A worse change was:

23 scriptures in a one night stand
Gett Off.

As sung on the Rave Un2 the year 2000 DVD.
[Edited 7/23/08 7:44am]

No, it didn't make me mad. The song sounded the same. As for the name change, I just thought he had slipped a little more into La La Land than he already was.

TheEnglishGent said:

Larry, the Tommyknocker had taken Prince's brain hostage.

remko said:

It could be worse, he could have said "There's a Bible in my pocket and I'm ready for praising the Lord.."
Not too far from "23 scriptures in a 1 night stand.."

I'm not religious, but I never had a problem with it. The song was always about Jesus anyway, so it's not as though he 'changed' the meaning of the song or anything.

Genesia said:

I know that with Jesus...there are many perspectives of the crucifixion...Through my eyes..."The Christ," is a perspective of Jesus waiting in pain...and "The Cross," is the revelation of the ascension....I won't put a cross with Jesus hanging on it in my home...I only involve myself with the escape from pain...

The symbol is dying to the personality...that is the last nail...that in turn opens the grave...as we surrender to Jesus on the throne of our hearts....Not at the crossroads where all people can meet at the door.

yes.

I think that I've posted on this before....the lyric change didn't bother me, but the speech I heard during the Jam of the Year Tour did. I remember his words exactly as he explained the greek word in the bible that people translated as "Cross" was "Staros", which could mean a long straight beam or pole. This means if it were a straight pole, Christ would have been crusified not on a cross, but with his arms nailed above his head. Anyway, he said:

"Staros. Perhaps someone lied about the way someone died."

Just plain arrogant in my opinion. Larry Graham tells him, 'Yo man, Jesus died on a stake, not a cross," and this MF has to go out and cast doubt in people's minds about the long believed method of his saviors death. Dumb.

Hey P, how about this.... "It ain't the way, but the why."

my response is simple - why fuck with something that was perfect from the get-go....

we never hear him utter the original lyrics live on stage again (damn blast and set fire to it), BUT thankgod we have the live SOTT version (which rocks) - he cant take that away from us...

jstar69 said:

Thats is absolutely great, better than the one during the Lovesexy show (my pipi, she might be small ) But I must say i also like the Rave DVD-version. (except the part with Larry singing).

The Christ.

jonnymon said:

I remember, and that shit did piss me off. Larry Graham, you ass...

abigail05 said:

'The Gold Experience' was a terrible album, but i don't mind the dawn change.

As far as the subject, I didn't mind the change 2 "The Cross", but I do prefer the original lyrics. It really doesn't matter, as the song is about suffering, sacrifice, and having faith through it all. The cross represents sacrifice, as does Jesus' life, so there U have it.
[Edited 7/23/08 7:56am]

Genesia said:

RIGHT ON!

UniversalSon said:

He saved that nonsense for his reworked version of "I Feel For You." "Spiritually attracted to you?" PLEASE

TheEnglishGent said:

The worst thing about that wasn't the religous aspect but the fact that it just didn't make any sense.

abigail05 said:

i have taken that saying as may u wake up 2 c another day but now, if u listen 2 the original version of come where he's saying "this is the dawning of a new spirtiual revolution" could b quite interepeted as when he was saying may u live 2 c the dawn, well the dawn has arrived 2 a new spiritual way of life..

remko said:

yup!!!!! awful!

Never was one of my favorites either way you say it

"4 those of u that miss the old lyrics, that says more about u than me" - prince xenophobia celebration 2002

and this is very true, a lot of times on threads people r quick 2 blame larry or can't accept that prince's religious views have changed which is his right 2 do so. but since JW's r quick 2 be damned and burned at a stake i often wonder if prince chose 2 b another devout of another religion, would people b quick 2 condemn him 4 changing the lyrics 2 reflect those views then. everyone has their own belief in God (or not) and prince has his own.

like some have said in other threads about prince's music, it's not the 1st time nor likely the last he will include spiritual messages in his music.

peace

L4OATheOriginal said:

You mean The Cross did not include a spritual message?
[Edited 7/23/08 14:38pm]

Imago said:

Exactly! So stupid.

i love all his quirky shit, anyway i thought he was supposed 2 be the king of re hash?

L4OATheOriginal said:

Yes, it says more about us than him. We appreciate quality & context. Not idiotic revisionism.

Bizarre nature of the JW "faith" aside, there has always been a spiritual element to Prince's music & to a degree, it has been appreciated & has even made some of his music more powerful. But when the spirituality bunk gets poured too heavily into the mix (Gett Off, I Feel For You, etc.), it's invasive.

When he goes back & changes lyrics to suit his new beliefs, it spoils the recollection of what made the song memorable in the first place? If he felt that strongly, shouldn't "The Cross" have been renamed "The Stauros?" It should have, but he probably realized that some concessions still need to be made to good sense. I wish he'd realize that more often.

I thought it was rather arsey of Prince to change it. It's almost as if he doesn't understand his own lyrics. The Cross is a burden in the lyrics and supposedly he's saying we all have one. The jehovah take that the actual cross is a misrepresentation of what happened is irrelevant and Prince as a grown man should understand that. The symbolic history of the cross should surely be the pertinent aspect of the lyric. I don't believe P should constantly "Re educate" because he has "Evolved". It comes across soo pompously it makes you wonder why he would need God in the first place