No comprendo what this is supposed to mean. Prince repeats it in an apparent cynical way after the original voice but IDK who he's supposed to speak with in da 1st place nor what this sentence has to do with anything. WTF?

I thought the consensus was that he is being interrogated after saying he was going to go up lady liberty's dress & blow & then he's being waterboarded for info? & he later says in a muffled voice 'let me go'

nosajd said:

I thought the consensus was that he is being interrogated after saying he was going to go up lady liberty's dress & blow & then he's being waterboarded for info? & he later says in a muffled voice 'let me go'

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat???

Yep, that explanation sounds right to me...

He's talking about breaking out of the artificial cage that we're all forced to live in, by the greater 'society', whether that be through the pap that record labels/radio stations churn out (i.e. 'art'), through the digital window of social media, where communication is now mostly virtual, not physical (the 'Clouds' of the next song) or just through the constraints of society in general, that are guided and governed by mass media/ corporate entitites, where anything strange, different or 'away from the norm' is treated as suspect...

Going up Lady Liberty's dress is about undermining the symbol of the status quo... Lady Liberty was supposed to represent the freedom of the new world, but that free new world has become chained to a narrow-minded vision that celebrates money, power, status, celebrity and the '1%', so blowing her dress up is double-edged - embarrassing the status quo by blowing the dress up (as in a gust of wind, a la Marilyn Monroe) showing its underwear, as a more playful side, and revolution - blowing up this jaded symbol of freedom as a means of breaking out of the artificial cage... on the other side

Of course, once he challenges the status quo and mentions those 'watchwords', 'liberty' and 'blow', he's captured and waterboarded, treated as a terror suspect, because he's different, and wants to upset the norm....

so yes, "we need you to tell us what you know" is repeated scornfully, and then followed by a watery, muffled "let me go!"

Great moments on the record, and that's just the first track!

[Edited 10/28/14 6:46am]

Rimshottbob said:

Yep, that explanation sounds right to me...

He's talking about breaking out of the artificial cage that we're all forced to live in, by the greater 'society', whether that be through the pap that record labels/radio stations churn out (i.e. 'art'), through the digital window of social media, where communication is now mostly virtual, not physical (the 'Clouds' of the next song) or just through the constraints of society in general, that are guided and governed by mass media/ corporate entitites, where anything strange, different or 'away from the norm' is treated as suspect...

Going up Lady Liberty's dress is about undermining the symbol of the status quo... Lady Liberty was supposed to represent the freedom of the new world, but that free new world has become chained to a narrow-minded vision that celebrates money, power, status, celebrity and the '1%', so blowing her dress up is double-edged - embarrassing the status quo by blowing the dress up (as in a gust of wind, a la Marilyn Monroe) showing its underwear, as a more playful side, and revolution - blowing up this jaded symbol of freedom as a means of breaking out of the artificial cage... on the other side

Of course, once he challenges the status quo and mentions those 'watchwords', 'liberty' and 'blow', he's captured and waterboarded, treated as a terror suspect, because he's different, and wants to upset the norm....

so yes, "we need you to tell us what you know" is repeated scornfully, and then followed by a watery, muffled "let me go!"

Great moments on the record, and that's just the first track!

[Edited 10/28/14 6:46am]

Ah OK thanks I get it now. Major headache but I get it

It can't be much more meaningful than simple nonsense. If there is some meaning behind all the "Mr Nelson, you were frozen at McDonald's, and we want to turn you into a McJughead," I really don't care.

stillwaiting said:

It can't be much more meaningful than simple nonsense. If there is some meaning behind all the "Mr Nelson, you were frozen at McDonald's, and we want to turn you into a McJughead," I really don't care.

Can't it be? Hmmm...

I hear the waterboarding reference but I wouldn't have even considered it until it was pointed out on the org. Isn't the first interogation voice, "tell us what you know", someone else? Josh maybe? And the sarcastic, cocky, repeat of the line is Prince responding to the interogator before he gets waterboarded?

Anyway, to me, if these references are in fact related to waterboarding, then it implies to me that the song was written quite a long time ago when waterboarding was current and in the news... A few years ago maybe?

A strange song really. It doesnt really set the tone for the rest of the album. And yet, on another thread, someone said that a video had been made for the song. It wouldnt be a single release I would use to promote the album.

Rebeljuice said:

I hear the waterboarding reference but I wouldn't have even considered it until it was pointed out on the org. Isn't the first interogation voice, "tell us what you know", someone else? Josh maybe? And the sarcastic, cocky, repeat of the line is Prince responding to the interogator before he gets waterboarded?

Anyway, to me, if these references are in fact related to waterboarding, then it implies to me that the song was written quite a long time ago when waterboarding was current and in the news... A few years ago maybe?

A strange song really. It doesnt really set the tone for the rest of the album. And yet, on another thread, someone said that a video had been made for the song. It wouldnt be a single release I would use to promote the album.

Prince doesn't believe in time or relevent news. He still thinks putting hidden tracks on albums decades after Nirvana did it is some awesome creative trick. Just like he thinks Auto-tune is some awesome thing.

Rimshottbob said:

Rimshottbob said:

stillwaiting said:

Rebeljuice said:

I hear the waterboarding reference but I wouldn't have even considered it until it was pointed out on the org. Isn't the first interogation voice, "tell us what you know", someone else? Josh maybe? And the sarcastic, cocky, repeat of the line is Prince responding to the interogator before he gets waterboarded?

Anyway, to me, if these references are in fact related to waterboarding, then it implies to me that the song was written quite a long time ago when waterboarding was current and in the news... A few years ago maybe?

A strange song really. It doesnt really set the tone for the rest of the album. And yet, on another thread, someone said that a video had been made for the song. It wouldnt be a single release I would use to promote the album.

It's definitely not Prince saying it first, and after seeing Josh on the Yahoo stream, it does sound like him (to me, anyway)

I think this lyric is also a reference to the medias use of terrorism as a fear-based money-making strategy that keeps the populace in their artifical cage. The artificial cage is a mental one, fed with clouds of virtual digital information that makes you click click click.....

dbl post

[Edited 10/29/14 20:06pm]

FunkyStrange said:

My god, this is what happens when you actually listen to his lyrics ? I think I'll stick to barely listening to them thanks

Whether you like the music or not, I don't think there can be any doubt that Prince is more connected to the material on this record than he has been since The Rainbow Children, and that this is his most thematically coheseive record since that one.

Sure, the lyrics can mean nothing, they can be just rhythmic nonsense if you like, but you have to actually work hard to make them meaningless.

I really don't understand people's dislike of the spoken portion of Clouds, it gave me a thrill when I first heard it and it still does. It's funny and lighthearted, yet mysterious, sad and strangely moving at the same time, and the way it integrates into the rhythm and music of the tune makes it so much more than an afterthought, it's part of the composition of the song.

And then of course that part pays off brilliantly with the Affirmations and Way Back Home.

There's something going on in this record. A theme that runs throughout it, whether more strongly or more loosely on certain tracks. I love that. So I happen to think it's successful. Whether someone else does or not is entirely their choice, of course, but you have to wilfully ignore it to claim it's not there.

TwiliteKid said:

stillwaiting said:

You don't actually think Nirvana were the first to do a hidden track, do you?

I never said that. But when Nirvana did it, it was not a played out worn out trend. By the time Prince got around to it, it was an old tired trend. HE even did it on 20Ten, billions of years after it was already overdone over and over and over...Just like when he got around to using Auto Tune. Prince comes off as if he's still a visonary. He's not...he's a brilliant modern day musician pandering to young people who don't buy his music, and do not make up the majority of his ticket buying audience. Sure, he has some young fans....but the majority of his audience is not begging for Auto Tune, not begging for all the dumb sound effects...

i see a film in the song...