blackwell1 said:

Yup, that's basically it.
Here's the lyrics for those of you without.

Here am in New York yeah
See the girl bold and fair
What's in your backpack 2day
Will it take my blues away
That's okay, "U gotta run..."
Check it out, don't need U 2 have some fun
Coming from the land of snow,
guess 'm kinda used 2 cold

But One day 'll have a big white mansion
At the top of the road
'm gonna wear the latest fashion
'm gonna be happy, don't U know

could use a new guitar
Sing a tune at Chazz' bar
Maybe meet a debutante
Be a toy, do what she want
9 o'clock - see John K.
"U don't rock, come another day"
Spirit so low reaching up 4 ground
One day 'm gonna make it in this lonely town

And 'll live in a big white mansion
At the top of the road
'm gonna buy the latest fashion
'm gonna be happy, don't U know

Hey there, what's your name
Can U tell me how 2 play the game
Do really have 2 cut my hair
Now, that's a cross could never bear
Sell my publishing - what a laugh!
don't know bo, but do know math
Back 2 Minneapolis, there U go
U can't find your house underneath the snow

And 'll live in a big white mansion
At the top of the road
'm gonna buy the latest fashion
'm gonna be happy, don't U know

TheBluePrince said:

Yo Anita, yo check out that ass!! I looove that.

Thank you MBlaineeverywhere, I was wondering the same thang todaay while I was playing it.

I love "White Mansion" and "Courtin' Time", take them for what they are, FUN!!!

I love listening to "White Mansion"... since the very beginning of it's release... plus hundreds of others...

I agree with what Tom and Kevin had to say..., nonetheless... no one really knows what the true exact meaning/truth is... except for none other than... "Prince". That's the beauty of music... we all perceive it differently... and hopefully we gain something positive out of it all, we do have that divine power... the power of choice. Other than all that... what ever makes our heart/soul happy.

Best wishes!

I think White Mansion refers to the crack house that Prince opened up in downtown Mpls, but I could be wrong.

MBlaineEverywhere said:

In the booklet contained in the Emancipation CD case, below the song "White Mansion", Prince says "In a perfect universe - dreams come true. Sellout? Neveragain"

Since Prince knows that we're not living in "perfect universe", that begs the question "what perfect universe is he singing about?"

The beauty and genius of the song is that if you want to listen to White Mansion as simply a song about material possessions, you can do that too. But in my opinion, Prince and the song go deeper than that. Prince has already "made it", why would he just now be dreaming about owning a new house and new clothes? In my opinion, Prince is somewhat cryptically or metaphorically singing about drowning his sorrows or casting his worries aside by staying focused on going to Heaven. He's saying, despite all that's wrong around me, none of those things really matter because one day I'll have a Big White Mansion (i.e. a place in heaven)

"In my Father's house are many mansions" and "I go to prepare a place for you" (quote from Jesus in the Bible) The latest fashion is the "new clothing" he will be given. (paraphrased from the Bible)

I'm not trying to put anyone down, and this is all just my opinion of course, but I think if some of you all read the Bible more (or at all), a lot Prince's songs would make more sense and the questions you have would be a lot easier for you to answer.

Also: there was a lot of talk around the time of Emancipation's release about this song being inspired by Prince's first trip to New York in the early days, when he was shopping his record around trying to get a contract. This would explain the lines about his sister (I believe he stayed with his sister during the trip, or at least would have caught up with her, since she was living in NY at the time), as well as the lines about being told he'd have to cut his hair to get noticed, and record execs trying to get him to sell his publishing, etc. It makes the most sense in this context. I really dig the song because as of late it's not often (or at least its not often obvious) that P is writing about actual experiences early in his life. The idea of him thinking back to one of his first big stabs at the big time is neat--and, yes, of course the "White Mansion" is an allusion to the future Paisley Park. At the end of the song, Prince--or , as he was then known--zips forward to the present, long after he's made it big and is wearing all the "latest fashions." And, ironically, he wonders whether he's really any happier now than he was then. The song is about the ironic correspondence between the past and present, before and after fame, and the poignant, somewhat sad, mentality of feeling as if one has to look forward one's happiness in the future as opposed to the present. The implication is that endless deferral of this sort will never bring true happiness--hence the ending: "Maybe one day..."

newpowerfantastic said:

Wonderfully and analytically expressed...

Freespirit said:

I agree with you freespirit. I rememeber telling someone once that a song is whatever it means to you, and not what it means to anyone else.
[This message was edited Fri Jun 28 20:24:37 PDT 2002 by Starmist7]

I always thought it was about realizing one's dreams...

Well, in my humble opinion, although this song is from 96´s ´Emancipation´, it´s about the young Prince, dreaming about buying what Paisley would be. He talks about selling his publishing, going to NY, etc. I always saw this song as if it was written by him before 78 (even if he wrote it later)