So I'm watching tv this morning and I see one of Elvis former long time gfs has published a new book, and she talks about the first time he OD's and how it was reported as the "flu" then, and ever thereafter; course if got me thinking of the plane diversion and the susequent "flu" diagnosis. I had already been liistening a lot to Face Down and trying to think why he would write these lyrics, and make the connection between the OD and his death long before it happened? Why?

Is there a "Prince-like" message in these lyrics.

1) The first stanza of the lyrics below clearly refer to what Warner told him and them being the root of all evil:

Somebody once told him that he wouldn't take Prince through the ringer
Let him go down as a washed up singer
Ain't that a bitch?
Thinkin' all along that he wanted 2 be rich
Never respected the root of all evil and he still don't 2 this day, huh
Bury him face down, let the motherfuckers kiss a ass, OK?

3) The second stanza refers I would think clearly to the Black Sweat controversy:

Told 'em he wanted 2 sing a song about a black child goin' buck wild
And they just laughed in his face
Talk 2 your lawyer but U got no case
What U need 2 do is keep your place
Next time U pull a card, it better be a ace motherfucker
Or U can lay face down (Face down!)

4) This stanza shows the incredible distrust between them:

Him and her meaning who I'm singin' about
And his psychoanalyst kinda saw the catalyst
As the devil with the blue jeans on, huh
Ain't it kinda funny when U see the dawn?
Sign the name they gave ya
But when them motherfuckers turn around ass up, U're what?

5) And, this for the FIRST TIME, made me wonder wth...

It's in his will, I read it
He shot 2 kill, he said it
4 those who know the number and don't call
Huh, fuck all y'all

In what will where and who is implied shot to kill? Who are we supposed to call? ..maybe I'm too literal, but he gave warnings and messages, and this song is really bothering me. Anyone else dug into these lyrics and wondered???

Gracielaine said:

So I'm watching tv this morning and I see one of Elvis former long time gfs has published a new book, and she talks about the first time he OD's and how it was reported as the "flu" then, and ever thereafter; course if got me thinking of the plane diversion and the susequent "flu" diagnosis. I had already been liistening a lot to Face Down and trying to think why he would write these lyrics, and make the connection between the OD and his death long before it happened? Why?

Is there a "Prince-like" message in these lyrics.

1) The first stanza of the lyrics below clearly refer to what Warner told him and them being the root of all evil:

Somebody once told him that he wouldn't take Prince through the ringer
Let him go down as a washed up singer
Ain't that a bitch?
Thinkin' all along that he wanted 2 be rich
Never respected the root of all evil and he still don't 2 this day, huh
Bury him face down, let the motherfuckers kiss a ass, OK?

3) The second stanza refers I would think clearly to the Black Sweat controversy:

Told 'em he wanted 2 sing a song about a black child goin' buck wild
And they just laughed in his face
Talk 2 your lawyer but U got no case
What U need 2 do is keep your place
Next time U pull a card, it better be a ace motherfucker
Or U can lay face down (Face down!)

4) This stanza shows the incredible distrust between them:

Him and her meaning who I'm singin' about
And his psychoanalyst kinda saw the catalyst
As the devil with the blue jeans on, huh
Ain't it kinda funny when U see the dawn?
Sign the name they gave ya
But when them motherfuckers turn around ass up, U're what?

5) And, this for the FIRST TIME, made me wonder wth...

It's in his will, I read it
He shot 2 kill, he said it
4 those who know the number and don't call
Huh, fuck all y'all

In what will where and who is implied shot to kill? Who are we supposed to call? ..maybe I'm too literal, but he gave warnings and messages, and this song is really bothering me. Anyone else dug into these lyrics and wondered???

Face Down is about the 1993 name change. WBR assumed he was in it for the money, that they could buy him off, and they thought they owned him until he was dead.

So he killed Prince, and told his friends/associates to bury Prince "Face Down" so that the MF'ers (WBR) could kiss his ass.

Ok?

That's it. Nothing else.

Okay, thanks I figured that part, but I definitely see he was "like Elvis" addicted; and odd choses to say same thing "flu"...weird connection to me.

Gracielaine said:

Okay, thanks I figured that part, but I definitely see he was "like Elvis" addicted; and odd choses to say same thing "flu"...weird connection to me.

The song Face Down is sung by , not Prince. In the song, Prince is "dead like Elvis" - was alive. So it makes no sense to say that was comparing himself to Elvis (and therefore alluding to drugs) given that the song is about Prince's similarity to Elvis, and Prince had been dead for 3 years at that point.

BanishedBrian said:

Gracielaine said:

Okay, thanks I figured that part, but I definitely see he was "like Elvis" addicted; and odd choses to say same thing "flu"...weird connection to me.

The song Face Down is sung by , not Prince. In the song, Prince is "dead like Elvis" - was alive. So it makes no sense to say that was comparing himself to Elvis (and therefore alluding to drugs) given that the song is about Prince's similarity to Elvis, and Prince had been dead for 3 years at that point.

Ahhhh so that makes it more interesting; good point. So when shot and killed it was poetic for Prince being dead, and an interesting remark about "a will"...hmmm

Gracielaine said:

BanishedBrian said:

The song Face Down is sung by , not Prince. In the song, Prince is "dead like Elvis" - was alive. So it makes no sense to say that was comparing himself to Elvis (and therefore alluding to drugs) given that the song is about Prince's similarity to Elvis, and Prince had been dead for 3 years at that point.

Ahhhh so that makes it more interesting; good point. So when shot and killed it was poetic for Prince being dead, and an interesting remark about "a will"...hmmm

I might be remembering wrong, but I believe Face Down is the only song ever recorded/sang where he said the name "Prince"... someone will correct me if I'm forgetting one.

The "shot to kill" is just referencing his own killing off of the Prince name - see the Dolphin performance on Letterman for a visual illustration of the point.

As for the part about calling... I believe this is just a kiss off statement to all the "friends" who abandoned him once he ceased having as much commercial popularity during that 93-96 period. He's calling out all the people who only wanted to be friends because of his wealth/polularity/status and turned their back once he was an underground artist singing non-hits and doing sparsely attended weekly shows at Paisley Park.

BanishedBrian said:

Gracielaine said:

Ahhhh so that makes it more interesting; good point. So when shot and killed it was poetic for Prince being dead, and an interesting remark about "a will"...hmmm

I might be remembering wrong, but I believe Face Down is the only song ever recorded/sang where he said the name "Prince"... someone will correct me if I'm forgetting one.

The "shot to kill" is just referencing his own killing off of the Prince name - see the Dolphin performance on Letterman for a visual illustration of the point.

As for the part about calling... I believe this is just a kiss off statement to all the "friends" who abandoned him once he ceased having as much commercial popularity during that 93-96 period. He's calling out all the people who only wanted to be friends because of his wealth/polularity/status and turned their back once he was an underground artist singing non-hits and doing sparsely attended weekly shows at Paisley Park.

Thanks Brian, makes perfect sense. Sadly, I think he had a long term addiction like Elvis and I think that weighed into the choice for these lyrics altogether. Thanks for sharing with me.

Gracielaine said:

BanishedBrian said:

I might be remembering wrong, but I believe Face Down is the only song ever recorded/sang where he said the name "Prince"... someone will correct me if I'm forgetting one.

The "shot to kill" is just referencing his own killing off of the Prince name - see the Dolphin performance on Letterman for a visual illustration of the point.

As for the part about calling... I believe this is just a kiss off statement to all the "friends" who abandoned him once he ceased having as much commercial popularity during that 93-96 period. He's calling out all the people who only wanted to be friends because of his wealth/polularity/status and turned their back once he was an underground artist singing non-hits and doing sparsely attended weekly shows at Paisley Park.

Thanks Brian, makes perfect sense. Sadly, I think he had a long term addiction like Elvis and I think that weighed into the choice for these lyrics altogether. Thanks for sharing with me.

To understand why Prince chose to reference Elvis, you have to consider the way Elvis is considered by many to have ripped off black musicians, and the way saw his fight with WB in racial terms (hence, writing "SLAVE" on his cheek). I really think it's as simple as that. Face Down is intended to be a giant FU to WB, and was trying to denigrate the value of "Prince"'s catalogue (which WB still controlled) by associating Prince with Elvis (an artist was disparaging as overrated/entitled/unoriginal and linked to the white "devil" he's referencing).

Keep in mind that the same disc also contains the song The Love We Make, which has a direct reference to 's views on opioid use. Similarly, the Holy River video contains an illustration of Prince at a bar (pulled away by Morris Hayes) and alludes to possible alcohol/drug use. I think those songs are better references to Prince's thoughts on drugs... I think Face Down is really about a completely different topic, where Elvis's relevance isn't related to drugs, but how Elvis fit into the music industry and the role of race in the industry. Just my $0.02.

BanishedBrian said:

Gracielaine said:

Thanks Brian, makes perfect sense. Sadly, I think he had a long term addiction like Elvis and I think that weighed into the choice for these lyrics altogether. Thanks for sharing with me.

To understand why Prince chose to reference Elvis, you have to consider the way Elvis is considered by many to have ripped off black musicians, and the way saw his fight with WB in racial terms (hence, writing "SLAVE" on his cheek). I really think it's as simple as that. Face Down is intended to be a giant FU to WB, and was trying to denigrate the value of "Prince"'s catalogue (which WB still controlled) by associating Prince with Elvis (an artist was disparaging as overrated/entitled/unoriginal and linked to the white "devil" he's referencing).

Keep in mind that the same disc also contains the song The Love We Make, which has a direct reference to 's views on opioid use. Similarly, the Holy River video contains an illustration of Prince at a bar (pulled away by Morris Hayes) and alludes to possible alcohol/drug use. I think those songs are better references to Prince's thoughts on drugs... I think Face Down is really about a completely different topic, where Elvis's relevance isn't related to drugs, but how Elvis fit into the music industry and the role of race in the industry. Just my $0.02.

I liked the theory, and I'm always looking for other opinions and ideas. I can't get over the Hahn book where Mayte said he was missing and found with the "aspirin" bottle in 1996 same date; how is that a coincidence. And, people say author liar, well he didn't know then he'd die of drugs in an "aspirin" bottle; so he didn't make that up...big problem for me...

Gracielaine said:

BanishedBrian said:

To understand why Prince chose to reference Elvis, you have to consider the way Elvis is considered by many to have ripped off black musicians, and the way saw his fight with WB in racial terms (hence, writing "SLAVE" on his cheek). I really think it's as simple as that. Face Down is intended to be a giant FU to WB, and was trying to denigrate the value of "Prince"'s catalogue (which WB still controlled) by associating Prince with Elvis (an artist was disparaging as overrated/entitled/unoriginal and linked to the white "devil" he's referencing).

Keep in mind that the same disc also contains the song The Love We Make, which has a direct reference to 's views on opioid use. Similarly, the Holy River video contains an illustration of Prince at a bar (pulled away by Morris Hayes) and alludes to possible alcohol/drug use. I think those songs are better references to Prince's thoughts on drugs... I think Face Down is really about a completely different topic, where Elvis's relevance isn't related to drugs, but how Elvis fit into the music industry and the role of race in the industry. Just my $0.02.

I liked the theory, and I'm always looking for other opinions and ideas. I can't get over the Hahn book where Mayte said he was missing and found with the "aspirin" bottle in 1996 same date; how is that a coincidence. And, people say author liar, well he didn't know then he'd die of drugs in an "aspirin" bottle; so he didn't make that up...big problem for me...

The incident you're thinking of seems like the inspiration for The Holy River (video and lyrics). At the time, it would seem like believed his faith in Jesus (and love for Mayte) had solved any addiction problems. With all due respect, at the time he was writing Face Down, he was ecstatic about the impending birth of the first of their many contemplated children, not writing songs alluding to a future drug OD.

BanishedBrian said:

Gracielaine said:

Ahhhh so that makes it more interesting; good point. So when shot and killed it was poetic for Prince being dead, and an interesting remark about "a will"...hmmm

I might be remembering wrong, but I believe Face Down is the only song ever recorded/sang where he said the name "Prince"... someone will correct me if I'm forgetting one.

The "shot to kill" is just referencing his own killing off of the Prince name - see the Dolphin performance on Letterman for a visual illustration of the point.

As for the part about calling... I believe this is just a kiss off statement to all the "friends" who abandoned him once he ceased having as much commercial popularity during that 93-96 period. He's calling out all the people who only wanted to be friends because of his wealth/polularity/status and turned their back once he was an underground artist singing non-hits and doing sparsely attended weekly shows at Paisley Park.

Well, he did sing, 'My Name is Prince', just before killing Prince off - interesting timing, I always thought!

Dibblekins said:

BanishedBrian said:

I might be remembering wrong, but I believe Face Down is the only song ever recorded/sang where he said the name "Prince"... someone will correct me if I'm forgetting one.

The "shot to kill" is just referencing his own killing off of the Prince name - see the Dolphin performance on Letterman for a visual illustration of the point.

As for the part about calling... I believe this is just a kiss off statement to all the "friends" who abandoned him once he ceased having as much commercial popularity during that 93-96 period. He's calling out all the people who only wanted to be friends because of his wealth/polularity/status and turned their back once he was an underground artist singing non-hits and doing sparsely attended weekly shows at Paisley Park.

Well, he did sing, 'My Name is Prince', just before killing Prince off - interesting timing, I always thought!

very

Dibblekins said:

BanishedBrian said:

I might be remembering wrong, but I believe Face Down is the only song ever recorded/sang where he said the name "Prince"... someone will correct me if I'm forgetting one.

The "shot to kill" is just referencing his own killing off of the Prince name - see the Dolphin performance on Letterman for a visual illustration of the point.

As for the part about calling... I believe this is just a kiss off statement to all the "friends" who abandoned him once he ceased having as much commercial popularity during that 93-96 period. He's calling out all the people who only wanted to be friends because of his wealth/polularity/status and turned their back once he was an underground artist singing non-hits and doing sparsely attended weekly shows at Paisley Park.

Well, he did sing, 'My Name is Prince', just before killing Prince off - interesting timing, I always thought!

I think that song was recorded about 15 months before the name change... that was a period where things went downhill fast. In fact, it was the sales of the Love Symbol album (and how Prince was paid) that was the main genesis of the name change - Prince's own business team oversold what he'd make, and he quickly realized that the contract was going to be a lot lower paying that he'd thought when he signed it. But yes, definitely an irony!

Regarding when mentioned the name, Prince, he does so in 'Prettyman' (a 'hidden' / bonus track on Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic, 1999):

'Hey, hey, hey, hello, who is it?
Yes, this is a prettyman, Princey, he, he, he'.

I'd be curious if anyone can make out what he says at the beginning of the song...after DEAD LIKE ELVIS the recording in background he says "check 1 and check 2" then something else?

[Edited 8/26/16 14:43pm]

Dibblekins said:

Regarding when mentioned the name, Prince, he does so in 'Prettyman' (a 'hidden' / bonus track on Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic, 1999):

'Hey, hey, hey, hello, who is it?
Yes, this is a prettyman, Princey, he, he, he'.

True... Rave is a bit of a special case because brought back "Prince" as a producer. In fact, in Strange But True he also references Prince ("when I remembered, where I was and who I am... the only Prince that will ever rule this holy land"). He was publicly teasing us at that point that he was going back to the Prince name.

I wish there was the facility to 'like' posts on here!

.

One thing P said was that he was an open book, if people cared to listen to his lyrics. I think I recall him saying in an interview that he wasn't mysterious, and that he didn't feel the need to talk about his personal life in interview situations because his songs said it all. The more you compare what was going on his life, and the lyrics he wrote at those times, the more you really do 'know' Prince.

Dibblekins said:

I wish there was the facility to 'like' posts on here!

.

One thing P said was that he was an open book, if people cared to listen to his lyrics. I think I recall him saying in an interview that he wasn't mysterious, and that he didn't feel the need to talk about his personal life in interview situations because his songs said it all. The more you compare what was going on his life, and the lyrics he wrote at those times, the more you really do 'know' Prince.

Thank you, I did not know he said that...I am finding many interesting lyrics; in emale on same CD says he has a child. hmmmmm

Gracielaine said:

So I'm watching tv this morning and I see one of Elvis former long time gfs has published a new book, and she talks about the first time he OD's and how it was reported as the "flu" then, and ever thereafter; course if got me thinking of the plane diversion and the susequent "flu" diagnosis. I had already been liistening a lot to Face Down and trying to think why he would write these lyrics, and make the connection between the OD and his death long before it happened? Why?

[...]

Actually, the plane diversion was not connected to the flu by the Prince-camp. Cancelling the Atlanta shows the week before was alledgedly because of the flu.

Gracielaine said:

Dibblekins said:

I wish there was the facility to 'like' posts on here!

.

One thing P said was that he was an open book, if people cared to listen to his lyrics. I think I recall him saying in an interview that he wasn't mysterious, and that he didn't feel the need to talk about his personal life in interview situations because his songs said it all. The more you compare what was going on his life, and the lyrics he wrote at those times, the more you really do 'know' Prince.

Thank you, I did not know he said that...I am finding many interesting lyrics; in emale on same CD says he has a child. hmmmmm

I can't recall which interview it was now - but I've seen it a couple of times on YouTube. If I come across it again, I'll let you know.

Gracielaine said:

Dibblekins said:

I wish there was the facility to 'like' posts on here!

.

One thing P said was that he was an open book, if people cared to listen to his lyrics. I think I recall him saying in an interview that he wasn't mysterious, and that he didn't feel the need to talk about his personal life in interview situations because his songs said it all. The more you compare what was going on his life, and the lyrics he wrote at those times, the more you really do 'know' Prince.

Thank you, I did not know he said that...I am finding many interesting lyrics; in emale on same CD says he has a child. hmmmmm

Emale, and many of the songs on Emancipation, was written while Mayte was pregnant. The baby has a prominent role on the whole album. If you listen to song Sex In The Summer, the beat at the beginning of the song is a recoding of the baby's heartbeat.

Dibblekins said:

Gracielaine said:

Thank you, I did not know he said that...I am finding many interesting lyrics; in emale on same CD says he has a child. hmmmmm

I can't recall which interview it was now - but I've seen it a couple of times on YouTube. If I come across it again, I'll let you know.

Oh, I believe you makes perfect sense.

alandail said:

Root of all evil is money, the black child going buck wild is a reference to The song days of wild not being released.

Incorrect. The reference is a biblical one. The verse says, in I Timothy 6:10 that the love of money is the root of all evil, not money itself. Prince, once again, got his bible verses wrong. Of course, Larry Graham hadn't finished with the rinse cycle yet. There's nothing wrong with money, it's when people covet money and lose self that evil comes in.

As an example of Prince getting his religion wrong, from "4 The Tears In Your Eyes": Jesus never changed stone to bread. The devil tempted Christ (Matthew 4:3-4), while Christ was in the wilderness for 40 days before his ministry began, by saying, "If you're hungry, change these stones to bread." Christ withstood the temptation, and said "Man shall not live only on bread".

I mean, there's always this air of cutsie spirituality in Prince's music, and I don't doubt he believed in God. But he had a glazed over understanding of simple things for most of his career.

BanishedBrian said:

BanishedBrian said:

Gracielaine said:

Thank you, I did not know he said that...I am finding many interesting lyrics; in emale on same CD says he has a child. hmmmmm

Emale, and many of the songs on Emancipation, was written while Mayte was pregnant. The baby has a prominent role on the whole album. If you listen to song Sex In The Summer, the beat at the beginning of the song is a recoding of the baby's heartbeat.

Thanks for letting me know I have been listening to these three a lot and didn't know that.

jazzvirtuoso said:

BanishedBrian said:

I might be remembering wrong, but I believe Face Down is the only song ever recorded/sang where he said the name "Prince"... someone will correct me if I'm forgetting one.

The "shot to kill" is just referencing his own killing off of the Prince name - see the Dolphin performance on Letterman for a visual illustration of the point.

As for the part about calling... I believe this is just a kiss off statement to all the "friends" who abandoned him once he ceased having as much commercial popularity during that 93-96 period. He's calling out all the people who only wanted to be friends because of his wealth/polularity/status and turned their back once he was an underground artist singing non-hits and doing sparsely attended weekly shows at Paisley Park.

Check out the lyrics to private joy: "Shoot me up baby, lets take a trip" "strangled Valentino been mine every since if anybody ask you, you belong to PRINCE"

When I referenced not saying "Prince," I meant Prince during the name change period.

TrivialPursuit said:

alandail said:

Root of all evil is money, the black child going buck wild is a reference to The song days of wild not being released.

Incorrect. The reference is a biblical one. The verse says, in I Timothy 6:10 that the love of money is the root of all evil, not money itself. Prince, once again, got his bible verses wrong. Of course, Larry Graham hadn't finished with the rinse cycle yet. There's nothing wrong with money, it's when people covet money and lose self that evil comes in.

As an example of Prince getting his religion wrong, from "4 The Tears In Your Eyes": Jesus never changed stone to bread. The devil tempted Christ (Matthew 4:3-4), while Christ was in the wilderness for 40 days before his ministry began, by saying, "If you're hungry, change these stones to bread." Christ withstood the temptation, and said "Man shall not live only on bread".

I mean, there's always this air of cutsie spirituality in Prince's music, and I don't doubt he believed in God. But he had a glazed over understanding of simple things for most of his career.

I agree with your overall point about Prince's superficial knowledge in this sense. Another example to me was how Prince sung Anna Stesia during his JW years, even though the phrase "Love is God, God is Love" is an endorsement of the Holy Trinity (i.e., that the father and spirit are consubstantial), when that's one of the core tenets of many forms of Christianity that JWs reject. Considering how Prince made such a point of changing the lyrics of The Cross to the The Christ and ranting about stauros, I found it interesting.

Gracielaine said:

Gracielaine said:

BanishedBrian said:

Emale, and many of the songs on Emancipation, was written while Mayte was pregnant. The baby has a prominent role on the whole album. If you listen to song Sex In The Summer, the beat at the beginning of the song is a recoding of the baby's heartbeat.

Thanks for letting me know I have been listening to these three a lot and didn't know that.

If you look at the liner notes / images of Emancipation, there is a picture of Mayte's pregnant torso.