personally, in no order:

way back home: I really thought of his doing this death song as Elvis, Sam Cooke, Buddy Holly, Johnny Cash and the rest of the greats had done but for some reason, I was in denial, Prince put forth the image that had me in denial, but I knew this was his version of change is gonna come, hurt, way down etc..,

Annie Christian: I was only 13 when i listened to this in the dark and it scared the shit out of me, the cold sound, all the space in the music.

Does Not Compute: the scream in there is one of the best screams in Rock and Roll history, most haunting definitely.

Others Here With Us: could have used some revision, some of the lyrics take away some of the punch but other than that, a very disturbing tune.

Anna Stesia: Annie Christian revisited as not an assasin but someone who deadens the feelings.

I thought I read about shockadelica being about that one girl, troy beyer, and how p thought she was "witchy" or something, i could be wrong. I think the story is in dmsr.

Dibblekins said:

67Cadillac said:

Dibblekins said: What do you think Shockadelica is about?

It won't be a popular opinion, lol - but I think it's a metaphor for a drug of some sort (I'd suggest maybe a tranquilliser of some sort, given the lyrical content and evidence we have from Prince and those close to him who said he struggled to sleep because he was ALWAYS hearing music); something to which he had a (fleeting?) addiction or desire but which knew he had to resist because 'she' won't let him play his guitar.
.

When he's alone, it's so hard not to succumb - (The lights go out) the lights go out, the smell of doom
Is creepin' into your lonely room

The bed's on fire
Your fate is sealed
And you're so tired
And the reason is Camille-mille (he referred to himself as Camille - his alter ego; that sneaky, bad, devilish, female side of himself which taunts and tempts him to take his 'Shockadelica')
The girl (Camille) must be a witch
She got your mind, body, and soul hitched (to the) Shockadelica
You need a second opinion but she never wears a stitch (she's bad- and the things she makes you do, like take that little pill, are things about which you can never speak publicly)
So you can't take her home (you can't tell anyone - she's a guilty secret)

She got you tied with a golden rope (she's got you hooked)
She won't let you play your guitar
And when you've cried enough (he laments / fights it)
Maybe she'll let you up
For a nasty ride in her shockadeli-car
She'll make you beg (please) girl
Shockadelica, got you in a trance
'Cause when this woman say dance you dance, Shockadelica
You need a second opinion (he really wants to tell someone; he knows he needs help - maybe from Prince himself - to fight Camille and her wicked temptation) but you just can't leave her alone
With her you got no mind of your own
Shockadelica
Shockadelica
...

[Edited 12/2/17 7:20am]

67Cadillac said:

OnlyNDaUsa said:

what is the story behind "Curious Child"?

I'm listening to this one now. It's one that flew under the radar for me, so much I didn't realize it was actually officially released. It's a very pretty song, but it's also quite unsettling in its vagueness.

[Edited 12/2/17 18:18pm]

Dibblekins said:

Shockadelica...It's not about a woman (my opinion).

.
Also, the 'official' version of 'Empty Room' - there's something just a bit Twilight Zone about it.

[Edited 12/1/17 15:47pm]

I for one believe he's talkin about lust and masturbation, not an especific woman.

OnlyNDaUsa said:

67Cadillac said:

Dibblekins said: What do you think Shockadelica is about?

about 6 minutes

That was a good one, thanks.

Wasted Kisses sounds to me as a man lamenting over givin all his love to a woman afther he killed her. I hear the sound of an ambulance and screams, but who knows.

leec1 said:

Anna Stesia- I never have figured that one out.

67Cadillac said:

I have always been attracted to Prince's dark side quite a bit, the songs as well as little moments in them where you're suddenly caught off guard. He peppers so many of these throughout his catalog, moments that make your hair crawl or your chair buckle. What are some of your favorites?

I'll name some right now:

- the first minute of "Digital Garden" before the vocals come in are a bit creepy.

- the finale of "The Beautiful Ones." It's an obvious choice, but even when I know it's coming, I always grab hold of whatever I'm sitting on because it's so absolutely gripping and intense.

- the 'Help me, somebody please help me!' scream at the end of "D.M.S.R."

- the melotron at the beginning of "Wasted Kisses." Coming off however many minutes of silence, it just jumps at you.

- the whole 'bondage / rape' interrogation scene in "I Hate U."

- the 'I strangled Valentino' line really makes me look at "Private Joy" in a whole new light; it's a fun bubblegum pop song on the surface, but that line just takes it into a far darker direction for me. Looking at the rest of the lyrics, he seems a bit too proud of his lover...almost as if it's more a one-sided obsession. The lyrics are quite possessive sounding.

- When Donna joined with 3rd Eye Girl, she began playing this swirling, tsunami like riff on "Sign O' the Times," it's very taut and cold, and gives the song an even more apocalyptic feel. Montreux Night 3 is a great example of it; that whole performance is phenomenally intense, and would probably be my favorite version if Prince did all the verses.

I'm sure some will mention others, but these are the ones that immediately came to mind.

I never will forget get the first time I played that CD and I was doing something around the house thinking the CD had ended and then that song comes on like that ,,,, 'bout had a heart attack.

Wlcm2thdwn3 said:

Anna Stesia- I never have figured that one out.

I always saw it as Prince coming to terms with his blurring of the sacred and the profane in the past, combined with his fear over The Black Album being truly evil, and begging for his soul.

Alternatively, the whole Black Album was all hype, and Prince just wanted to write a song about fucking a ghost.

thank you!

laytonian said:

leec1 said:

Totally agree. This is the first song that came to my mind too.

Absolutely...It's about genuine pain, real events, cruel father and a stepfather who abused him and beneath the surface, a mother who chose those mn over her son and the two "father" who loved only the reflected glow and money of fame. None of the sexual pain comes close...and he admits it's true in the "don't abuse children or you raise a child like me" line.

You guys have pretty much said it all, but I think the darkest for me is the whole song "Others here with us" besides the freaky subject, bizarre organ stabs and whooahh noises, Prince's vocals sound really disturbed and cynical mixed with all sorts of disorienting screams "Died in its sleep, its mother crryyyeeeddd for a week". You have to wonder what sort of space Prince was in during that song.

.

The lyrics of extralovable are dark too (1982 original), you know being sexually forthright is one thing, raping a woman in a bathtub is another and then dragging her.

.

I just like that he was in touch with the other side and accepted spirits and the unknown, well at least before the JW cloud descended.

Adorecream said:

You guys have pretty much said it all, but I think the darkest for me is the whole song "Others here with us" besides the freaky subject, bizarre organ stabs and whooahh noises, Prince's vocals sound really disturbed and cynical mixed with all sorts of disorienting screams "Died in its sleep, its mother crryyyeeeddd for a week". You have to wonder what sort of space Prince was in during that song.

.

The lyrics of extralovable are dark too (1982 original), you know being sexually forthright is one thing, raping a woman in a bathtub is another and then dragging her.

.

I just like that he was in touch with the other side and accepted spirits and the unknown, well at least before the JW cloud descended.

the jw's had him for a minute but he was back to being who he was by the time he wrote Way Back Home. A man like Prince could only be repressed for so long and thank god for that.

iZsaZsa said:

TrivialPursuit said:

It recurs throughout the song, but around 0:55 seconds when he's saying "L is for lust, O is for obsession..." etc it's going on in the background. It's really hard to understand but when you'll listen you'll realize.

TwiliteKid said:

TrivialPursuit said:

I think the scenario in "PHEROMONE" is pretty disturbing.

Say what? In 23 years, I've never noticed this. Can you point out a specific time?

PeteSilas said:

Adorecream said:

You guys have pretty much said it all, but I think the darkest for me is the whole song "Others here with us" besides the freaky subject, bizarre organ stabs and whooahh noises, Prince's vocals sound really disturbed and cynical mixed with all sorts of disorienting screams "Died in its sleep, its mother crryyyeeeddd for a week". You have to wonder what sort of space Prince was in during that song.

.

The lyrics of extralovable are dark too (1982 original), you know being sexually forthright is one thing, raping a woman in a bathtub is another and then dragging her.

.

I just like that he was in touch with the other side and accepted spirits and the unknown, well at least before the JW cloud descended.

the jw's had him for a minute but he was back to being who he was by the time he wrote Way Back Home. A man like Prince could only be repressed for so long and thank god for that.

Back to being who he was? He didn't go back to singing dirty raunchy stuff, Like Jack U Off, Sister, Darling Niki, Violet The Organ Grinder, etc. etc. or Cursing in his songs... So what are you referring to or talking about???

[Edited 12/5/17 14:42pm]

LRCdancer88 said:

It recurs throughout the song, but around 0:55 seconds when he's saying "L is for lust, O is for obsession..." etc it's going on in the background. It's really hard to understand but when you'll listen you'll realize.

TwiliteKid said:

TrivialPursuit said:

Holy shit! I've noticed that part, but it hadn't occured to me that it was anything other than sound, really. Kind of amazing to discover this now!

TrivialPursuit said:

I think the scenario in "PHEROMONE" is pretty disturbing.

Her eyes are closed but there's no penetration
He just makes her point the pistol 2 his nose while he masturbates
And I see a tear headed down towards her smile
What happens next, it all depends upon your style

The guy is making a girl dominate him with the threat of a bullet to the brain, inciting a simultaneous streak of fear and sexual arousal. She's sad about it that he sinks to such primal depths. Then it's really open-ended with "what happens next depends upon your style". He talks about pulling a gun earlier in the song, too.

It's primal with the repeated "Pheromone make a nigga go crazy, fuckin' around make a nigga wanna die" chant throughout, too.

It's interesting because while people dismiss Prince as a womanizer, he's constantly in the submissive role in his songs. He almost always has the woman in charge, he's asking or begging for her affections, instead of pushing himself on her (sans that rape comment in ...what is that song?). Even in "Violet The Organ Grinder", he's a workhorse for someone else's pleasure.

"Papa" is dark, too.

You probably mean "Extralovable". And yes, totally, unfunny and unecessary.

214 said:

TwiliteKid said:

Phishanga said:

You probably mean "Extralovable". And yes, totally, unfunny and unecessary.

Yep; it just wasn't coming to mind when I typed.

NorthC said:

214 said:

That was a good one, thanks.

Makes me think of an old Bob Dylan quote: BD: "I do know what my songs are about." Q: "And what's that?" BD: "Oh, some are about four minutes. Some are about five. And some, believe it or not, are about eleven or twelve " And that was from 1966. And I'm pretty sure Bob wasn't the first one to think of that joke either. [Edited 12/5/17 11:06am]

Great Dylan as usual, he is a genius.

Astasheiks said:

PeteSilas said:

the jw's had him for a minute but he was back to being who he was by the time he wrote Way Back Home. A man like Prince could only be repressed for so long and thank god for that.

Back to being who he was? He didn't go back to singing dirty raunchy stuff, Like Jack U Off, Sister, Darling Niki, Violet The Organ Grinder, etc. etc. or Cursing in his songs... So what are you referring to or talking about???

[Edited 12/5/17 14:42pm]

I have to agree with Pete Silas, he stops thanking Jehovah after 20Ten and some of the songs on Phase 2 have some pretty dirty lyrics. But we have to bear in mind, Prince was older and probably more mature and knew a 55 year old man singing about fucking bitches with my 8 inch dick or whatever the shit all these shit hoppers sing would not sound good.

.

Prince may have been graphic, but he had class and charm. Most rap and r and b rips off your panties, Prince on the other hand crooned them off.

bboy87 said:

My 30 year old self REFUSES to listen to "Others Here With Us" without a light on

That's the one

Adorecream said:

Astasheiks said:

Back to being who he was? He didn't go back to singing dirty raunchy stuff, Like Jack U Off, Sister, Darling Niki, Violet The Organ Grinder, etc. etc. or Cursing in his songs... So what are you referring to or talking about???

[Edited 12/5/17 14:42pm]

I have to agree with Pete Silas, he stops thanking Jehovah after 20Ten and some of the songs on Phase 2 have some pretty dirty lyrics. But we have to bear in mind, Prince was older and probably more mature and knew a 55 year old man singing about fucking bitches with my 8 inch dick or whatever the shit all these shit hoppers sing would not sound good.

.

Prince may have been graphic, but he had class and charm. Most rap and r and b rips off your panties, Prince on the other hand crooned them off.

ruff enuff is pure porn

Wlcm2thdwn3 said:

Anna Stesia- I never have figured that one out.

It's a play on words. Anesthesia, which puts a person under and shields them from pain as corrective work on thier body takes place. He wants to change and be a better person; liberate his mind, cure his loneliness, fall in love and find true salvation but is afraid of the pain and the work. He sounds desperate - for anyone or anything to show him something higher, how to love and "liberate his mind". He's seeking validation and afraid of being hurt while seeking it.

That's how I read it anyway. It's a pretty haunting song and one of his best, IMO. Underrated. Fucking love that song.

Astasheiks said:

PeteSilas said:

the jw's had him for a minute but he was back to being who he was by the time he wrote Way Back Home. A man like Prince could only be repressed for so long and thank god for that.

Back to being who he was? He didn't go back to singing dirty raunchy stuff, Like Jack U Off, Sister, Darling Niki, Violet The Organ Grinder, etc. etc. or Cursing in his songs... So what are you referring to or talking about???

[Edited 12/5/17 14:42pm]

he definitely loosened up, his singing on, which song was it? where he says "oh ya, this is exciting, this is different" the jw's would have busted his balls, hell, they'd bust his balls for even talking about third eyes, i think he just didn't give a fuck at that point. i did however listen to his P&M recording closely, he sang girl which is somewhat suggestive, far from darling nikki or sister but he also was singing dirty mind.