XrayTed said:

Probably because it is tied into the movie which shot him to international fame, it is the 1st and sometimes only song that many folks will name ... Plus, it just sounds cool - Short, sweet, simple yet a bit profound and mystic.

I never read the words and never listened to it enough to know them, I think it is an excellent compostion by a talented, inspired individual with a great guitar solo. Rating is in the ears of the beholder.

This.

BombFunk said:

U forgot to mention: IN MY OPINION / I THINK

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For example: "Jimi thinks you're a fucking moron to start such a post while many of us are still mourning". I think Jimi has a point.

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Got it? U can do better next time

He made the statement therefore the deductive reasoning should let the reader understand that it is infact the writer's opinion.

DoItAllNight4U said:

AHAHAHA that's great. I love it. so for me no no.

FunkiestOne said:

OK I love PR and it's one of his best songs live in concert, but it isn't even in my Top 10 favorite P songs. It is just so overrated, especially by casual fans. The lyrics don't even really make sense and the best part about it is the end with the guitar solo and such. But he has so many better songs for sure.

I like the song too, and a agree with you. People just act like it's the best song he ever wrote because it just so happens to be the one that all the casuals know.

It's one of his most important songs; it is clear that it held a special emotional and spiritual significance for him.

214 said:

DoItAllNight4U said:

AHAHAHA that's great. I love it. so for me no no.

What do you mean?

That picture is my reaction to the OP

[Edited 5/20/16 0:38am]

i agree...i dont even listen to the song unless im watching the movie

JellyJam said:

Listen to it live, particularly on the Purple Rain tour and see if you still feel the same way.

It's just so overrated? No. It's underrated by people like you. The lyrics don't even really make sense? No. The lyrics make sense if you know what it's about. Beyond the love song elements the song Purple Rain is really a spiritual song lyrically inspired by Bible scripture about the rapture, as is the party song 1999, and the song Under the Cheery Moon, The Cross/The Christ, Thunder, 7, The Holy River, etc. Prince explained, "If the sky has blood in it, blue and red makes purple." Revelations 6:12 "The moon became as blood." Prince explained, "Purple Rain pertains to the end of the world and being with the one you love and letting God guide you through the Purple Rain." St. Matthew 24:39 "The flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be." Revelation 22:1 "And he showed me a pure river water of life, clear as crystal, preceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb." Revelation 22:17 "And whosoever wishes, let him take the water of life freely."

And the Jimi song Purple Haze isn't about LSD. Jimi explained that Purple Haze is about "A dream I had based upon a story (Night of Light by Philip Jose Farmer) I read in a science fiction magazine (The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction (1957)) about a purple death ray." Jimi said about Jesus, "They killed Jesus and then twisted so many of the best things he said. Human hands started messing it all up and now so much of religion is hogwash."

Kurt Loder called Purple Rain, "A space ballad that recalls 'Angel' with its soaring guitar leads and a very Hendrixian lyrical tinge ('It's time we all reach out for something new -- that means you, too')." - Kurt Loder Rolling Stone magazine Purple Rain review.

[Edited 5/20/16 13:42pm]

FunkiestOne said:

Up next from the OP -- "Prince the guitarist, is overrated"

Yay for trolls!

I think PR is greater than the sum of its parts. You can rag on its lyrics, just like you can rag on WDC's lyrics, or any number of great pop lyrics, but the feel of the song is absolutely unique and incredible; almost religious. Didn't Pitchfork or some site rate it #1 song of the 80s? Ya:

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http://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/9700-the-200-best-songs-of-the-1980s/?page=10

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Anyway, no worries, there's amazing shit out there that passes all of us overhead. I can't stand Joni Mitchell (yet ).

I love the song and Prince version is the best. When others try to cover it I'm like

Purple Rain is a powerful ballad..

The song will remain his trademark song, his best known song forever.....

Personally I will never get tired of the classic stuff from Prince, including this song...

Its his most iconic song and his trademark, so to speak. Having said that, WDC and LGC charted higher than PR back in the day, so it isnt his best selling song. And I dont think, personally, that its his best song. As ballads go I would put Adore above it, and even Anna Stesia. And as for non ballads, there are many songs that I think are better. But you cant deny the power of PR and how synonymous with Prince it became, right up to the day he died.

FunkiestOne said:

OK I love PR and it's one of his best songs live in concert, but it isn't even in my Top 10 favorite P songs. It is just so overrated, especially by casual fans. The lyrics don't even really make sense and the best part about it is the end with the guitar solo and such. But he has so many better songs for sure.

Stop. No. Shut up. Die.

Seriously less than a month after he passes away and this is the comment you have to offer

[Edited 5/20/16 0:43am]

^ I agree, Thizz.... this thread is an insult..

I know the feeling of finding the hits overplayed. Then I saw Prince in the piano and a mic concert. The set had a lot of hits and they were fresh again. I remember my father who was more of an Elvis and Hank Williams man enjoying Purple Rain the most of all Prince's songs I subjected him to. Purple Rain does have meaning and if you don't know it you are not much of a fan. Yeah I said it. The song is the movie a love that does not work out, in this life, that can continue in the afterlife. Love and relationships aren't always synomous. Listen to the guitar you cited. Listen to it played in the film. I just wish it would have hit #1 in the U.S back in the day it was first released.

Whenever the media mention Prince (before and after), it's always the 'go-to' song to use. In that sense, it's defintely over-played, but no where near 'over-rated'.

RodeoSchro said:

It ain't no "Jughead", that's for sure!

Watching the Amsterdam 25th of may concert from 2014. I must say I am happy the last song i've seen and hear him play live was Purple Rain. And its the best last song i could have wished for.

"You've got to come to my house now Amsterdam. Thank you so much. To each and everyone of you: Peace and be wild."

robertgeorge said:

I know the feeling of finding the hits overplayed. Then I saw Prince in the piano and a mic concert. The set had a lot of hits and they were fresh again. I remember my father who was more of an Elvis and Hank Williams man enjoying Purple Rain the most of all Prince's songs I subjected him to. Purple Rain does have meaning and if you don't know it you are not much of a fan. Yeah I said it. The song is the movie a love that does not work out, in this life, that can continue in the afterlife. Love and relationships aren't always synomous. Listen to the guitar you cited. Listen to it played in the film. I just wish it would have hit #1 in the U.S back in the day it was first released.

That reminds me that my father was amused by my interest in Prince in the eighties, he figured it was perhaps a gay thing (I had come out a few years earlier and he was supportive).

I'll never forget the time we ended up watching Prince perform the song on TV at the AMA together. I was transfixed, and when it was all over I turned to him and I could see he was moved by the performance.

Purple Rain is one of those emotional yet hopeful songs that "get" people all the time, hardly matter their age or background. First you get all sorrowful and emotional, then the song lifts you higher and higher. Not too many songs do that to so many people. Hence why it will always be rated just right.

RodeoSchro said:

It ain't no "Jughead", that's for sure!