Purple Rain and When Doves Cry were the songs that got me into Prince. For the last weeks i'm listening to Purple Rain a lot again and what a great song PR is.

Question: what does the lyrics mean? Wat is 'the purple rain'?


:there's no emoticon for blushing!:

dawn74 said:

This is my favourite album ever. It is mainly about spiritual purification.

dawn74 said:

The emoticon you are looking for is probably:

I dont really understand the lyrics either-but it is such a great song. In my opinion the song really hits you after he stops singing and just does the geetar solo on ooo ooo ooo thang,brings a lump to me throat everytime I hear it

ladymisskat said:

I like the fact, that verse 3 has a completely different lyrical theme to the other 2

dawn74 said:[quote]Purple Rain and When Doves Cry were the songs that got me into Prince. For the last weeks i'm listening to Purple Rain a lot again and what a great song PR is.

Question: what does the lyrics mean? Wat is 'the purple rain'?


Answer: it's what's inside Anji's head...

Utopia

I remember Wendy saying Prince wrote alot of songs around that time dealing with huclear holocaust and making love and partying in spite of the bombs dropping and Nuclear fallout. 1999 obviously being one, i kind of take PR in the same vein.

Though i could be hopelessly wrong!

Anyone got the lyrics to verse 3?

I've heard of them, but never read or heard them...

greatdj1 said:

are these the ones you want?


I never meant 2 cause u any sorrow
I never meant 2 cause u any pain
I only wanted 2 one time see u laughing
I only wanted 2 see u laughing in the purple rain
Purple rain Purple rain
Purple rain Purple rain
Purple rain Purple rain

I only wanted 2 see u bathing in the purple rain

I never wanted 2 be your weekend lover
I only wanted 2 be some kind of friend
Baby I could never steal u from another
It's such a shame our friendship had 2 end

Purple rain Purple rain
Purple rain Purple rain
Purple rain Purple rain

I only wanted 2 see u underneath the purple rain

Honey I know, I know, I know times are changing
It's time we all reach out 4 something new
That means u 2
U say u want a leader
But u can't seem 2 make up your mind
I think u better close it
And let me guide u 2 the purple rain

Purple rain Purple rain
Purple rain Purple rain

If you know what I'm singing about up here
C'mon raise your hand

Purple rain Purple rain

I only want 2 see u, only want 2 see u
In the purple rain

I guess it means that some sort of 'spiritual awakening" over you. Purple is the color of spiritual knowledge and you know, Prince wants it to come over us, to 'rain' on us.

prrtybby said:

no, i think he means the verse that was ixed-out...i dunno if you've seen/heard the first ave. '83 boot...

No I haven't. I know I suck as a fan. How does eveyone get all of these bootleg songs and albums? You people are super LUCKY

TLC...did "erkay" with "if i was yer girlfriend", they preached erkay!!!
but some things are betta' left alone, dig!

It's in that there book that Prince mentioned in interviews having read back when he was a New Age believer - Into The Light. (I don't recall the name of the author.)
It describes an temporary death experience from a car crash survivor (I think it was) in which she describes the various levels of Heaven. Supposedly, when on one level, purple light drips through from the level above, and visually it resembles rain. (Or something somesuch.)
I've heard about it from a friend who read the book, plus I think it has been described in an article in Uptown. Check the back catalogue on your Days Of Wild CD-ROM. Possibly the article is included on it. If not, check your Uptown back issues for the article's detailed information.
[This message was edited Mon Sep 22 13:37:36 PDT 2003 by scififilmnerd]

scififilmnerd said:

So P means:

only want 2 see you bathing dead?

Now serious, it means: some higher form of a relationship? Beyond love en sex? That would fit into the: never wanted to be your weekend lover, only wanted to be 'some kind of friend'.

dawn74 said:

Well, supposedly the song was written for Susan Moonsie, who was one of Prince's girlfriends back 'round Vanity 6. Maybe what he says is "I'm sorry, I F**ked you on the weekends, I didn't mean to f**k you at all - only to be a friend"?

I think is easier. When Prince thought about making a film he had only something sure. He wanted the word "Purple" to be in the title. And if you remember, those times Prince wore with very colourful dresses. Prince, obvioulsy, wanted to pay tribute to one of his idols, Jimi Hendrix ("Purple Haze") and about the rain. Ok, we are talking about Prince, it's clear that it's another spiritual song about love and the importance of to give and not to receive.

greatdj1 said:

say what..???!!! Do you even know who Prince is!?

Handclapsfingasnapz said:

Oh, sorry - see that makes more sense

---

I always thought it meant bathing in spiritual enlightenment but then what do I know , I stick address labels on boxes for a living!

JavierAlcalde said:

Oh yeah. How could I have forgotten THAT! U 4 real?

Prince gave a clue during an interview with Tavis Smiley in '98...When asked if he had any predictions for the (then) upcoming turn of the millenium, he replied:

"If the sky has blood in it, red and blue make purple..."

It's a reference to Revelation 7:12, when it says the skies will fill with blood on judgement day. Blood in a blue sky makes "purple rain"...

...or something like that...

-SWANGdon'tknowmuchabouttheBiblethough
[This message was edited Mon Sep 22 18:57:56 PDT 2003 by SWANG]
[This message was edited Mon Sep 22 18:58:27 PDT 2003 by SWANG]

Err off the top of my head:

I don't want your money baby
I don't even think I want your love
bla bla bla (anybody remember this?)
I want the Purple Rain

To a man: It's a really weak chorus and I'm glad he edited it out. It sounds like he forgot the words and made something up, rather than a serious extra verse.

On the meaning of Purple Rain: isn't there a scene in the movie where someone says to Prince: no-one understands your lyrics? During the song PR he sings: 'If you know what I'm talking about come one raise your hands', and everyone in the club does. So I figure that the chorus was The Kid's way of proving that people DID connect to him on an emotional level, even if the words didn't make any 'logical' sense.


Handclapsfingasnapz said:[quote]prrtybby said:[quote]

greatdj1 said:

dawn74 said:

Purple is the most royal colour. This colour appears when blue and red are mixed.

In other words, it is when Man and Woman are in harmony. The real rain (reign) then appears...

Marrk said:

Chill a bit Marrk. You could also be right

SWANG said:

...interesting, SWANG :d

andyf said:

I remember reading this and suddenly the whole song made sense to me. If you are walking in purple rain then you have survived armegedon. The rain is the cleansing aftermath of the sky having blood in it. What he is saying to his friend/lover is how important it is that they save their soul.
This song seems a conclusion to a theme that started with Partyup,and ran thru 1999. each song made the situation (war armegedon) less human and more biblical. maybe The Ladder would fit with theese?

SWANG said:

wow. that's deep SWANG. I agree.
I also think the part where he says, "I don't wanna be your weekend lover" isn't speaking about sex, but refers to Prince's desire that we not only worship on the weekends like SMO saints(Sunday Morning Only). I think he's trying to tell us that we should worship constantly. ie. have a personal relastionship with Him.

scififilmnerd said:

Embraced By The Light by Bettie J. Eadie was published in 1992. Long after "Purple Rain".