do you think prince literally writes from the heart and therefore everything is as it seems or do you believe he deliberately writes everthing with doubleentendres and innuendo, or do you think that we have listened to so much head and dirty mind that we all see the 'ooh missus' behind the lyrics when they really arent there.

In true english 'carry on' film stile are we simply 'nudge nudge wink winking' at every song when prince simply did not mean us to,

is prince perhaps naive to his influence on several generations with regards to 'naughty lyrics'?

its been widely discussed on the org that he now follows a more religious route but apart from a few obvious religious songs like get on the boat, i fail to see him stopping - hence lyrics like 'if you want to get creamy' from the oneuwantac

for example i give you: lolita: imagine you on the tip of my tongue???? what does this mean to you??


thoughts please.

Seriously for a moment...A song, or a book, can reach out to the listener, and provide insight into that persons life, with a message, that the artist did not intend to deliver. Inspiration, reaches, from God, through the Instumental artist and falls like rain. If we get wet, with a positive light, we are grateful. I believe that Prince's intentions, have always been to spread a kind word.
Sexually...A man searching for the love of a woman. Is as natural as the air we breathe. Prince doesn't sing about anything, that most of us do not enjoy, in a relationship. Anything that Prince says that follow the word, "Imagine..." Or, "Dig if you will the picture." I splice out.

tame

i was being serious.

i agree we all hear what we need from music but i was wondering if this is his intention to create mystery with double meanings the way he writes his words all running into each other in order to create a possible different meaning when read or heard fast together:

coma pimp etc this always sounded to me like 'comb up in bad circumstance' but then maybe i am just deaf!

thts what facinates me about p is his very clever play on words. he's toned things down a bit over the years which demonstrates he has some control but he can't help himself. there is restraint thesedays which is reflective of his personality of late but i feel he does use doublentendres 2 let him off the hook with his jw pals..
3121 album suprised me when i heard it as didn't expect sexy lyrics, but they're plenty 2 hear.
3121 is a good example. is it a club or a more exclusive party, like in his bed? i prefer the latter! & any mention of prince's tongue would easily suggest something nawty. he's made no secret in the past about how much he loves 2 use tht thang!
the one u wanna c on pe is a fab song. he makes light of the creamy lines which can b 4given due 2 the fun/jaunty melody.
he's got a great sense of humour. he sings romantic SHOE & then pops in 'do you want 2 do this at Urs, or my place?' the tone in his voice suggests he' wants some fun...
i feel he's just a v sexual person who has few inhibitions. all his passion from within comes out on paper. all the innuendo keeps people smiling

lottielooloo1968 said:

That's a great post Lottielooloo. I agree with most of what you say, but I also think there's times when we all read MORE into some of his lyrics and actions than were actually intended. I think it amuses him, there was an early interview where he said people were debating what he meant by this or that, and he hadn't actually meant anything really, but he thought it was interesting!

Hope that makes some sense, rushing....

Jeffiner said:

thats rally interesting as that is what i was wondering it would seem that sometimes he writes something an it re-reads back as something else. a bit like my other thread ' do u think prince is aware of how young his fans are?' i meant this a s a question with regard to, literally, is he aware. i didnt mean it to mean should he be careful what he writes BECAUSE of his young fan base, but still it makes for an interesting discussion - both parts that is.

was that interview years ago or more recent as there was always controversy over his lyrics and the religious references, where they literal or metaphores?

i think metaphore like any writer or poet you draw on personal exprience and if had a lot of religious influence even if he didnt follow it, it would crop up in his work.

syble said:

But I also think it's interesting that in interviews he's done, he doesn't really swear for instance, and looks slightly embarrassed about his sexual references. Ok you might not expect him to swear his head off, but a lot of pop stars/rock stars do. He says things like "Oh my goodness", and "Oh boy" lol, which makes me believe that a lot of his image and sexually explicit early stuff was like a 'character' that he put on. Don't get me wrong, I still think he's a very sexual person but I think it's always been on a more spiritual level for him.

I spell it out completely here: http://prince.org/msg/7/251236

Jeffiner said:

i have always felt he does not/cannot think on the same level as most. whatever tht level might b. his performances r so uninhibited it's hard 2 imagine he's the same person when u c him interviewed. shy, mature & almost confused & shocked y anyone would b interested in the naughty image he portrays! he does seem 2 b on a spiritual level. his work def comes from the soul & touches us in a primitive kind of way.
however, in an interview he admits he sometimes played on certain images like gaying it up with other bandmates in the early days 4 shock value & i also read tht when 'the b eyed peas' met him, he spent ages lecturing one who said 'shit'!
b4 i read tht i imagined he was the cussmiester behind closed doors.

Yes...I believe that many of his lyrics have a double meaning more so now then ever before, and that it's intentional, especially with the more racier songs.

When he was younger he used to just rebelliously come right out and say what he wanted to say regardless of the language...but now...if your paying attention you can hear that he's finding cleaner more mature ways to express sexy and very erotic feelings. Basically he's saying the same things....just using different words and leaving a little bit more to the imagination!

Obsidian said:

yep i agree with you, peps keep saying hes cleaned up his act because of being a jw but i dont agree with them, you cant say go to *** in guitar when we all know its hell and not mean for the listener to know what hes referring to the same with lolita, now theres a song!!!

i think maybe as hes aged he feels less comfortable with his real old stuff, lyric wise and has found more mature ways to say the same thing instead of the obvious like 'i wanna feel you up" whoch although fun as it stands is a little immature compared to mr goodnight talking sexily of fountains and pools etc not turn off the light it time for mr goodnight and i dont think he means wheres me slippers and pass me the cocoa!!!

he's writting songs like it was back in the days where songwriters had 2 b clever in saying or implying sexual acts compared 2 where it's all out in ur face

Foreplay starts in the mind!

syble said:

Atirolopiuuk said:

You took the words out of my mouth! "If everyone's doing it, it ain't sexy no more"

I believe the double entendre is intended. It fits well with the mystique that surrounds him and gives fams something to think about.



Imagine me on the tip of Ur tongue
If eye took a sip then eye would be on the run
Hellhounds barkin' 'round my door
Eye can't sip U once 'less eye sip U some more

Lolita
Better get out of here
'Less U wanna dance


What do you think he's saying here? Just curious?


[Edited 1/4/08 19:31pm]

Twinkly1 said:

well the whole song is about a younger girl (than him) over 18 hopefuly, and its about the pressure of young women (or a particular woman perhaps throwing herself at him) (when it came out i guessed it was about Tamar) and the temptation he feels and is resisting. i think its based on his own pressure of religion, stardom and he must be surrounded by fans who just would die to give it up with prince and hes writing about that. just cos hes religious dont mean he cant feel sexually tempted by young women - afterall he seems to have a record of younger girlfriends.

u no what they say you can take the boy outa compton but you cant take compton outa him!


i remember over on npgmc they went nuts over this song. there were sooooo many religious zealots on that site and they hated the title eve.

but prince has often in recent years referred to temptations - what was that tune on musicology? cant remeber the title ive aways been shite at titles, he samd about the temptation of a woman watching him play and how he has a woman already etc 'is it the way i play guitar' a very sexy song.

hes still got IT!

I actually got into Prince BECAUSE of his double-entendres (sp?).

Kinda intrigued me that he wasn't afraid to come out and explicitly describe sex, and also encouraged me, as a songwriter myself, to not say, "Oh that lyric is too risque," or "That's too graphic..." Plus, sex is a subject I quite enjoy

Volitan said:

i did too, i thought his metaphors were so clever and i always wondered why the religious nuts couldnt see them for what they were

both

missmad said:

both????

what you mean missmad?

syble said:

I think that depending on his mood, sometimes what he writes comes out like we hear it and other times his writing is made to have a double meaning.

missmad said:

quite.

not so mad then!

There's a difference between double entendre (ie saying something which could be interpreted in 2 different ways) and him toning down the overtly sexual lyrics. Obviously he's dropped the more shocking sexual lines "i met her in a hotel lobby masturbating with a magazine" etc. but there's still plenty of sex in the lyrics as lots of the previous posts point out (my favourite from PE "I can get you out of your body have you ever felt like you were dying?")!!!

The double entendre is there quite often though and is clearly deliberate, for example in On the Couch - "but it's so hard girl" can be interpreted to mean it's difficult being stuck on the couch alone, but can also be interpreted in a rather more graphic and literal way that something is physically hard!!!

LondonSusan said:

he has many times used the phrase i can get you outa your body in the vanguard jam he says not the physicall im talkin about your mind. he often uses sexual reference inference and then states that all hes interested in is your time, kiss, mind etc but not full contact. that vanguard jam was superb im so glad i burned it before npgmc disappeared now i can play it in the car its just a shame i cant watch the vid any more!!!! the crowd went crazy when he sang that!

Sometimes the lyrics are straightforward, sometimes he uses double entendre.

Example of double entendre:

I got the butter for your muffin...just need the keys to the room

You don't really think he's talking about baked goods or imagining himself working room service at a hotel, do you?

Hey! Room service is a double entendre! Damn, I'm good!

syble said:

haha id like 2 think im not mad

Genesia said:

No, but couldn't he be referring to - give me the keys to your mind (keys to the room) so that he can spread the word (butter) to your muffin (mind/head); not to mention the double-entendre of the sexual connotation?