Prince Remembered

I still am a big fan of Prince’s music. He was such a colorful character, who did things his way. He seemed so big on life, so sure of himself, never realizing that he, too, would fall victim to drug overdose - apparently, someone sold him fake Vicodin that was laced with fentanyl, unknowingly, Prince took this pill for pain and died on April 21, 2016.

Looking back on the many hits that made number one on the singles chart, I pick “1999.” Prince sings of a dream he had - “The sky was all purple, there were people runnin' everywhere.” I remember that I, myself thought the year of ‘2000’ would be judgement day, too. There were many smaller countries with bombs, and anyone with itchy fingers may use them? It was a touch and go time back then. This is the reason Prince wrote this soulful rock ballad, where he showed off his magnetic style, inviting everyone to party until 2000 - “War is all around us, my mind says prepare to fight, so if I gotta die, I’m gonna listen to my body tonight.” His words held so much meaning behind them.

Another song comes to mind, “7,” where Prince refers to the seven deadly sins – although there are other reasons on why he named this song ‘7’, but I prefer this one. He and ‘The New Power Generation’ sung this in 1992 under his ‘Love Symbol.’ He wanted this song to stand out to all the haters who love themselves more. “All seven and we'll watch them fall they stand in the way of love and we will smoke them all.”

My overall favorite. where Prince gives his best solo ever, “Purple Rain”, an innocent friendship which transformed into something deeper, and then crashed and burned. Many people refer to this song as the best break-up song ever. I just love how he sings it, again with so much feeling.

The other gem is “When Doves Cry” featuring a two-part story about his home life. When hearing the meaning behind these two songs, tears fall when listening to Prince sing with such emotion. Why the use of doves in the song? It is a metaphor -peace is being broken. Whenever we think of doves, we think peace. I guess this is how Prince described his home life - people fighting with each other disturbs the peace.

Finally, a song I will list as a favorite is “U Got the Look. I feel it is a fun song when seeing it acted out by Prince, and Sheena Easton. I remember when I first heard it, it made me smile. My family were avid watches of “Miami Vice” where we first saw Sheena Easton. I love the beat! It also shows Prince crawling on stage. What? This was so different than his other songs that it just makes you smile.

His talent will be missed, but we still have his songs. I live in Minnesota, and whenever I drive by Paisley Park, tears well up in my eyes, wishing he was still here with us.

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Prince Challenge Writing Contest 2025  (ASR) In honor of Prince who died 9 years ago, I am having a Prince Challenge Writing Contest. #2154498 by Princess Megan Rose