Now, I have to give credit where it's due as Prince has written a number of unique, classic songs but I feel it's been a while since the quality of the lyrics have matched the quality of Prince's music. His lyrics often seem banal, cliched, obscure or self-consciously esoteric or pseudo-intellectual. Listening to Rod Stewart yesterday (I know - he's badmouthed P in the past but I'm not a traitor!) it struck me that although he has a fraction of Prince's talent or virtuosity, the lyrics he sings tell a meaningful story and are usually well-crafted and evocative (e.g. 'Maggie May', 'Waltzing Matilda' etc...).

Prince has shown he is capable of writing quirky, thought-provoking lyrics but the quality of quite a lot of his output is erratic, repetitive and at times almost childish ('Everybody Loves Me' or 'Life O' the Party'). I know Rod Stewart is pretty cheesy and fairly one-dimensional but his lyrics are imho more consistently better crafted and thought-out.

I think Prince has been chasing his tail musically and especially lyrically for the better part of a decade. That this coincides with the door to his mind being slammed shut by outside entities could be up for debate... but really isn't necessary.

When he's "on" in this regard he's one of the best. He's written some of them most original lyrics I've ever heard (see The Ballad of Dorothy Parker). When he's "off" he can write stuff that makes me think he's hired somebody to do it for him. Because there's no way the "on" guy could possibly be the same person as the "off" guy. Unfortunately, same guy. Also unfortunate, but I have to agree that he's missed more in the last decade than he used to.

I don't think Prince has ever had a period where's he's been a great lyricist (such as on par with the likes of Joni Mtchell's high points). He has some really good output amid a great deal of mediocrity. I think part of that is due to the fact that he's not really an emotional, confessional type of writer. I think he puts up a front or clouds the issue so as to make many things less personal and that detracts from what could have been great music... maybe.

Case in point is Old Friends 4 Sale unreleased vs released version.

imo, a lot of his lyrics are really great, especially in his earlier work, you can tell he was really coming from the heart, and his groin as the case may be lol

but recently, like 20ten for example, the lyrics dont feel as genuine as they used to. nevertheless he's still good at what he does.

Here is one example of how good Prince is, as a lyricist: Cyber Single!!!

Not hatin' on old Rod or anything, but I think we also need to appreciate the vast number of songs Prince has written and the speed and frequency he writes new songs !! This HAS to have some impact on the quality being variable and make it almost impossible to keep being original !!

Comparing to Rod Stewart as an example (only because he is cited by the original poster) - how many new songs has Rod released over the last 10 or 20yrs? I don't know the answer, but I bet it is less than Prince has released in 5yrs.

Prince can paint a perfect picture with his lyrics - bringing to life a vision in one's mind !! Combine that with one of the greatest voices (in terms of being able to convey a kaleidoscope of emotions) and you get creations of genius !

the guy is one of the best, give him a break he has 30 cd's compared to ms joni mitchell. of course some of them wont be top of the line , but some are just out right great.

Throughout his career he's been hot and cold with his lyrics.

I can give you examples of banality from the 1980's and examples of poetry from the 2000's and vice versa.