Sorry, I never until surfing the web today, associated this song with an literal organ grinder.... I thought the song was just about a guy playing a church organ and/or a guy "grinding" on his lover's "organ." (P's sacred/profane schtick)

This http://en.wikipedia.org/w...an_grinder opens up a whole new meaning for the song for me. Wow. Prince is actually casting himself as a grassroots music political activist well before his break with WB (most likely before his beef with WB became public). This was also from DAP (his most obscure double entendre: "double anal penetration") where he announced that he had "grooves and grooves up on the shelf".

He also states, "I will die, but I wont go away" (theme of the Come album, which could easily have been on the shelf all that time).

But the literal ref is very aprapos, since (despite the fact that is was a GREAT song) organ grinders were usually seen and heard and nuissances who 1) represented lower classes, 2) were cynical (of the industry), 3) paid to keep quiet (the $100M WB contract P later rejected), 4) and most notably for many current critics of his post (fill in the blank, I would say "Lovesexy") output, played the same tune over and over again:

"Music lovers usually hated the organ grinders, since most grinders seemed to be tone deaf and lacking any sense of rhythm. They apparently were not interested in keeping their instrument in tune or cranking at a rate suited to the music which was "programmed" in their barrel organ."

I only mention this to put this out there. P was just giving us a foreshadowing of how he would intently play out his beefs with the music undustry which was hinted at in DAP and which we all collectively suffer with even today, albeit with a few gracious exceptions.

"Often, they would make more money than was earned by the people who made donations."

So, some of us fans should really never feel sorry for the dude.

So DAP also stands for "double anal penetration" ? Was that even the "in" thing to do in 1991 ?

Your other theories sound very interesting though....probably not really what Prince had on his mind but interesting and theoretically possible nevertheless.

I like both songs, Gett Off and Violet The Organ Grinder but I prefer the latter over Gett Off, and I like the strings and the lyrics.

GoZero said:

he was foreshadowing? brother he didnt even know.

u guys give prince credit for stuff that he was merely the RECIPIENT OF.

all the ideas he has expressed, have come from ELSEWHERE first.

but being that he is A MUSICIAN , he picks up on those vibes and plays em out in his own way.

he is NOT the first ever to say the things he has to say.

stop deifying him. he's human n i can prove it lol

The organ grinders were guys who went around the streets with an organ on wheels; they would turn a handle and the organ would play the same tunes over and over again. Most times they would be get paid to move on, just like violinists at a romantic dinner. In a sense, they were the Big Issue sellers of their day, mostly vagrant types asking for donations for playing the music to try and get enough to live on.

Organ grinding has since become synonymous with any action that is monotonous and/or repetitive. If you want to think of it as an attack on his record company, you could argue that he felt like Warners were making him go out and play his songs until it became a pain, a 'grind' for him. However, actually he decides when he goes on tour not his record company, and he was pretty happy with things around the Diamonds & Pearls time, so I don't really see this.

The rest of the song lyrics clearly show it is about the memory of his sexual relationship with some woman, 'grinding' being a slang word for sex, even more so with the 'organ' in front, a play on words. I see it as he is simply saying he is a sex machine. Never mind all that other nonsense.
[Edited 9/21/06 9:28am]

Prince suggested he was already questioning and having trouble with his managers, contracts, etc., because Jughead certainly wasn't about Tony M's (from no where, to Prince's band, to no where career).

.... Money minders are like parasites
They pose and wheelers and
Dealers for your rights. And most
Companies say that you need em!
Not me... But I've kicked back, observed, and
I'm honest... Watched 'em bleed 'em
Artists young and old
I can bring you to the top! Where'd this unwritten law come from anyway?
That years after the contract you should
Still be gettin' paid? Boy, I go broke
And hit the skids before I take care of
A rich sucker's kids. Hell,
My contract... A contract ain't no pension plan,
My contract... Years after this my kids are still
Gonna make the grand.
Tony, you... And you laugh at my brother Little Richard
When he says you ain't gave him nothing
Let's leave him out of this Hell, that ain't no joke
His songs are still sellin', that man
Could die broke. So fellow artists,
U need me... Push for yours, and watch for
Mr. Money Minder, as we settle the score

i will die, but i won't go away.. hmmm

GoZero said:

Rapper Ice-T, who was kinda hot in the late 1980s, already suggested in 1988-1989 that Prince was a bit unhappy with his situation at Warner Bros.

I have an old Ice-T interview on VHS where he compares the music biz to pimping, and he says Prince is WB´s best whore...

He doesn´t diss him though, he repeatedly shows his respect and admiration for him and Sade during the interview.

GoZero said:

I think you're looking for sexual allusions that aren't really there.

"If I gave you double anal penetration
Would you be a happy boy or a girl"

I still have this video. I sure as heck never thought of double anal whatever! IMO that is an exit! Not an entrance! I dont know why I even responded oh well Anyway, the best song on that video to me is Gangster Glam! Roller skating and by the pool, and Rosie! Peace and Love

Hotstuff said:

"I" means essence=seed.

poisonmouth said:

lol...

metalorange said:

That's cool.

RUHip2TheJive said:

Yes, indeed. Diamonds and Pearls is just another one of his many many euphemisms. This is from the same song, where the man says:

D to the I to the A to the M
[D(ick) the "Eye"/(prince-ism) to the A(ss) the M(outh)
O to the N to
[flipped] O[ver] to the [e]N[d] <<-- 23 positions (see below)
the D to the "PEARLS OF LOVE" <<-- [D]iamond, hard phallus ref.
[the D(ick) to the "pearls of love" -- being drops of come, in case any of you missed that]

and the same album where he croons:

Gett off – 23 positions in a one night stand ...
How can I put this in a way so as not 2 offend or unnerve? ...
It's hard 4 me 2 say what's right when all I wanna do is wrong ...
She said U told her a fantasy that got her all wet
Something about a little box with a mirror and a tongue inside
What she told me then got me so hot, I knew that we could slide

And from the same man who titled one of his albums: "Come":

"Don't be surprised if I make U my daily meal...
Lickin' U inside, outside, All sides up and down
With my tongue in the crease, baby I go 'round
Like a splendid, open ended Celibate friend pretending
Not 2 know it when I BLOW IT IN YOUR EYES..." <<-- [D]ick to the "EYE" ...

I rest my case.
You guys are too puritanical, my gramma would know to watch out for the dirty references in a Prince song/album.
[Edited 9/22/06 17:45pm]

GoZero said:

Your Diamonds & Pearls interpretation is, of course, bollox. The lyrics from the other 2 songs just go to show that Prince takes a far more direct approach to euphemisms, the letters for DIAMOND are not an acronym, they are how you spell DIAMOND.

Talking of sexually explicit songs (that Prince is no longer supposed to sing about since turning JW) check Mellow out;

I could dance 4 u- a little comical minuet
If u desire I'll shed my attire
Anything 2 get u wet.

Shower, my flower?
So much 2 do, so little time
So choose wisely and u can find thee
In the Mellow of my mind

Can I sing 2 u while u bring urself 2 joy?
I'll go slow at first, while u quench ur thirst
Wet circles round the toy
While u bring urself 2 joy

Real playa's know what I'm talkin' 'bout!
'Ress a you pur'tans needs to get thee to a nunnery.

WHAT THE FUCK? Double anal?? WTF???

GoZero said:

Umm, tell me you think like this b/c you WORK in porn


DAMN!!

and some of the best acronyms are words or names, why do you think P used extra emphasis and spelled it out? ... do I need to spell it out for you?

HARD: Health Adversities Research Database
HEAD: Hand-held Encryption Authentication Device
NICE: National Institute for Clinical Excellence
SALTE: Semi Automatic Line Test Equipment
RAW: Risk Analyst Workbench
WET: Weightless Environment Training
LIPS: Logistics Integrated Process System
....: Forced Unlawful Carnal Knowledge

GoZero said:

I know you're only having a laugh... those are hardly the 'best' acronyms around. But your Acronym doesn't even work:
Dick Eye Ass Mouth Over End Dick = DEAMOED! Acronyms don't use 'Princisms' or second letters!

you be'n too logical, gul. relax, let yo' hair down,
"U got 2 get down -- Freaks on this side!"

I'm testing postive 4 the funk
I'll gladly pee in anybody's cup ...
I can't wait no longer child
It's getting stronger, baby
OPEN UP YOUR EYES ... <-- hear, many have said that P's actually said"
OPEN UP YOUR ASS

Yeah, people tell me I got no taste
Then blow the candle out, let's see if it's true

You guys are too GD funny. I am sitting here with tears in my eyes. This shit is great. love this site.

That's what I'm talkin' 'bout. Those folks who were trying to over intellectualize it was buggin'. The Brit had me and my girls screamin'! "Your DAP interpretation is, of course, bollox."

People call me rude, dudes.... Outta here