he says - - -

Little sister making minimum wage

Living in a 1-room jungle-monkey cage

Cant get over, shes almost dead

She may not be in the black

But shes happy she aint in the RED


Does the reference to the color RED have anything to do with communism?

I love him in RED..

REDFEATHERS said:

he does look good doesn't he!

Being in the red means being in debt.

Being in the black means she's making a profit.

The line means she's just making enough money to get by.

PEJ said:

no it's a financial account of being in the black (making a profit) and being in the red (financial loss)

REDFEATHERS said:

like how i c u? ..in that red ....

L4OATheOriginal said:

well, if you like..

Paris9748430 said:

No, it doesn't. Red is a euphemism for communism. The line is a play on words. It means, "She may be poor (not in the black), but at least she isn't living under communism (in the red)."
[Edited 3/6/08 11:17am]

Genesia said:

I think it's both.

Efan said:

Yeah, it's a double entendre (sp?)

I always thought it was about Communism. Kind of a stupid lyric on Prince's part.

Efan said:

It can't be both. If we were to take the literal meaning, the line would be, "She may be poor, but she's happy she isn't poor."

it's a clumsy play on both, but i love flute sounds in funk. Gill Scott Heron style. Gett Off, as well. The lyrics to this are a bit sixth-form {college) adolescent discovering politics, like Dance On, etc. But it's got a good tune

JudasLChrist said:

I think it's one of the smartest things he's ever written.

Genesia said:

yes it can. you can take any meaning you like from words. Oftentime, an artist will change his or her mind on why they wrote lyrics after hearing people's reaction to them. Or, they sit there feeling pleased with themselves that their lyrics work on "many levels".

LittleSmedley said:

Okay, it can be both. But it would be monumentally stupid.

Genesia said:

In the black means making a profit. In the red means being in debt. She's living paycheck to paycheck and making ends meet, but she doesn't have any savings to fall back on, so she's not in the black or red. She's caught in the middle (this is just my interpretation) of the battle between the aristocrats and the communists that Prince has set up in the first verse. Still, she is doing the best she can and she would rather be in a capitalist economy than a communist one. That's how I see it as being both.

Efan said:

I thought so too. But more important to me is why she gotta be living in a monkey cage ????

SCNDLS said:

a small one room boxed apartment perhaps?

REDFEATHERS said:

and scarlets

SCNDLS said:

again, its metaphor, which most would take for a small living space. though a zookeeper might think meant something else. it means what you want it to mean.

Genesia said:

Genesia said:

or just, a young guy, suddenly massively famous, trying to write a something political coz he's got a new audience of millions, but quickly because he feels his best stuff should come instinctively. Who knows?

I always took it as an allusion to communism,

The verse prior he sings

Communism is just a word,
but if the government turns over,
be the only word thats heard

Love the video BTW

Let's just change it 2...She may be in the sack but she hopes she ain't in the bed.

JudasLChrist said:

Most definately.

It's a double entendre, but what a naively reductionist and imperial opinion to express. Kind of goes against the idea that the song's nationalism is tongue in cheek, although I'm sure it was to some extent.

No, it has to do with her financial situation, when you're in the black you're doing okay , when you're in the red you're almost bankrupt.

To say one's accounts are "in the black" is used to mean that one is free of debt. Being "in the red" is to be in debt—in traditional bookkeeping, ...
[Edited 3/7/08 3:53am]

When I was younger I always thought that 'America' had an amount of irony about it - much the same as Springsteen's 'Born In The USA'.

However, during a recent listen it appeared to me to be a fairly crude and naive paean to the greatness of America's anti-communist ways. The messages I get from it now are:

- The US government should support the rights of the wealthy to keep on amassing increasing fortunes.

- Those who are poor and almost dead should just be happy that at least they aren't living in Russia.

- If Jimmy Nothing, and others like him, aren't rabidly loyal to America then that will be the slippery slope to 3rd world war and annihilation.

To say I was disappointed at this realisation is an understatement.

Obviously the songs are of their time and the early to mid-80s was filled with a sense that global destruction was just around the corner. However, at least in 'Ronnie, Talk To Russia' which, although showing a similar political naivety, was open to a dialogue on the matter to resolve things, rather than sticking rigidly to the 'them and us' mentality shown a few years later in 'America'.

I thought she was missing her period...

Dayclear said:

That's why it's a double entendre. She's not in the black (in credit, financially), but she's happy she isn't in the red. It's a pun. Red is a symbol for Communism, the USA is THE symbol of Western Capitalism.

To say she's not in the black, she WOULD be in the red if it was just about her finances, so it wouldn't make sense.