I dont know what to say,literally,i dont know what to say on the chorus,Fuck or Funk.I love this song though,have it on my myspace.I always thought it was Appolonia instead of Sheila E.

It came out when I was 12 years old

EVERYBODY thought he was saying "fuck".


One of the best no-album tracks by any artist, ever.

dude, you're threads totally suck. Keep this up and you're gonna be VERY popular in the General Discussion forum

When I'm feeling frisky I say Fuck, but your a kid so.....

Imago said:

Well u just commented so u must liked it.

A classic and it has always sounded like Sheila to me.As for the F word, I do believe it's being used in the song. Same goes for Batdance,although it says funk in the booklet for the CD I have.

Classic. I have 13 variations of it, including live performances.
Erotic City shouldn't have been released as a B-side, it should have been the title track for Prince's album after Purple Rain.
Maybe I'm just dreamin'...

Just say funck

TheKing662 said:

If we cannot make babies
Maybe we can make some time
Thoughts of pretty U and me
Erotic City come alive
We can fuck until the dawn
Making love till cherry's gone
Erotic City can't U see
Thoughts of pretty U and me

HonestMan13 said:

It's sure not "thoughts"

It sure is thoughts, and from all I ever understood, the trick of the song is exactly this: not using the 'fuck' word by singing 'funk' - or not.

FunkyDissCo said:

I've always thought it was "...fuck so pretty, U & Me...Erotic City come alive..."

benjaminira said:

Everyone thought that "thoughts" was "fuck".
Now the part "We can fuck/funk until the dawn..." is still debated today.

Imago said:

that's cuz he's saying *$%k

sheilaE annoys me to hell on that song

i still like it but imo Free World(JJ)>Erotic city

minneapolisFunq said:

is it cuz she can't sing?

minneapolisFunq said:

If you're saying it's better, well that's debatable of course, but I would always hold Erotic City as the much stronger cut.

If you're saying Free World was the original track and EC a rip-off, well that's plain nonsense since FW was recorded 1 or 2 years later.

But nice you bring it up, the similarities are quite striking.

Just when you think the 'know it all' Prince fans know it all.
What? Ya'll know this forum isn't for Charles...right?

I always thought it was Fuck not Funk. It sounds too much like Fuck too me.

"Erotic City ("make love not war Erotic City come alive")"

Ya'll know damn well he says "fuck". They played that song unedited for several weeks when it first came out, then all of a sudden, censored. Guess the angry phone calls became too much.

Prince was definetly in the frame of mind to say what he wanted to back then and I say he said FUCK.

Has he played it since he became a JW.....guess it must be fuck!

FunkyDissCo said:

Im merely stating that i think Free World is a better song. JJ jacked the bassline and set it off

I know erotic city came first, dont try to label me as some type of imposter.

I always thought he said "fuck" but told people it was "funk" to get away with it.

I think he's saying "fuck."

I think Sheila's saying "funk." I don't think Sheila ever swore on any record (IIRC). If she did here, that would be the only time, I believe.

And I think Sheila sounds great on the record.

I love this song and I have it on Vinyl - Extended mix

I never understood why 'Lets Go Crazy' was always out of stock until I heard Erotic City (The B Side).

God I miss the 80's

This song does not get enough credit for it's progressive gender politics. The idea of creating a society devoid of marriage and the ridding of puritanical views regarding sexuality is a revolutionary philosophy. The concept of sex for procreation without pleasure is denounced. It's a celebration of sexuality without the barriers our society places on women and relationships. The whole Madonna/virgin/whore paradigm is explored with P on the side of the whore.

Can you imagine Prince writing this song today?

TheKing662 said:

King...don't worry about Imago...He's mean.

I was never really that crazy about this song, even growing up. I love everything by Prince, but this song didn't move me one way or the other. I kind of liked the song and I didn't bother singing along with it.

today he would sing>>> We can Christ until the dawn