Has it ever been clarified why the lyrics to "Da Da Da" in the Emancipation lyric book are seemingly for a completely different song then the actual released version?

There's so many Emancipation-era outtakes floating around, but I've never heard of the original version of "Da Da Da" leaking out.


On a side note, it's interesting how 14 years later, the lyrics are still relavant.

On another side note, Emancipation has aged verrrrry poorly.

I think the Emancipation cds... like fine wine... has done very well.

I still enjoy the music.

Emancipation is my favorite Prince album, and I listen to it regularly. I think that it's aged well, IMO.

And I love "Da Da Da", rapping and all.

From the DTT:

Da, da, da, da
Da, da, da, da, da

(Yeah y'all, it's like that y'all, it's like "Bet Your Life")
{sample repeated in song}

Yeah
It's like rolling in a Bronco pumpin' them pumps
U know what I'm sayin'?
On Broadway or somethin', U know what I'm sayin'?
Yo yo, straight up
Yeah, yeah, yeah

Hey yo, call the paddywagon, I've seen a black boy cash stackin'
Smirk on my face screamin', "Fuck the Grand Dragon"
4 the fast cash, we be thinkin' 2 slow
Clownin' each others on the damn talk shows
I don't wanna house but I gotta stick and rob
I got a disease, it's called "Can't find a job"
Smokin' on the herbs help me see a little better
Lookin' 4 a job in this cold ass weather

Watch out, I'm tryin' 2 get my shit 2gether (Da, da, da, da, da, da, da)
Yeah - da, da, da, da (Da, da, da, da, da, da, da)
(Gotta keep it goin', gotta keep it goin')
It's been kinda lonely (Da, da, da, da, da, da, da)
Da, da, da, da (Da, da, da, da, da, da)
(Gotta keep it goin', gotta keep it goin')

Hey yo, as soon as I come home, I'm stressed by my mama
Questionin' my whereabouts like I'm the Unabomber
Question mark, comma, freeze all the drama
Intensive care flows 4 all U hos smacked with trauma
As I sit back with my blunt and gin
Grab a pen, write a song about a million black men
Tryin' 2 blame all this violence on gangs
What about those fools who kill 4 nothin' and hijack planes?
(Let me hear U...)

Get your shit 2gether (Da, da, da, da, da, da, da)
Da, da, da, da (Da, da, da, da, da, da, da)
(Gotta keep it goin', gotta keep it goin')
Da, da, da, da (Da, da, da, da, da, da, da)
Da, da, da, da (Da, da, da, da, da, da)
(Gotta keep it goin', gotta keep it goin')

Yo, I'm goin' 4 the gold like a olympic sprinter
Fuck the bullshit, steaks 4 dinner this winter
Yo, I've seen a murder scene that left a fool scarred
Plus I saw a prisonyard way before a schoolyard
Time's rough plus time's runnin' out
My mom said if I trip one more time, I'm gettin' kicked out
And I ain't tryin' 2 make excuses
But lookin' 4 a job in the ghetto is fuckin' useless (Let me hear U sing)

Get your shit 2gether, straight up (Da, da, da, da, da, da, da)
Yeah, uh - da, da, da, da (Da, da, da, da, da, da, da)
(Let me hear U sing)
Da, da, da, da (Da, da, da, da, da, da, da)
Da, da, da, da (Da, da, da, da, da, da)

Ask yourself your destination
What the source of your inspiration be
And U will find a spirit tryin' 2 get back 2 the mind
How U was in your mama's belly
Live and let live was the order of the day
What U say?
Loving one another is the only way!

Da, da, da, da, da, da, da
If U believe in one thing, if U believe in 2 things
(Da, da, da, da, da, da, da)
If U believe in anything then let me hear U sing
"Da, da, da, da, da, da, da"
Keep on believin' (Da, da, da, da, da, da)
Lord

(Yeah y'all, it's like that y'all, it's like "Bet Your Life")
(Yeah y'all)
(Come on)
(Yeah y'all) {x2}
(It's like "Bet Your Life")
(Yeah y'all, it's like "Bet Your Life") {x3}
(Yeah)
© 1996 Emancipated Music Inc. - ASCAP

Ernest, do you happen to have the lyrics from the Emancipation lyric book?

If I recall, the first 2 verses were completely different.

billymeade said:

Don't know. The guy who typed up the booklet was so OFF on things, especially in "Sex In The Summer" ...."groove of a baby's heart" became something like a rubber baby fart or whatever.

At the DTT, we listen, vote on the draft that Ted draws up, and vote on "issues" for any particular part. I think 99.9% of the time, it's spot on. Even I have learned about things in songs that I never knew before.

I have the booklet, but it's in storage.

"Da Da Da" is another example of a song being ruined by the rap and the lyrics. And I'm not someone who completely hates rap music, but there's good and bad rap. In this song, I like the music, singing part, guitar, chorus, everything but that God awful rapping.

luv4u said:

Me too.

How did you guys get printed lyrics for Emancipation? I bought it used a few years back and there was one booklet, with all the pictures and Prince's brief comments.

Curious as to what it looked like...

xpertluva said:

This is 2010 people rap/hip-hop is here to stay get over it...

Da Da Da is a great song the rap is as hard as you get ...very bold move by Prince and a timeless bit of work.

SOTT is a rap/hip-hop record ...as much as rapture by blondie...

LondonStyle said:

Like I said, I accept and even love a lot of hip hop. But just the good stuff. And Da Da Da doesn't qualify imo.

CerpinTaxt said:

Call 1-800-New-Funk to get yours....
Sorry, I couldn't resist. Really, you had to order it separate from the CD, a nice book with pics and lyrics for $25, iirc. Check e-bay, they usually pop up for sale regularly. I actually got a couple of them when I ordered other stuff from New Funk back in the day, thrown in as a bonus. They must have been trying to unload them, like the War cassettes. Go figure.

Actually, you can get it from amazon for about what it cost new in 1997 - http://www.amazon.com/exe...ninimports

LondonStyle said:

It is "Bullshit The Masses" day in the UK?

I have found errors in the DTT but it's a nice resource. I do hater the home page however, it's hard to navigate with those tiny little links, I need to move my mouse with soo much accuracy.

blueautumn said:

Errors according to whose ears? The printed lyrics in Prince albums (or any album) aren't always correct. We strive to put down exactly what we hear come from Prince's lips.

Da Da Da I like and the lyrics are relevant to today.(unfortunatly)

Emancipation as an album is great. Disc 2 I hold mixed feelings about but prefer that to the rubbish you hear spewing from the local radio...

ernestsewell said:

I've been going to the DTT sites for it feels like a decade or more. I trust them over the printed lyrics any day. The current front page design tho is horrid, I agree.

smokeverbs said:

Believe me, if I had the power to change it, I would.

And I challenge anyone to do the work the DTT has done in determining what Prince utters, plus all the backing vocals, the stupid raps, the talking, and whatever else gets put down. "Errors" my ass.

ernestsewell said:

fms said:

I just ran across about 5 or 6 mint copies of that booklet after cleaning out some boxes. I can't for the life of me remember how or why I ended up with so many. My guess is I got them at the clearance table at one of the Celebrations.

LondonStyle said:

Pure foolishness.

funksterr said:

Indeed it is - let's explore that from LondonStyle.

Sign O The Times was an album.
"Rapture" was a single. Not an album. "Rapture" explored a very new genre in music, called Rap. However, a lot of Blondie's music was this simple: It was reggae music, in a whole new way. Listen to the beats, the melodies, the arrangements, the undertones, the guitar parts, the bass lines. Culture Club's music had the same type of sensibility to it. Sure it had guitars over it, and the vocals were different in delivery, but the music wasn't that new, in some regards. things like "Call Me", "Heart of Glass", and especially "The Tide Is High" fully represent my statement. "Rapture" is a stand-out track, yet is pure Blondie at the same time.

Now let's dig into SOTT. Title track, Play In The Sunshine, Dorothy Parker, Forever In My Life, U Got The Look, If I Was Your Girlfriend, Adore, Strange Relationship (especially in its early form), Beautiful Night, I Could Never Take the Place Of Your Man, hot Thing.....the list goes on of songs that don't even remotely resemble rap music, or hip hop. In fact, the only song w/ a rap is "Housequake", and the last minute add-on of the Transmississippi Rap from Sheila E. (over the phone) on "Beautiful Night".

Prince scoffed at rap music for a long time before Tony M. decided to "ram black music down that ni**as throat", and pretty much stayed away from it. Prince fans would NOT have embraced SOTT like they did had it been Prince trying rap music on for style. "Housequake" is an extension of the ideas in "The Bird" or "The Walk". Fun song about a brand new dance.

So as Funksterr said....SOTT a rap record? "PURE FOOLISHNESS"

ernestsewell said:

Sometimes when the bait is there..don't go for it...I refuse to respond to his nonsense..

xpertluva said:

True, the rapper ruins what could have been an interesting song.

squirrelgrease said:

Seems like a totally different song? early signs of TRC religio-racial-politics!


.....

lotusflw3r said:

Yeah, it's pretty amazing that even that far back, he was already delving into that stuff.

ernestsewell said:

So is there a circulating version of the song with the lyrics from the lyric sheet? Is it sung or rapped by Prince?

i could be wrong but i think londonstyle was calling sott the song, a 'record' in the way some people (and a lot of brits) would use it. like saying 'track' or 'number' instead of song.... that would at least help explain the rapture comparison. i dunno, as i said i could be wrong.

xpertluva said:

Not to my knowledge. Those are lyrics that I forgot about until I saw the picture again. It might be a safe bet that those are from an earlier version of the song that never leaked out. Where's Boris? He'd know.