it.

I figured he was saying she was "build" (like a brickhouse )
and of course he planned to do her some "harm" (have some nasty sex)

but hey, whatever?

fluid said:

Back in the '70s? It's nice to know that after 30 years ain't nothin' changed.

My two cents was that I always thought the song was about a girl that wore a Raspberry Beret. You know, the kind you would find in a secondhand store.

I don't really like Raspberry Beret. It's way too pop-ish and even cheesy.

thekidsgirl said:

I thought the same thing, you're not alone.

psychodelicide said:

Kidsgirl, that's EXACTLY what that cute bravado line means.

Why someone would think Prince was making fun of his size here is beyond me.

He observes that this girl is stacked, hence he's going f*ck her, so he puts her on the back of his bike and takes her to "old man johnson's " farm.

This song is so obvious. What is wrong, people???
[Edited 8/30/05 18:28pm]

Novabreaker said:

Coming from somebody else I'd almost believe you were serious.

The raspberry beret is just a cool, unique article of clothing. That and the fact that she walked in through the out door shows she's possibly a free-thinker. At the very least she marches to the beat of her own drum. The fact that she wouldn't wear much more than that beret shows she is also uninhibited. Of course none of that would matter if she weren't "built like she was".