I was wondering when do you think prince was at his writing best,
What topic or time frame?. I loved when prince talked about issues going
On in the world. It was refreshing to hear somebody bring up what was
Going on.

Prince Writing style was when I was and little girl of All eras HELP ME!!!

He was a excellent lyricist I'd say up there with Dylan or Joni. There actually never was a low spot in his writings even in the early years. Everything is classic from the 80's golden age. He was prolific..it's that simple.
[Edited 11/10/16 18:04pm]

I don't think of Prince as an especially good lyricist. On most of his songs I find the lyrics either to be good but not great, or that they simply 'do the job' and nothing more. He's still my favourite artist, but when I listen to his music it's normally for all the other non-verbal aspects rather than for the words themselves.

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However, I said the lyrics weren't all that great on "most" of his songs. There's a significant minority of exceptions. Some of his best songs are ones in which the meaning of the words is highly ambiguous, leaving them open to multiple readings (The Ballad of Dorothy Parker, Joy in Repetition, Anna Stesia). In other cases, the lyrics aren't necessarily complex or difficult to puzzle out, but they do a wonderful job of expressing feelings, whether they be love and joy (Let's Have a Baby), sadness (Tangerine), religious exaltation (God, Still Would Stand All Time) or, of course, raw sexuality (Erotic City).

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In suppose in conclusion I'd say that Prince wasn't an especially good lyricist, but neither was he a bad one. I doubt he'd ever have written an entire album of songs as personal and lyrically complex as -to use an example the poster above me gave- Joni's Hejira, yet he was clearly capable of it from time to time on individual songs.

CAPABLE there you go. You actually end up contradicting yourself after stating your and I repeat your opinion of Prince's writing.Most of us couldn't come close to writing like Prince did. Sure anyone of us can rattle off song titles.We all were there.Participating on the org is funny and sad at the same time.We all miss him but every statement is a debate. opinions are like... We all got one.
[Edited 11/11/16 4:31am]
[Edited 11/11/16 4:32am]

Poorlovelycomputer: I didn't contradict myself. I said he was capable of writing excellent lyrics on particular songs, but that I doubt he'd ever have written an entire album at the same standard.

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Also, I don't quite get your point. Are you saying it's funny and sad that people debate on the Org? Debate is a good thing! Bitter arguments aren't (see discussions related to Trump in the religion and politics forums), but debate is healthy.

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Finally, I've never claimed my opinion to be fact. If we had to qualify every single sentence with "in my opinion", every post would be needlessly wordy.

He spread himself so thin for one thing

Poorlovelycomputer said:

He was a excellent lyricist I'd say up there with Dylan or Joni. There actually never was a low spot in his writings even in the early years. Everything is classic from the 80's golden age. He was prolific..it's that simple. [Edited 11/10/16 18:04pm]

I love most of his lyrics Starfish and Cocaine, Joy, I Could Never, WDC, The Ballad Of Dorothy and mucho more but he is not in Dylan's level.

I see many of Prince's lyrics as straight up poetry. Even using different styles. The man knew his stuff. Take Condition of the Heart. The lyrics are written (or at least sung) in a rhythm called enjambment. It's where

The last word of the
Sentence is carried
Down to the next line to
Create a feeling of
Tension

My favorite era for that is the psychedelic stuff. Lends itself well to creative symbolism.