I remember one time reading a line-by-line comparison of the "7" lyrics to the Bible verses they were 'inspired' by or referred to. I'm almost sure it was in a Controversy magazine. Does anyone else know what I'm talking about? I'd love to get my hands on that issue or possibly find it reprinted online or something.

Thanks for your help!

I always thought the song & referred to the 7 deadly sins. Ill find the lyrics brb.

CHORUS:
All 7 and we'll watch them fall
They stand in the way of love and we will smoke them all
With an intellect and a savoir-faire
No one in the whole universe will ever compare
I am yours now and U are mine
And 2gether we'll love through all space and time
So don't cry
One day all 7 will die

CHORUS

And I saw an angel come down unto me
And in her hand she holds the very key
Words of compassion, words of peace
And in the distance an army's marching feet (Hut 2 3 4, hut 2 3 4)
But behold, we will watch them fall

And we lay down on the sand of the sea
And before us animosity will stand and decree
That we speak not of love, only blasphemy
And in the distance, 6 others will curse me
But that's alright (that's alright), 4 I will watch them fall
(1 2 3 4 5 6 7)

CHORUS

(Never grow old)

And we will see a plague and a river of blood
And every evil soul will surely die in spite of
Their 7 tears, but do not fear
4 in the distance, 12 souls from now
U and me will still be here - we will still be here

There will be a new city with the streets of gold
The young so educated they never grow old
And ah… there will be no death 4 with every breath
The voice of many colors sings a song that's so bold
Sing it while we watch them fall (Fall)

CHORUS

(Never grow old) {x3}


IMHO he is saying love will defeat all but I could be wrong.
[Edited 6/14/08 11:06am]

Well, I'm going to be brave (not sure about the answer to your question - I always thought it was the 7 Deadly Sins too - sorry!) But, am I the only person in the whole of Prince world that doesn't really like this song? It feels like it, everyone else raves and I'm like 'Why?' (I'm waiting for the bricks to start flying - don't hurt me....)

Jeffiner said:

Im not going to through bricks Jeffiner I thought that too but I dont really like the song NOW compared to when it WAS out, IMHO Prince isnt into God now he is "supposedly" a JW. So the hype to me has died for this song.

It ain't his dick size?

Jeffiner said:

Just another brick in the wall . . . .


But yes you are the only one in the whole world who probably doesn't appreciate this musical masterpiece. Listen to those layers of vocals! It does lean toward the overproduced but so does everything else on the album.

Why? You question Prince but not your President?!!!! (okay just joking there, didn't mean to scare you, well yes I did but enough to do any lasting damage like a parent or close relative . . . )

SUPRMAN said:

Oh the WHOLE world now, not just Prince world, how bad do you want to make me feel....?

Well it may be a musical masterpiece, it may have layers and layers of vocals, I can appreciate all those things.....but I still don't like it!!

Jeffiner said:

Bad enough so that everyone else would lay off seeing that you had been punished enough.

I wish someone would answer your question though. I wanna know too.

SUPRMAN said:

Very considerate!

Ah... they'll all come crawling out of the woodwork now, slowly, one by one, just wait and see

I hav ebeen searching for awhile to answer this but this is the ONLY thing I can come up with(Ill edit this post IF I find more):

http://en.wikipedia.org/w...%28song%29

I have been looking fo r awhile Imguessing tha tthe web sherrif took them off just like they did with other articles I had set on my bookmark tab

So I doubt it will be affirmed unless someone can do some major digging.
[Edited 6/14/08 13:11pm]

The analysis was in UPTOWN magazine. I dont' remember the issue #. Sorry but hope that points you in the right direction.

Anyone that stands in the doorway to block World Peace, is gonna have to die to Love eventually...I don't think that Jesus is gonna let hatred run the show.

madhouseman said:

Thanks, I don't know why I said "Controversy magazine." (IS there even a "Controversy" magazine? LoL)

Like I said, it was a line by line comparison with the scripture verses it told the story of, and it wasn't the 7 deadly sins.

"7" was one of the few songs that stood out for me on that album, not sure why, and I was surprised when it was chosen as a single and even more pleasantly surprised when it became popular.

Wow, problem solved. Just found the answer in the most unlikeliest of places....

http://prince.org/msg/7/153283

Tame said:

Then what's the fella doing now; on a freakin' holiday?

If not, fucking fire him; he's doing an awful job.

Tame said:

On topic as usual.

I think these lyrics either deal with:

The 7 deadly sins.

or

With the 7 seals from bible-chapter about the Apocalypse (hence the sentence: There will be a new city with streets of gold, which seemingly refers to the New Jerusalem, which, according to the bible, will come to earth, after the seven seals have been opened).

I always thought it was based on The Book of Revelation in the Bible.

'7' - a comparison with the Book of Revelation

And I saw an angel come down to me
In her hand she holds the very key

Reference to the angels who appeared to John in his revelation. In the beginning Christ appeared to him with the keys to Heaven and Hell

Words of compassion, words of peace
And in the distance an army's marching feet

The seven kings of the tribulation will appear not to be evil. They will speak of peace and unification, all the while planning war against God and his people

But behold, we will watch them fall

The believers will watch their demise

And we lay down on the sand of the sea

God stands on 'the sand of the sea' and we will be bowing to him

And before us animosity will stand and decree
That we speak not of love only blasphemy

God gave a 'beast', evil, the power to turn the people of the earth against God for 42 months. The beast will blaspheme against God and his people and make it seem as though God and his followers were the ones who are blasphemers

And in the distance 6 others will curse me

The 'beast' is one of the seven kings and there are six more to come

But that's alright for I will watch them fall

They all will falter

All 7 and we will watch them fall

The seven kings will come to power during the tribulation 'We' - God's people, will triumph with God over them

They stand in the way of love

They are against the love of God, from which all love is derived

And we will smoke them all

They will be thrown in the lake of fire or burn with sulfer 'Smoke' will arise from them eternally

With an intellect and a savoir-faire

God is all knowing and all powerful (omnipotent) Savoir-faire means 'know how'

No one in the whole universe will ever compare

God is unmatched in greatness

I am yours now and you are mine
And together we'll love through all space and time

Some believe that eternal love will be found in Heaven, besides that of the love of Christ. We will be matched with a human (non-Godly) being to love for all eternity

So don't cry - one day all 7 will die

For all the pain and suffering, have faith in God. The evil seven kings will die.

And we will see a plague and a river of blood

These are the two ways that God will destroy the earth. We will know that the end is near

And every evil soul will surely die in spite of

Refers to the death of the soul of the non-believers of God. They will be thrown in to Hades

their 7 tears - but do not fear

Tears will fall and sadness will be upon us, but great things are to come so do not fear

For in the distance 12 souls from now

The souls of the 12 apostles will be avenged

U and me will still be here

We, the believers, will live eternally

There will be a new city with streets of gold

A discription of the New Jerusalem. The city will be lavish

The young so educated - they will never grow old

We will never be as all knowing as the Lord, but our knowledge will greatly increase and 'our eyes will be opened to the mysteries of the universe.' We will not age.

There will be no death, for with every breath

And there will be no illness, pain or death

The voice of many colours sings a song
That's so bold
Sing it while we watch them fall

The multitudes, too numerous to count, from every tribe of the earth, will sing a song, 'Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb (Christ)' This song will have the power to eliminate evil things from the world.

The seven deadly sins.

http://www.deadlysins.com.../index.htm
[Edited 6/15/08 19:19pm]

Very good analysis, crunkytown.

I think you really nailed those lyrics.

Riverpoet31 said:

Thanks buddy, but that was a copy-and-paste job from Uptown magazine via this very forum, so I can't rightfully claim credit.

crunkytown said:

Nuts, I wanted to break the news to everyone.

I was pretty obsessed with this album and this song when I first got into prince. I would spend lengthy amounts of time reading the liner notes in my CASSETTE case, and reading these in particular.

There is like a fake arabic writing in the background of these liner notes that said various things, but also, right beside this song in small letters, it clearly says "Revelations - The Book"

Go check

Guys (and girls), I don't think there is any question of what the lyrics refer to - it's not the 7 deadly sins, it's the Apocalyse of John (aka the Book of Revelation).

The song is another of Prince's that touches on Biblical apocalyptic mythology - like 1999, LGC, Crystal Ball, etc, etc.

crunkytown said:

7 is about Warner Bros.