I just never got this song. It always came across as not genuine to me. I never believed that Prince felt it. Maybe it's the main leadline (or whatever you call it) that I felt never fit the rest of the song. Kinda jarring to have to listen to.. and I never got through the entire song....

...until the other day. I love this song now. It took me a while to actually like it. The beat and the guitar the last minute or so is amazing. This should have been on the Come album. Or just have Come + Gold + Exodus + Strays (and some others from Crystal Ball) and you'll have the best album ever basically. So basically The Dawn bootleg lol

I love it as well! It's like a Prince take on Bohemian Rhapsody, totally over the top and makes perfect sense given that it was written for a stage show. Puts me mind of 3 Chains O' Gold, high melodrama with wailing guitar solos. And yeah I think it should definitely have been on Come, what a way to close the album.

I love it.

I know many find it a bit over the top and too bombastic but I love it just the way it is.

As I´ve often mentioned on previous threads dedicated to this song, I think this song should have been on the Come album and should have closed the album as it was once planned. The way he says "Come" at the end of the song would have made the album a bit more cohesive by adding a bit to a concept feel of the album.

Without it, the Come album feels a bit incomplete to me.

PS: Morris Hayes once mentioned how much he liked this song when he first listened to it.

Interesting point about Strays and your previous stance that perhaps it was ingenuine. Yes, he seemed different but in a confident and bold way, at least when it came to music. However, he was literally close to a stray when he had to move away from his own family. Perhaps this gave him an emotional connection to the song. I know that personally I relate to the song very much, but others who know me would never predict this. It is just an emotion connection that I can relate to from times in my life when I didn't feel I belonged. You never forget that feeling even if you do get more connected and successful. I wished he played it more often.

Thoughts one way or the other on it as a song, cool.

But that track doesn't fit or belong anywhere near Come. Come-figuration #1, #15. #25, whatever, Prince ultimately made the right decision.

WhisperingDandelions said:

Thoughts one way or the other on it as a song, cool.

But that track doesn't fit or belong anywhere near Come. Come-figuration #1, #15. #25, whatever, Prince ultimately made the right decision.

Maybe not musically, but the lyrics make it a perfect closing song for the Come album.

It fits perfectly as far as the lyrics are concerned. "COME now all ye strays of the world...." and then the final "Come" that he whispers when the song is just about to end.

And it´s a song about loneliness, among other things, so it goes hand in hand with songs such as Solo, Papa and Letitgo....a bit melancholic and sad, with a vibe of loneliness.

What makes you think it does not belong on the Come album?

The way he sings ? The music ?

I think NOT including this song on the album was the bigger mistake. It sounds incomplete without Strays of the World.

i liked it the first time I heard it.

i love the sentiment of it and i love when he goes gospel "strays of the world, all ye boys and girls" love it. you guys aren't strays like prince and us.

dumb song...but not his worst...

KoolEaze said:

Pretty lame but uniquely Prince. Like Graffiti Bridge x Morning Papers with a sprinkling of Dolphin. I can tolerate it.

RODSERLING said:

Who cares if you like it or not?

You cared enough to reply.