Look I know there is no way one can get a 100% correct answer to this, but I was just wondering if anyone knows if Prince actually lifted "purple rain" from the song "Ventura Highway" by the band America?

"Ventura Highway" has a verse as follows:

Wishin on a falling star
Waitin for the early train
Sorry boy, but I've been hit by purple rain.

Now let's be real, purple rain is not exactly a common everyday expression...in fact I'll wager the phrase was first coined by America in their song "Ventura Highway." All I am suggesting is that Prince - an avid listener of music - heard the song in the 70s and logged the phrase in his brain for future use.

Now I've heard it's an homage to Jimi's "Purple Haze." But does anyone know exactly where Prince claimed to have picked up the "purple rain" phrase? Is it at all possible it was just a lift from "Ventura Highway"?

Prince borrows heavily often but I think this phrase probably had more to do with it being his favorite color.

rain, cleansing, bathing, confessing, forgiving, etc. is the main theme of the song
purple is the adjective (often used by Prince)
i believe it was very natural for Prince to connect the two words "purple" & "rain"
more than anything, he would've made the connection with jimi's song over america's
especially with all the hendrix-styled guitar playing he was doing at the time

wow

I thought purple rain
was a drug

or stevie wonders purple raindrops???

At think at that point in his life he was just trying to sound unique.


I mean, "When Doves Cry" doesn't make much sense. Doves don't cry.

There was a Jimi H out takes release in the 90's that had a similar line to the
end of Let's go crazy lines 'pills thrills and dafadills will kill..' Unless Prince had some serious Jimi boots, which is possilbe, it's a fluke ?

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don't like this thread


[Edited 1/18/07 10:49am]

Thanks for the responses. I knew it would be extremely difficult to get a 100% certain answer to it. I just thought maybe someone heard something.