I see there are a couple old (locked) threads where people debate whether Prince is supposed to be having consensual sex with the woman or raping here.

.

Here's a crazy interpretation: I thought it might be a re-enactment of The Crucifiction. Jesus was crucified for the sins of Man. This woman is being raping for the sins of Man.

.

I thought that's why he'd say "This is for..." and list inequities and other messed up things about society:
.

...the cab U have 2 drive 4 no money at all
...why I wasn't born like my brother, handsome and tall
...politicians who r bored and believe in war
...discrimination and egotists who think supreme
...whoever taught U how 2 kiss in designer jeans
...the rich, not all of 'em, just the greedy -- The ones that don't know how 2 give
...Yosemite Sam and the tourists at Disneyland
...the creator of man
.

That last one is the ultimate sacreligous F' you.

Wow that is interesting theory. It is hard to say because if it was then it was more subtle.

I heard the song too and when the woman (aka Jill) screamed it sound pleasure not agony though. She didn't say "get off of me" or "stop" or anything that indicated she didn't like it.

Here goes the rest of the lyrics:

This is for the ocean, the sea, the shore

This is for and that's for you, and that's who that one's for

This is for the women, so beautifully complex

This one's for love without sex

This is for the wind that blows no matter how fast or slow

Not knowing where I'm going

This galaxy's better than not having a place to go

And now I know (I know)

So I don't think the 'Lady Cab Driver' was being rape at all. I think the sex was consentual. I think Prince was having passionate but frustration sex with her and she enjoyed it. I never thought of it that way. But then again I hope more people participate their theories. Maybe I overlook something because damn Prince can he so hard to understand lol but I love it. I love to read and listen to people that makes me want to think.

I think Prince was venting his frustrations with the sins of men but at the same time said some good things about life like love, sexy, Earth beauty, and atmosphere. I think he had inner conflict and he need to release some tension and he did that with the Lady Cab Driver.

I am not religious as Prince was so that theory is something to ponder about.

[Edited 4/28/19 13:44pm]

ladygirl99 said:

Wow that is interesting theory. It is hard to say because if it was then it was more subtle.

I heard the song too and when the woman (aka Jill) screamed it sound pleasure not agony though. She didn't say "get off of me" or "stop" or anything that indicated she didn't like it.

Here goes the rest of the lyrics:

This is for the ocean, the sea, the shore

This is for and that's for you, and that's who that one's for

This is for the women, so beautifully complex

This one's for love without sex

This is for the wind that blows no matter how fast or slow

Not knowing where I'm going

This galaxy's better than not having a place to go

And now I know (I know)

So I don't think the 'Lady Cab Driver' was being rape at all. I think the sex was consentual. I think Prince was having passionate but frustration sex with her and she enjoyed it. I never thought of it that way. But then again I hope more people participate their theories. Maybe I overlook something because damn Prince can he so hard to understand lol but I love it. I love to read and listen to people that makes me want to think.

I think Prince was venting his frustrations with the sins of men but at the same time said some good things about life like love, sexy, Earth beauty, and atmosphere. I think he had inner conflict and he need to release some tension and he did that with the Lady Cab Driver.

I am not religious as Prince was so that theory is something to ponder about.

[Edited 4/28/19 13:44pm]

yup. which is why the thrusts get dedicated to ever more metaphysical and loving things.

a form of purple sexual healing, if you will

Can you post the threads where rape was the interpretation?

OldFriends4Sale said:

Mikado said:

OldFriends4Sale said:

Can you post the threads where rape was the interpretation?

http://prince.org/msg/7/284088

I've said this before, as long as people have not reconciled that SEX is just what it is with all it's moans groans weird faces cries yelps and all, people will have a problem

It wasn't the type of moaning she was doing that made me think it was rape. It was Prince's angry thrust, each of which he dedicated to an inequity or injustice. Again, it reminded me of the crucifiction where one person is being sacrificed for the sins of society.

Nah.

No

Ouch

I'd say it's definitely consented sex, because he asks her if they can go to her house, but then when she agrees it gets rough and the biblical dimension is def there, like sex as a weapon and a sacrifice at the same time against all the unjustice in the world

The whole album is sort of about healing the wounds of the world thru dance, music, sex and romance anyway, a true post-punk hippie statement.

That's a fucking great track, much deeper than we'd think on first listen

databank said:

I'd say it's definitely consented sex, because he asks her if they can go to her house, but then when she agrees it gets rough and the biblical dimension is def there, like sex as a weapon and a sacrifice at the same time against all the unjustice in the world

The whole album is sort of about healing the wounds of the world thru dance, music, sex and romance anyway, a true post-punk hippie statement.

That's a fucking great track, much deeper than we'd think on first listen

.

Exactly. That is totally in line with the theory I'm presenting... he dedicated thrust to an inequity or injustice. This is similar to the crucifiction where one person is being sacrificed for the sins of society.

.

Sex? Rape? Are these our only options? Why does "This one" have to be a reference about sex? Is it not feasible that "This one" refers to the song itself or the troubled winds or his "tears to pay the fare or the pleasures of "love without sex"? The song is a confession about the demons inside the speaker and the demons that torment society. The cab is the confession booth. The cab driver is a priest whose "mansion" is heaven. How, after all, could a cab driver who drives "for no money at all" be able to afford a "mansion"?

Let's think outside the box. Not all Prince songs are about sex, you know, not even the ones that say they are.

Grog said:

violetcrush said:

Grog said:

Sex? Rape? Are these our only options? Why does "This one" have to be a reference about sex? Is it not feasible that "This one" refers to the song itself or the troubled winds or his "tears to pay the fare or the pleasures of "love without sex"? The song is a confession about the demons inside the speaker and the demons that torment society. The cab is the confession booth. The cab driver is a priest whose "mansion" is heaven. How, after all, could a cab driver who drives "for no money at all" be able to afford a "mansion"?

Let's think outside the box. Not all Prince songs are about sex, you know, not even the ones that say they are.

Nah, I think you are reading this song wrong. The “Lady Cab Driver” is his sexual partner for sure. The lyric about her having to drive the cab for no money at all comes after he says “will you accept my tears to pay the fare?” I don’t think the Lady represents a Priest in this song. The “take me for a ride” is his metaphor for having sex. He used that many times in his songs. Yes, he’s “unleashing” his demons, and each intense “thrust” represents one of them. I think he’s expressing that he’s using sex as an escape from his troubled mind and frustrations about what is unfair in his world. * Prince typically had themes and/ or stories he was telling with his albums. 1999 was clearly focused on sex and partying for the most part. * He also usually did not mix religion and sex within a song - the focus was one or the other.

violetcrush, when you say that Prince did not usually mix religion and sex within the same song and the he focused on one of those issues in a single song and focused on the other issue in a separate song, are we talking about the same Prince? I'm talking about Prince Rogers Nelson, the Prince Rogers Nelson who once wrote,

Look here Marsha, I'm not sayin' this just to be nasty
I sincerely wanna fuck the taste out of your mouth
Can you relate?

and in the next verse (of the same song) wrote

Whatever you heard about me is true
I change the rules and do what I wanna do

I'm in love with God, he's the only way
'Cuz you and I know we gotta die some day

As you know, these lyrics are on the same album as "Lady Cab Driver." So, if he "had themes and/or stories he was telling on his albums," as you mentioned, it's very likely that multiple songs on this album fuse sex and religion. Take another look at the album cover as well. It's filled with sexual and religious symbolism (a phallus, a cross, a stairway to heaven, etc.), as if to alert listerners that the album will contain songs about sex and religion. This is just one example, as I am sure you know. With this in mind, I stand by my interpretation that "Lady Cab Driver" has religious intent; it intends to give us a surface layer of sexuality in order to mask the deeper, more substantive intention of asking a religious figure to listen to pleas for help in a troubled, secular world. One of those pleas is for "the creator of man" and for the sun, moon and stars created by the creator of man. So, if the song is about sex, it's also about religion, right? The song, and Prince Rogers Nelson, deserve a deeper listening and interpretation. Can you relate?

Grog said:

Grog said:

Sex? Rape? Are these our only options? Why does "This one" have to be a reference about sex? Is it not feasible that "This one" refers to the song itself or the troubled winds or his "tears to pay the fare or the pleasures of "love without sex"? The song is a confession about the demons inside the speaker and the demons that torment society. The cab is the confession booth. The cab driver is a priest whose "mansion" is heaven. How, after all, could a cab driver who drives "for no money at all" be able to afford a "mansion"?

Let's think outside the box. Not all Prince songs are about sex, you know, not even the ones that say they are.

violetcrush said:

Grog said:

violetcrush, when you say that Prince did not usually mix religion and sex within the same song and the he focused on one of those issues in a single song and focused on the other issue in a separate song, are we talking about the same Prince? I'm talking about Prince Rogers Nelson, the Prince Rogers Nelson who once wrote,

Look here Marsha, I'm not sayin' this just to be nasty
I sincerely wanna fuck the taste out of your mouth
Can you relate?

and in the next verse (of the same song) wrote

Whatever you heard about me is true
I change the rules and do what I wanna do

I'm in love with God, he's the only way
'Cuz you and I know we gotta die some day

As you know, these lyrics are on the same album as "Lady Cab Driver." So, if he "had themes and/or stories he was telling on his albums," as you mentioned, it's very likely that multiple songs on this album fuse sex and religion. Take another look at the album cover as well. It's filled with sexual and religious symbolism (a phallus, a cross, a stairway to heaven, etc.), as if to alert listerners that the album will contain songs about sex and religion. This is just one example, as I am sure you know. With this in mind, I stand by my interpretation that "Lady Cab Driver" has religious intent; it intends to give us a surface layer of sexuality in order to mask the deeper, more substantive intention of asking a religious figure to listen to pleas for help in a troubled, secular world. One of those pleas is for "the creator of man" and for the sun, moon and stars created by the creator of man. So, if the song is about sex, it's also about religion, right? The song, and Prince Rogers Nelson, deserve a deeper listening and interpretation. Can you relate?

I was referring to his more serious expressions about religion (ie: The Cross, The Holy River, etc) vs. explicitly sexual songs (ie: It, 18 & Over, 319, Insatiable, etc). I’m not talking about a “one-liner” about God thrown into the middle of a song - come on! “Let’s pretend we’re married and go all night, I won’t stop until the morning light”??? That entire song is about wanting to f**k a girl. It is not mixing a deep religious message with a sexually explicit song.

Well, you didn't make that clear initially. Regardless, those "one liners" are there for a reason. A lot has been written about Prince's conflation of sexual intercourse and divine experiences. Even on one of the songs you mentioned, "It," he says, "'cause when we do it girl it's so divine." Yes, this is another "one liner" but how many one liners do we need before we attach significance to them? There are several one liners about sex not being a solely physical experience, or that it should not be a solely physical experience. I think one of them is in "The Holy River." All I'm saying is that sometimes in Prince's lyrics there is more to sex than just sex.

Grog said: