i'll start

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mountains -

obviously. the tears, the heartbreak, the mountains, the sea. IT'S ONLY MOUNTAINS AND THE SEA, THAT'S WHAT IT IS, IT DOESN'T REPRESENT ANYTHING ELSE (except it does). i love it.

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girls and boys -

started rainin' baby, the birds were gone

love how the birds are reflective of the relationship.

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now you go.

[Edited 1/8/16 7:31am]

ANNA STESIA

Back when I was all innocent and first listened to Little Red Corvette, I really did think he was singing about a nice, shiny sports car. Once I'd got to Let's Pretend We're Married, I started to have doubts. It's fair to say that Prince taught me a thing or two and, as a result, the imagery of LRC has changed for me somewhat over the years.

I guess I should've known by the way you parked your car sideways that it wouldn't last. I guess I should've closed my eyes when you drove me to the place where your horses run free 'cause I felt a little ill when I saw all the pictures of the jockeys that were there before me. And you say, "Baby, have you got enough gas?", Oh yeah. Move over, baby, gimme the keys. I'm gonna try to tame your little red love machine. I say the ride is so smooth, you must be a limousine.

^^perfect

iZsaZsa said:

purplepolitician said:

iZsaZsa said:

Do Me Baby. People have said he was getting head on record, but if he wasn't then he sure did get that through their heads.

I thought he was whacking

What immediately came into my mind when I read the title of this thread was "Screams of Passion."

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There's a gentle autumn breeze that blows
Whenever we be lyin', lyin' in my bed
The moon appears and disappears, you look at me
My clothes I quickly, I quickly shed

.

The curtains dance a minuet
Autumn plays the music, baby
Come on, hold my hand
Leaves are fallin' velvet splash

Only you and I can under, only you can understand

.

The sunlight draws a picture through the silky lace
That hangs above your, hangs above your door
A picture that is waving that it seems
To be with every thrust you make me beg for more

.

Oh, a robin sings a masterpiece
That lives and dies unheard
For screams of passion
A sound produced by two in love
Curtains dance and autumn plays on
(Oh, to in love, on and on)

The screams of passion

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All I hear in my head echoing like a volcano, baby
The screams of passion
Back and forth the raging seas of lust, I want you madly
Can't you tell, can't you tell, can't you tell, can't you tell?

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This song so brilliantly illustrates why I absolutely love Prince's poetry; It can be so evocative and meaningful.

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[Edited 1/8/16 12:41pm]

purplepolitician said:

Starfish n coffee

That's the best imagery and Purple Rain.

Paisley park, all the way. A mini-movie inside of a song~

iZsaZsa said:

purplepolitician said:

I thought he was whacking

We can all agree his 🍆 was out.

wishuhvn said:

Paisley park, all the way. A mini-movie inside of a song~

Paisley Park it's like his Penny Lane.

dodger said:

Fairly obvious choices from me, but When Doves Cry and Raspberry Beret stick in my mind as being particularly replete with rather beautiful poetic imagery. There's a lot to choose from in those songs but a line like "the thunder drowns out what the lightning sees" sticks out in my mind as a particularly wonderful turn of phrase. I think Prince's lyricism is sometimes rather underappreciated within the context of his songwriting, but in these instances he was able to write huge hits which had wonderful imagery, and I think being able to do that is a great showcase of his immense talent in this regard.

I must say however, and I don't want to put too fine a point on this, but I do think his lyricism has probably been the aspect of his songwriting that has most receded with time, I love the music in Hitnrun Phase 2 but so many of the lyrics seems really clunky and devoid of the poetic qualities that I loved about his earlier work. That said, some new stuff like Black Muse does contain a touch of the old beauty even if he'll never necessarily replicate it. Sorry, didn't want to turn this into another tiresome "Prince is terrible now" rant but I guess it's a product more of my remarking how good he used to be more than necessarily hating on his recent output.

"3rd Eye" from The Truth

there's also quite a bit of (imo great) symbolism in the lyrics of the Lotusflower album,

particularly on "boom" and "wall of berlin".

dodger said:

Another song that I didn't get at the time: Tamborine. I guess I must have been walking around with blinkers on. The first part of the verse below was always a puzzle. It didn't help that I had no idea what a trolley car even was. How was I to know he was using it as a metaphor for promiscuous women.

I don't care 4 1 night stands
With trolley cars
That juggle 17
I just want 2 settle down and
Play around
My baby's tamborine

IF I WAS YOUR GIRLFRIEND