I really like this song, but the use of the F-word makes no sense. Why use it on this kind of song? May have been a hit without it.

.
[Edited 3/21/10 12:23pm]

Mayte was still his little secret..lol

I've always loved this song. The MF lyric provides a twisted juxtaposition with the pretty melody. It works for me.

squirrelgrease said:

same here, it starts out all pleasant... here's a church, here's a steeple... and then BAM! I always play it to unsuspecting listeners and crack up at that point. A reminder of Prince's twisted sense of humor and a sign of his ability to flip-the-switch REAL quick on a mutha!

i just love it then played it the whole CD over and over again ...i gotta get it out and listen to it again...its been years

I like it, but I do find the MF-ing a bit jarring, I've always put it down to P's gangsta posturing at the time, prevalent all over Exodus, and on TGE etc.

This is why I prefer Cherry Cherry. Beyond it being a bit of a motown cop.

The Count The Days video seems serious--I don't know if it was meant to be humourous--only ironically so.

I've always liked the "Like Frankie Beverly without Maze"line. Is he counting the days until Frankie wasn't involved with Maze, or the other way around? One of life's great mysteries....

I think he meant to say, Like Maze without Frankie Beverly.

"Every day I'm with your ass is another day wasted,
I swear it's a day too long....."

One of my all time favourites, all about contrast.

This track strengthened my resolve to leave my ex.
After a 12 year relationship, and 2 daughters, I had begun 2 count the days, finally realising that my time and energy could b better spent elsewhere...
I have never looked back.

For me the song is about those who try to fuck u over, despite your love and kindness (melody)
and in my book, those people r M F's, a.k.a 'People Without'

mzkqueen03 said:

For you, it'd be a divorce song.

2freaky4church1 said:

the cd single includes a censored version, if I rememebr right...?
[Edited 7/16/09 14:30pm]

methodcal said:

The line before that is:
Every day I'm with your ass is another day wasted
I swear is a day 2 long

He's referencing that Maze without Frankie is a waste of Maze (or Frankie), and he's wasting days on whoever being WITH them. He's using an opposite to compare similarities.

squirrelgrease said:

That's exactly what I thought when I first heard it. It's an angry song, in a pretty melody. A great juxtapose.

thedance said:

You do remember right! There was a video for this also without the profanity.

I've only heard the song a couple of times...I can't remember where it is? What album?

Tame said:

Girl 6 (and maybe one of the NPG albums, if I remember correctly? )
[Edited 7/16/09 19:59pm]

ernestsewell said:

Point taken Ernest. Mystery solved.

This song is about Warner Brothers. He's counting the days until he's "free". It has nothing to do with marriage. If you listen to the lyrics and imagine he's talking to Warner Brothers in light of what was happening at the time the meaning is crystal clear. I thought this was common knowledge. I had no idea it was a mystery. The "F" word makes perfect sense in this case given his obvious anger at his label.
[Edited 7/16/09 21:32pm]

I absolutely love this song but have always hated the F bomb being dropped 3 times. I like the edit version better. I really like the guitar work in the begining of the song.

johnart said:

The NPG albun is EXODUS.

2freaky4church1 said:

It was released as a single, without the swearing (in Europe)...
and no... it wasn't a hit (it didn't even chart).

Taken from A CELEBRATION: GOLD N*GGA/EXODUS http://prince.org/msg/7/312934

I have to admit to falling in love with the guitar melody of Count The Days – a little reminiscent of Jesse Johnson’s “Just wanting you” – the song is the flip side of Tomorrow. Whilst Sonny is on lead vocals I think most of us hear Prince over him in the mix, and thankfully the beautifully layered backing vocals are lush and filled with classic prince phrasing. A highlight on the album, and you could easily see it on an “official” Prince / recording.

anyone got the version without the swearing? ive searched high and low, i suppose ebay is my best bet, but do i really wanna pay (most likely) over 10 pounds for a 3 minute song that i already have, just minus a few words?

course not

so my search continues...

RumAndRaisin said:

see post #20. I bought that at a record show in Buffalo NY when it first came out.

The song holds so many memories of the 90's for me

One of my favs

The swearing is what makes the song so awesome.

This is probably my favorite song from the 90s. Such a poetic way to talk about the feud with WB. The cursing, I can't even imagine why it's an issue. I think the term is perfect.

Celeste7 said:

I too pictured my ex, although I had left him 2 years prior to when this song came out. But that line you quoted always ALWAYS struck me of my past relationship.