JayJai said:

Hellooo

Repeating the thread title:

Do you believe Prince's lyrics ALWAYS reflect his feelings?

Obviously, a songwriter exposes his or her feelings. I'm talking frequency and how well his most ardent fans feel they can tell when it's fiction for Prince.

Thanks.

No, I don't. In fact I think they hardly ever do. I think they reflect a stylized version of his feelings, or what he thinks or wishes his feelings should be. Or some version of his feelings where he comes out looking like the good guy and everyone else done him wrong.

errant said:

Very interesting. If you've more, I'd like to hear it.

ThreadBare said:

It's pretty rare that I get a genuine, hardcore emotion from a Prince song, as though he were speaking directly from the heart. The ones where he is are fairly obvious, I think, but most of the time, I think his true feelings are kept a little obscured or at arm's length in his lyrics, and you don't really get the "real" story out of them. How many lyrics does he have wherein HE is the one that fucked up, rather than his woman du jour? (When we all know damn well he's chasing tail all the time and has probably never been faithful to a woman longer than she can hold his interest before the "new car smell" wears off of her.)

I think it's like anything else in Prince's world: he creates a fantasy of what things are like or should be like and tries to live that life, and is often dismissive of the "truth" in favor of whatever version he's come up in his head, or whatever crackpot version of it he's "researched" (this last part pertaining to his "political" songs).

As for his personal feelings, I think stories like the recording session for "Wally" are pretty indicative.

errant said:

Good perspective! .... I think the last time his music felt in accord with what might have beed going on in his life was The Symbol cd and Emancipation ....and most recent The Rainbow Children. I agree with the fantasy he might portray. Of late the music feels more like business projects or concepts being rolled out.

Pimps up ho's down, you know the rest.

Didn't he once say in an interview, "if you want to know me listen to my songs"... something to that effect?

I think he writes about his experiences.. or what he has read about, everyone does just that.

Of course not, he's a narcissist and "N's" are products of trauma and truly disconnected with genuine feelings-they can only mimic them. He was that way before he became famous and his extroidinary talent allows him to brush around emotional territory with great success. He was once otherworldly at sexual double entendre and metaphore, he is still cryptic and tongue and cheek but genuine feelings hardly ever. He's extremely bright and there are times when he can slip in really deep insight into the most funky songs but he's too consumed with how he is percieved (all N's are) to write down what he really feels.

How deeply Prince feels his own material is 4 Prince to understand. I believe that Prince is trying to express "a feeling," with all of his songs.

It could be true that as listeners over a period of time, maybe we develop a deeper closeness with a song that moves us, than Prince has.

Tame said:

I think I agree with this. Especially the first part. He is trying to express a feeling, just not necessarily his. Or his true ones.

And if they actually are his true feelings, then he's very emotionally stunted.

Honestly, I felt this question was rather stupid (or sort of immature). Of course, his lyrics do NOT always reflect his feelings!! Isn't that VERY, VERY obvious? Lou Reed was often asked if he was a heroin addict when he wrote "Heroin" and other songs that dealt with drugs - he replied that he was only doing what literary authors have been doing since fiction was "invented"! This doesn't mean that Prince's lyrics never reflect his feelings (which is an even more stupid premise). But anyone who thinks Prince is "playing from the heart" or is always revealing a part of himself should check out the gigs he did in late October 1996 (and that period); talk about play-acting and going through the motions.

The P

To add to my previous reply - I often take the example of Lennon and McCartney. Lennon was the more personal, subjective writer who was more willing to reveal himself through his work, whereas McCartney was (is) more of a story teller, inventing stories and characters rather than writing heartfelt about himself necessarily. There are many exceptions to this simple generalization, but on the whole they had quite dissimilar approaches (although not from the outset, but from "Help" and onwards, Lennon became far more personal and truthful in his lyrics, having become tired of the "I wanna hold your hand"-style lyrics). I have ALWAYS felt that Prince belongs more in the McCartney category, slightly more superficial, keeping a distance between his real emotions and his writings (see many examples of how he has dealt with life's difficulties - not by writing about them, except for some notable exceptions). It's not that either approach is better than the other, but I do not feel Prince is overly comfortable about revealing less flattering sides of himself. Any comments on this?

pplrain said:

exactly

I love how folks keep insulting me and then posting over and over.



God bless y'all.

ThreadBare said:

I got love for ya thready

To me art is a way of selfexpression, so making music and writing lyrics surely are.
[Edited 4/18/09 7:57am]

Vanity45 said:

and "feeling" are just one aspect of self expression - there are plenty others.. veiws opinions, spirituality, nonsense, fun .. crazy don`t quite know where that came from,
communication, cos it rhymes...

The guy got such a pile of homework ...we should cut him a break !

chillichocaholic said:

Thanks, lady.

ya he feels he knows how to get your ass moving all the way to his bank. Cha ching ... u feel me