What do you think..what these lyrics mean, what is the history of the song?

...

The exodus has begun

U ain't gonna hear that shit nowhere else
Ha, ha, ha

This shit is dedicated 2 the memory of His Royal Badness
I know his name, that muthafuckin' Prince
Rest in peace nigga!

Are these lyrics original?

I'm not good in English, but as I understand exodus is migration of the people...we have it here in Europe, and these words ..to the memory of....rest in peace.... are reality now. I feel so strange.

The album Exodus - that featured this song - was released at the time when Prince had 'killed off' Prince and had become ... so the song was in memory of His Royal Badness.

It feels a little strange now, along with the cover of Come that reads Prince, 1958-1993, and Mayte's lines 'Prince Esta Muerto' spoken a few times on his first album, The Gold Experience....

Thank you for explanations.

And one more question- Who is Gregory in Anna Stesia (Lovesexy 1988)?

Gregory looks just like a ghost
And then a beautiful girl the most
Wets her lips 2 say

"We could live 4 a little while
If U could just learn 2 smile
U and I could fly away, fly away.

marymit said:

Thank you for explanations.

And one more question- Who is Gregory in Anna Stesia (Lovesexy 1988)?

That is usually said to be Greg Brooks, dancer/backing vox from the SOTT/Lovesexy tour band.

Everything that Rimshotbob, NorthC, and NouveauDance said is correct. I'll only add that--to create more tension and imagery--Prince was creating a three-layered meaning or metaphor blending the biblical story of the exodus of the Jews from Egypt, with the mass exodus of African Americans from the South after slavery, and with his own exodus from Warner Bros. and what he saw as an oppressive system. Hence the lyrics "Though their lives were made bitter with hard labor and not pay...Spatch cocks in black face offer us pennies when it's millions and millions upon millions that they reap/ How in the world can we call ourselves equal/ When their wages outweigh the time that they keep/ If they stood up and behaved like the humans their supposed to/ As opposed to the way they are not/ Then this New Power Soul would not be so soulful/ And the water they are in would not be so hot." So, just like in the song "You Will Be Moved," Prince is troping biblical and historical narratives to highlight and give weight to his struggle with Warner Bros. As such, the final lyrics that you quote are designed, artistically, to be funny, funky, and to elicit or create/perpetuate the "mythology" of Prince fighting the good/righteous fight against the terrible oppressors, this time being Warner Bros, presenting him being willing to die--artistically--as in relinquish his name to be free of the oppressors. In short, it's more of that Prince myth making that I like for its humor and narrative drama while others find it annoying and unnecessary.

1725topp said:

Everything that Rimshotbob, NorthC, and NouveauDance said is correct. I'll only add that--to create more tension and imagery--Prince was creating a three-layered meaning or metaphor blending the biblical story of the exodus of the Jews from Egypt, with the mass exodus of African Americans from the South after slavery, and with his own exodus from Warner Bros. and what he saw as an oppressive system. Hence the lyrics "Though their lives were made bitter with hard labor and not pay...Spatch cocks in black face offer us pennies when it's millions and millions upon millions that they reap/ How in the world can we call ourselves equal/ When their wages outweigh the time that they keep/ If they stood up and behaved like the humans their supposed to/ As opposed to the way they are not/ Then this New Power Soul would not be so soulful/ And the water they are in would not be so hot." So, just like in the song "You Will Be Moved," Prince is troping biblical and historical narratives to highlight and give weight to his struggle with Warner Bros. As such, the final lyrics that you quote are designed, artistically, to be funny, funky, and to elicit or create/perpetuate the "mythology" of Prince fighting the good/righteous fight against the terrible oppressors, this time being Warner Bros, presenting him being willing to die--artistically--as in relinquish his name to be free of the oppressors. In short, it's more of that Prince myth making that I like for its humor and narrative drama while others find it annoying and unnecessary.

Great post.