"Whoever said that elephants
were stronger than mules"

can someone explain this line in the "Paisley Park" 1985 song from ATWIAD??

I have always thought it meant that Prince was a democrat in 1985.

It's like saying the mules (democrats) are the strongest, stronger than the elephants (republicans).... isn't it..?

- or am I reading a wrong message here.... ?


isn't "the mules / elephants" a political comment...?
[Edited 1/31/10 12:48pm]
[Edited 2/1/10 1:27am]

Paisley Park
1, 2, 1, 2, 3

There is a park that is known
4 the face it attracts
colorful people whose hair
On 1 side is swept back
The smile on their faces
It speaks of profound inner peace
Ask where they're going
They'll tell U nowhere
They've taken a lifetime lease
On Paisley Park

The girl on the seesaw is laughing
4 love is the color
This place imparts (Paisley Park)
Admission is easy, just say U
Believe and come 2 this
Place in your heart
Paisley Park is in your heart

There is a woman who sits
All alone by the pier
Her husband was naughty
And caused his wife so many tears
He died without knowing forgiveness
And now she is sad, so sad
Maybe she'll come 2 the park
And forgive him
And life won't be so bad
In Paisley Park

The girl on the seesaw is laughing
4 love is the color
This place imparts (Paisley Park)
Admission is easy, just say U
Believe and come 2 this
Place in your heart
Paisley Park is in your heart

See the man cry as the city
Condemns where he lives
Memories die but taxes
He'll still have 2 give
(who) Whoever said that elephants
were stronger than mules'
Come 2 the park
And play with us
There aren't any rules
In Paisley Park

The girl on the seesaw is laughing
4 love is the color
This place imparts (Paisley Park)
Admission is easy, just say U
Believe and come 2 this
Place in your heart
Paisley Park is in your heart

The girl on the seesaw is laughing
4 love is the color
This place imparts (Paisley Park)
Admission is easy, just say U
Believe and come 2 this
Place in your heart
Paisley Park is in your heart

your heart, your heart
Paisley Park
your heart, your heart, your heart (sing, sing it)
Paisley Park
Paisley Park
Paisley Park

©1985 Controversy Music - ASCAP

thedance said:

I would take the mules/elephants lyric as a pretty straight forward political reference. And I would consider the Prince of 1985 to be a liberal, if not a registered Democrat (though, whether Prince has ever voted is up for debate).

Those days are over indeed.

squirrelgrease said:

I would tend to think he leaned on the liberal side (at the time, today who knows). There's a debate on "America" on another thread. Some tend to see that particular song as downright Republican whereas I don't...
[Edited 1/31/10 13:07pm]

thedance said:

If I thought Prince had any ideas back then regarding the issue of eminent domain...

So the government has taken so much from the man in taxes that he can't afford to fix up his property...and now they've condemned it and he loses it, in its entirety, to the very people who taxed it beyond his ability to pay.

Since it is typically Democrats (donkeys) who are more in favor of taxes than Republicans (elephants), one could argue that this is a testament to the power of the taxers. Thus, mules are actually stronger than elephants.

thedance said:

It doesn't mean Prince is a Democrat or Republican. We don't even really know if he was registered to vote (and we're sure he isn't at this point since he's part of a cult). It was a comment, not a declaration.

You're correct in that it's a direct political statement. It could be taken as questioning the Reaganomics of the time. "Whoever said that Republicans were stronger than Democrats?" The unspoken answer is "they're wrong. Look at the people suffering still!". Reaganomics got a lot of criticism for the "trickle down" theory, and it never really trickled that far from the rich.

However, it could be taken as a statement too, "Whoever said that elephants were stronger than mules, (then you) come to the park and play with us." In that way, it'd be taken as a challenge to the political parties to take part in Prince's Utopian idea of Paisley Park.

The whole song, like "America" is an observation of, not a slam against, the social and economic state that the world was in at the time. Five years later, while still under a Republican administration of George Bush Sr., Janet Jackson addressed it directly in "State of the World", and "Rhythm Nation".

ATWIAD is a very political album. "Pop Life" deals not only with Morris Day directly, but drug use in general, and the love of money (which is the root of all evil - not money itself, but the LOVE OF it). In some way, even "Tambourine" addresses how people were getting caught up in the frivolities of life, fashion, and the rich. The character in "Tambourine" gets caught up in faces in a magazine, and fantasizes about what it's like with a girl in a magazine, rather than experiencing it head on. "Temptation" touches on the same fleshly desires, and animal-like instincts. In "Raspberry Beret" it's about the girl, but he starts out saying he's working in, what is basically, a dollar store. He's so bored and dissatisfied with his job, that anyone who walks through the door was a much needed distraction for him. Those are more minor occurrences, but overall, there's a lot of commonality in most all of those songs.

In 1981, Prince gave an interview to Musician magazine that was misunderstood. He was asked about his opinion of Ronald Reagan. Prince replied sarcastically, that Americans respected Reagan because he has "bigger balls" and therefore he's seen as stronger. He was actually attacking the idea of war and aggression.

His Paisley Park reference is an attempt to correct the wrong impression his words may have given.

jdcxc said:

LOL Or not.

ernestsewell said:

Nice observation. Like you say, some of those are small references, but overall, there's a lot of social commentary on ATWIAD. Never really thought about it before.

Also, not being from the US, the elephants and mules thing went straight over my head! -- I knew the Republican Party logo was an elephant, but I'd always just considered that line as an attempt at sounding "trippy". D'oh!

squirrelgrease said:

I agree... to both.....

Those days seems to be over, now he is member of the JW sect.

Sad.


---
[Edited 2/1/10 1:25am]

NouveauDance said:

And I too am glad I read that.

Considering he has no problem taking his fans' money and giving very little in return, I would suppose he's still a Democrat.


/zing!