Just listening to a homemade Prince CD compilation (really my first ever...of course I had made compilation tapes WAY back when, like in the early 90s - anyone remember the pre-broadband dark ages?)...

...anyway, so this song comes on, the original Old Friends 4 Sale, which to this day makes me feel lucky to be alive ever time i hear it...

and it comes up to this line:

"Bad news, D.C., your people are talking. They say your kingdom is falling"

and I marvelled to myself how my whole life I've been waiting for the political climate to match that line and good Goddamn it finally arrived.

Huzzah!!!

I'm gettin' all giggly. If I hear Prince play America at the show I will wet me knickers.

theblueangel said:

Ummm, isn't the line actually:

Bad news, Steve said, people are talkin'
They say your kingdom is fallin', yeah

NO. FUCKING. WAY.





Somebody PLEASE confirm this!!! BORIS, WHERE IS YOU?!

theblueangel said:

I think this is right, if you think about the time when the song was made

Steve Magnoli, I think, was one of his managers at the time. The track was cut during the Parade era, at a time when Prince's record sales were on the relative decline.

namepeace said:

I always thought they said "bad news they say... people are talking."

I did suspect that it said DC, but I NEVER thought they said Steve says... that seems odd.

namepeace said:

Yup, Steve was the one Prince dealt with most, and it's good to look at the whole verse along with it:

The sun set in the west this mornin'
4 I know, I know L.A. is callin'
Bad news, Steve said, and people are talkin'
They say your kingdom is fallin', yeah
They say U lost your fire
When another musician U hired
Little do they know, U wouldn't have passed go
Unless it could take U higher, yeah

The first part talks about a call from Steve in LA concerning the rumors that Prince's kingdom was falling apart during the Parade/UTCM era (lowered record sales, St. Paul bolts from the scene, UTCM has trouble on the set)... and the 2nd part seems to revolve around previous criticism of Wendy's hiring, imo. The song then goes on to talk about Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Chick Hunstberry, etc... This is an incredibly personal track and so the idea that he says D.C. just doesn't fit anything else in the song.
[This message was edited Thu Mar 25 22:36:53 2004 by jtfolden]
[This message was edited Thu Mar 25 22:38:21 2004 by jtfolden]

Wow, thanks for breaking it down. That makes the lyric so much more personal and meaningful, although I like my bastardized version as a rallying cry for young America. Ahem.

But yeah, wow...I've actually learned several quite fascinating things I didn't know through peopel on the Org sharing it with the rest of us...I love this fucking place. Thanks jtfolden.

Its Steve Fargnoli, not "Magnoli" who was namechecked lol. Magnoli was the one who directed Purple Rain

SENSHY said:

Grrrrr.... I can't believe I didn't notice that. It must have been late. Yeah, it was Fargnoli who was one the the 'Spaghetti Brothers.' hehehe

madhouseman said:

Me too

SENSHY said:

I never cease to marvel . . .

Fargnoli, Magnoli, whatever, they haven't been around in 16 years anyway!