One of my favorite Prince songs, but I was kinda young when it came out. Were there an uproar of gay rumors when this song came out? I was just wondering since it was at a time when Prince was under the microscope and the line about taking anyone boy or girl combined with the album cover...well I could see people wondering.

I have always thought this was absurd considering the amount of mad ass he was always seen with, I never had any question, nor did it matter to me. I have just always wondered what fueled the rumors since I always saw him as being all about the women. I still battle people to this day over the topic and have no idea why.

When Lovesexy was released, "Anna Stesia" instantly became one of my all time favorite Prince songs. I remember hearing the line "..any one boy or girl.." and thought nothing of it (even though I heard people discuss it as if there were some hidden meaning). The reason why it didn't elicit those kind of thoughts for me was that the line was preceded by "Have YOU ever felt so lonely..." The YOU used there is referring to anyone in general...men and women. So of course, the choices would be for a boy or for a girl. I never once thought Prince was directly referring to himself. I felt that he was more or less attempting to connect with people who may have felt as distanced from others as he has.

There is a line in "Movie Star" where Prince says that he grabbed somebody for a quick dance "boy or girl, it don't matter 'cause (Prince) is hot." Even this line doesn't make me think things because all Prince is doing here is basically bragging on himself as being in such a party mood that whoever his dancing partner is is inconsequential.

InMyDark said:

U r so correct!

Of course he's refering to his own loneliness in Anna Stesia, and the thought that anyone, boy or girl, would do. Whether it's a true thought of his is another question. It's probably just a nice, contoversial sounding line.

He may be joking in Movie Star, but that he included that line is intriguing.

What about, "There's some Kings in my deck, and a Queen or 2, so you know there's nothing I wouldn't do." - Willing and Able.


[Edited 8/7/06 3:06am]

Prince seems to prefer to keep things ambiguous. And I wouldn'thave it any other way?

Part of his sexual appeal,to me at least, is that he doesn't do the stereotypical reactionary straight male insistance that he only digs chicks. Whether he does or does not is irrelevent. Not to worry though, certain fans have taken up the knee-jerk hetero reactions for him.

For alot of people, I think u take the song in ur own way, so hes saying, Have u ever been so lonely.., like hes speaking to us and saying one boy or girl cause it depends on whos listening to the song. A girl or a boy! IMO, the song is an absolute great tune! I never took it that way. This was bad a... in concert! Peace and Love

oh shoot Im not an old school orger but i am old school,

meow85 said:

Yup.

Other statements that could be taken both ways....


From Bambi: "Bambi, can't you understand? Bambi--It's better with a man...."

From The Black Album: "I just hate to see an erection go to waste...."


It goes on and on...

Imago said:

I've no problem with Prince being sexually ambiguous, but talk about taking those 2 lines out of context! In Bambi he's trying to convince a lesbian that sex is 'better with a man' than with a woman! Hardly ambiguous. And in the second, Prince has an erection because a 'freak hot funky electric mama with double cups' has just walked by.

i don't even understand the meaning of the whole song anna stesia. I just love it. So i listen 2 it

metalorange said:

metalorange said:

yes yes. And I understood what he was getting at.

This isn't about what he meant but the fact that he worded them so they could have double meaning.

Imago said:

Yes, but my argument is they ONLY have a double meaning if you take them out of context. If he was talking to a bloke, "John, it's better with a man, oo-er" then fine but he is talking to a woman!

I've heard people say the song 'Joint 2 Joint' is slyly gay, but that is only if you are aware of 'joint' as a slang for penis. The over-all song is clearly another one about seducing a woman, and the joints are simply the joints in our limbs. But if you have that mindset, you can take it out of context and say, 'hey, Prince is talking about licking a joint!'

As for the line in Anna Stesia, he is basically saying that he would only consider going with simply anyone, even a man, if he was desperately, suicidely, lonely, hardly a ringing endorcement for the idea that Prince has gay tendecies!
[Edited 8/8/06 1:44am]

The song isn't about a man nor a woman. The song is about the "holy spirit".

aw dont b lonely

I never heard any out rage over anna stesia. The uproar was more for the cover of lovesexy.

people are born bisexual

metalorange said:

And how would he know? See? Ambiguity.

Dayum, Prince can't get no love from his own fans...it's no wonder the public in general is confused about his sexuality.

These two lines are completly out of context...they have double meaning only if you look at them that way...otherwise his meaning is crystal clear.

EDIT...PRINCE LOVES PUSSY
[Edited 8/17/06 14:41pm]

He is playing the lyrical game, that's all. His songs never actually are about real events.

Revolution said:

Oh for Christ's sake.

could u please tell me about the line... gregory looks just like a ghost...? TNX.

I always wondered about the line in Diamonds and Pearls. "If I gave you diamonds and pearls, would you be a happy boy or a girl?" So, the person he's singing to can choose their gender? Not many people can do that!
[Edited 8/22/06 17:03pm]

2freaky4church1 said:

Word on the street is that Anna Stesia is probably one of the songs that refers to an actual event...(see below)

pickle said:

Gregory was one of the (male) dancers in the SOTT era. And he looked like a ghost at one moment in time. Prince decided to write a song about it. That became Anna Stesia. Many people believe there is a deeper sense to the song, but really Gregory scared the hell out of Prince... that's all

And the "boy or girl" line in Anna Stesia... I never heard discussion about it Just because you are lonely and want to be with anyone - any boy or girl doesn't mean you want to have sex with anyone. Just a friend to help you out of your misery. And just because you want to be with someone doesn't make you bi-sexual or homosexual. It makes you human...
[Edited 8/22/06 17:04pm]