"Being in the black" means making a profit/being ahead. "Being in the red" means being in debt/owing money. It's a financial term.

herb4 said:

"Being in the black" means making a profit/being ahead. "Being in the red" means being in debt/owing money. It's a financial term.

Thx for the clarification

Interesting ambiguity for the "being in the red" part

herb4 said:

"Being in the black" means making a profit/being ahead. "Being in the red" means being in debt/owing money. It's a financial term.

Yes, in normal use. But obviously not here in this song which just shouted out against communism in the first verse and then goes on to talk about the flag and nuclear war in the last. Prince is putting a spin on the slang here. You are normally either in the black or inversely in the red, and Prince jokes that she is neither, because he's using red to refer back to the communism. He's cleverly using the meaning twist to make a dramatic punch at the end of this verse, and support the theme of the entire song.

"Teacher, why won't Jimmy pledge allegiance?" ends the song.

self-snip

[Edited 1/5/16 10:30am]

SoulAlive said:

"1999"...... I don't skip over any of the tracks.

Right!

starkitty said:

JudasLChrist said:

Tommorrow Belongs to Us was sung by the Nazis, but I suppose it could refer to any country, right?

best comment of the thread

Again, this is NOT a real Nazi song.

I think it was peggy mccreary who stated that America was by no means meant sarcastically.

Pentacle said:

starkitty said:

best comment of the thread

Again, this is NOT a real Nazi song.

I think it was peggy mccreary who stated that America was by no means meant sarcastically.

Prince himself called it a straight forward patriotic song during the 1986 MTV interview.

I couldn't get past him doing a "patriotic" track at first, but grew out of that eventually and love it for what it is. He goes OFF, musically, vocally n the lil coda goes hard . Screw Moonbeam Levels for even thinkin bout takin it's place (dig that 1 2 of course ).

PRINCE PONDERS
THE FUTURE OF THE PLANET

1999
PRINCE
Warner Bros.

BY MICHAEL HIL

1999 reaches its climax, however, with Prince's shortest and sweetest offering, "Free," which concludes the moody, dub-style third side without any electronic pyrotechnics whatsoever. Prince steps form behind the clinking machinery like a sentimental Wizard of Oz to remind us that "if you take your life for granted, your beating heart will go." More important, he restates his utopian vision in hte most inspirational terms, as if all the battles had been won and he could finally be a lover, nog a fighter. "Free" reeks of skewed patriotism, describing the state of the union as much as a stage of mind, its march-of-history grandiosity recalling Patti Smith's "Broken Flag." Like Smith, Prince is not afraid to be misunderstood - or wrong.

OldFriends4Sale said:

PRINCE PONDERS
THE FUTURE OF THE PLANET

1999
PRINCE
Warner Bros.

BY MICHAEL HIL

1999 reaches its climax, however, with Prince's shortest and sweetest offering, "Free," which concludes the moody, dub-style third side without any electronic pyrotechnics whatsoever. Prince steps form behind the clinking machinery like a sentimental Wizard of Oz to remind us that "if you take your life for granted, your beating heart will go." More important, he restates his utopian vision in hte most inspirational terms, as if all the battles had been won and he could finally be a lover, nog a fighter. "Free" reeks of skewed patriotism, describing the state of the union as much as a stage of mind, its march-of-history grandiosity recalling Patti Smith's "Broken Flag." Like Smith, Prince is not afraid to be misunderstood - or wrong.

*

Or, is it that Michael Hil was too simple minded to understand nuance and the fact that Prince was putting just as much, if not more, emphasis on the need to "fight" for justice than he was on the fact that America is a tad bit better hell than the other hells in which one could find oneself.

1725topp said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

PRINCE PONDERS
THE FUTURE OF THE PLANET

1999
PRINCE
Warner Bros.

BY MICHAEL HIL

1999 reaches its climax, however, with Prince's shortest and sweetest offering, "Free," which concludes the moody, dub-style third side without any electronic pyrotechnics whatsoever. Prince steps form behind the clinking machinery like a sentimental Wizard of Oz to remind us that "if you take your life for granted, your beating heart will go." More important, he restates his utopian vision in hte most inspirational terms, as if all the battles had been won and he could finally be a lover, nog a fighter. "Free" reeks of skewed patriotism, describing the state of the union as much as a stage of mind, its march-of-history grandiosity recalling Patti Smith's "Broken Flag." Like Smith, Prince is not afraid to be misunderstood - or wrong.

*

Or, is it that Michael Hil was too simple minded to understand nuance and the fact that Prince was putting just as much, if not more, emphasis on the need to "fight" for justice than he was on the fact that America is a tad bit better hell than the other hells in which one could find oneself.

Is this really U?

KoolEaze said:

HuMpThAnG said:

But lately it's beginning to grow on me

"FREE"

Will be big when Revelation goes down!

To all deeming it "naive" or equivalents, I think it's fairly obvious.
It was written that way.
I mean it's only pop, and Prince never pretended to be Bob Dylan or Patti Smith.
Every Beatles song pre-"Help!" is suitable for 11 years old.

And what about "Imagine" by Lennon?
One could argue that it carries the most naive, childish lyrics ever put to a song.
The "Free" lyrics suddenly sounds pretty adult when comparing the two.

OldFriends4Sale said:

1725topp said:

*

Or, is it that Michael Hil was too simple minded to understand nuance and the fact that Prince was putting just as much, if not more, emphasis on the need to "fight" for justice than he was on the fact that America is a tad bit better hell than the other hells in which one could find oneself.

Is this really U?

*

Couldn't you tell that it's really me by how agressive my reply was? :^)

Btw. To clarify things. Just because I recently was plead guilty for blasphemy regarding my thoughts on "Something in the water (does not compute)" and "All the critics /.../" , I'm still convinced this album changed the 80's soundscape entirely, for fucking everyone. And therefor it's his biggest achievement alltogether (and SOTT, in another way). Or am I way off?

Wolfie87 said:

Btw. To clarify things. Just because I recently was plead guilty for blasphemy regarding my thoughts on "Something in the water (does not compute)" and "All the critics /.../" , I'm still convinced this album changed the 80's soundscape entirely, for fucking everyone. And therefor it's his biggest achievement alltogether (and SOTT, in another way). Or am I way off?

[Edited 1/9/16 12:28pm]

Wolfie87 said:

Btw. To clarify things. Just because I recently was plead guilty for blasphemy regarding my thoughts on "Something in the water (does not compute)" and "All the critics /.../" , I'm still convinced this album changed the 80's soundscape entirely, for fucking everyone. And therefor it's his biggest achievement alltogether (and SOTT, in another way). Or am I way off?

Changed the 80´s soundscape entirely? I don´t k

KoolEaze said:

Wolfie87 said:

Btw. To clarify things. Just because I recently was plead guilty for blasphemy regarding my thoughts on "Something in the water (does not compute)" and "All the critics /.../" , I'm still convinced this album changed the 80's soundscape entirely, for fucking everyone. And therefor it's his biggest achievement alltogether (and SOTT, in another way). Or am I way off?

Changed the 80´s soundscape entirely? I don´t k

Whoops, didn't mean to write "convinced". More like "I think". But hey, guess I'm wrong then KoolEaze. Just find the Drum programing among other things so damn unique. But maybe just for him.

1725topp said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

Is this really U?

*

Couldn't you tell that it's really me by how agressive my reply was? :^)

lol I just had to be sure

I don't find "Free" nor "America" to be all that jingoistic at all.

I'm not sure how I gleaned the meaning of a song like "America" in ways that are so totally opposite to some of the stuff I've been reading here. "Free" I guess you could say is open to interpretation depending on one's mindset but "America" is almost sarcastic in the ways it pokes fun at low brow, jingoistic patriotism. Then again, people made the same mistake with Bruce Springsteen, John Mellencamp and even Dylan so there you go.

Wolfie87 said:

KoolEaze said:

Changed the 80´s soundscape entirely? I don´t k

Whoops, didn't mean to write "convinced". More like "I think". But hey, guess I'm wrong then KoolEaze. Just find the Drum programing among other things so damn unique. But maybe just for him.

Oh, sorry, for some reason my post came out incomplete. You are right, I absolutely agree with you about him changing the musical landscape as far as drum programming goes, and not just that.

But what I wrote (and what got lost) is that I think he also incorporated many elements on the 1999 album that he took from elsewhere, such as Gary Numan´s sound and of course Funk and even some Rockabilly (Delirious) , so what I meant is he was inspired by what was around him and didn´t yet change the musical landscape yet like he did a little bit later with the sound of the Minneapolis Funk (now THAT changed the musical landscape a lot).

bonatoc said:

And what about "Imagine" by Lennon?
One could argue that it carries the most naive, childish lyrics ever put to a song.
The "Free" lyrics suddenly sounds pretty adult when comparing the two.

Imagine is actually a pretty heavy lyric.

imagine no country

it isn't hard to do

nothing to kill or die for

and no religion, too

SoulAlive said:

HuMpThAnG said:

I've always felt that it would've made a good non-album b-side.

It sounds like a filler on the album.

1999 is a very powerful,relentless album.When "Free" comes on,it gives you a chance to slow down catch your breath Plus,it has a very good message.

I like "Free" too--good message, good placement. Be glad that you are free--free to do your thing, and be glad for what you've got!

JudasLChrist said:

herb4 said:

I remember listening to "Free" shortly after 9/11 and really feeling it.

And that right there is why the lyrics suck. They are a call to a kind of American Nationalism. Trite bullshit that swells Americans hearts and leads then to feeling they are 'the best'... And we all know what happened after 9/11.

Be glad for it babee, you know it is possible to be enslaved, or for us all to be no more--Universal Truth.

KoolEaze said:

midnightmover said:

I don't think there are many other examples where Prince is regurgitating propaganda in such an unironic way. One thing a lot of people liked about Prince was that he was a bit subversive. A rebel even. But if you just heard this song you'd think the opposite. "America" is another example I guess. I can imagine Reagan bobbing his head to that one. (I like it though).

Prince has been through some interesting phases throughout his career as far as nationalism and patriotism are concerned. On the one hand he´s been very much a staunch advocate of liberal ideas and has embraced utopian concepts but on the other hand he has written songs like Free and America or has expressed tongue in cheek support for Ronald Reagan (and his big balls) during the early 80s, and there was also an incident where he disliked the lack of patriotism of another rock group at some awards show ( I think that other group did something with the American flag that Prince disapproved of).

Later he used an alternate (gold colored) version of the flag during the Gold Experience phase, only to question patriotism and nationalism during later phases, such as the TRC phase and the ONA tour and all the conspiracy theories that followed. I still wonder if the line about changing the colors of the flag in the song Everlasting Now refers to himself or Sly Stone. I´d say it´s about himself changing the red white and blue to gold during the 90s.

Maybe Prince on "Everlasting Now" in this predominantly spiritaul phase of his expression would have considered changing the colors of the flag to represent the controversial, dark side of the U.S. history, as he may have veered to more neutral thoughts of nationalism at the time while pondering its place against his spiritualism? Affix black stars to a red background to symbolize American settlers' "conflicts" with the continental natives and the oppression of slavery that became a tremendous engine of U.S.'s growth during its inception; maybe alter the red stripes to green to represent the currency and the predominance of capitalism in the USA's way of life? Or indeed change it all to gold since many of us are still panning for "it." I'm sure that some visual artists have done this kind of thing to mine symbolic possibilities! There are certainly different ways that a flag can be appreciated, going forth toward the North American Confederate States' flag, the Nazi flag, and probably any other national flag out there. The flag represents place, patriotism, struggle, culture, and domination. What is the balance of power, the driving ideology behind a flag: fact or fiction, economics or spiritualism, totalitarianist jingoism? Enough about "Everlasting Now" and flags, anyway.The song "Free" is about celebrating freedom of life, expression, viewpoint, and defending these treasures that might be wrested out of our hands.

Wolfie87 said:

thedance said:

Throw in Something In The Water (does not compute) in the mix. Ugh . I guess I don't "get" that song (well, you can't dance to it for starters). But I know for a fact that I always have to push the next button two times before Lady Cab Driver kicks in, so fuck off you two songs before. 1999 always irritated me. That first part up til "Automatic" I adore. The second part, with the exception of LCD, I truly loathe to the point I find it unlistenable.

[Edited 1/2/16 14:21pm]

Something in the Water (Does Not Compute): an unrequited love's lament. All through the beginning, middle and end.

Wolfie87 said:

bonatoc said:

I'd like to know what Prince mid/slow tempo songs you dig...

Ok, I'll clear the most obvious choices: Adore (My god!), Scandalous (haunting drum pattern) and If I Was Your Girlfriend (highest musical art in the 80's. His best song in my opinion, sounds like nothing else). Right now I'm digging Insatiable from the D&P beginnings sessions, where he shows everyone in the entertainment business that this shit just got real. Listen to that falsetto from that early recording, never sounded better. And this when he was "washed up", go figure. And last but not least "Electric Intercourse" which I'm convinced he will release. It's just to good to keep for himself. "Something in the water/.../" and "All the critics/.../" don't have an interresting sound structure, they don't go anywhere. It's just Prince kind of jamming (which I do like, but certainly not here)with a droning voice in one of the songs. Really, really boring stuff. Nothing happens!

[Edited 1/2/16 15:54pm]

[Edited 1/2/16 17:53pm]

Nothing happened in Something in the Water...? Did ya hear Prince's scream in there, or that was not impressive in any way? Beat not funky enough? Couldn't get into those ethereal bell-chime synths? Wow! I like it, as you can probably guess.

Aerogram said:

Free and America are quite different lyrically.

The latter for me initially was total satire of the "no matter how hard you have it, just be glad you're not in a communist country" school of rethorics but today, now that I know he had some republican leanings, I'm not so sure he didn't mean it literally, as in "better poor and free than red".

I agree with your interpretation of the meaning of "America," that he preferred being poor yet free to climb as high economically as one can over communism, and the message is completely different from the song "Free." I think there are 2 different ideas being expressed here and one does not contradict the other in this case. My distillation of the pair is: value your freedom. Fight for your freedom. Love America. Don't fall for communism. Get an education; don't be a fool and disregard your schooling. It seems pretty straightforward to me. I'll drink that Kool-Aid , too.