What are the REAL meanings behind some of Prince’s biggest songs?
They're not always about EXACTLY what you think.
As we reflect on the seventh anniversary of Prince’s passing this weekend, we wanted to take just a moment to reflect on the real meanings from some of his biggest songs of all time. So many of them have been interpreted by so many of us to be used in various different situations, yet they weren’t exactly what we always intended them for.
Here’s a glimpse of three of his biggest songs, and what he ACTUALLY intended them to be about.
1.) LITTLE RED CORVETTE isn’t about a Corvette. It’s about a girl. But she wasn’t even driving a corvette.
Just a couple of words into the song, he’s obviously not talking about a sports car, but a woman who was going…well… MUCH TOO FAST for him in their physical relationship.
But rumor has it, the woman who Prince was singing about was someone he met in the parking lot of one of the recording studios where he put music together, and she wasn’t driving a corvette: she was driving a Mercury Marauder.
The car was ready. It certainly wasn’t little… that thing is a BOAT. And it wasn’t, well…sexy. So, given the popularity of the Corvette and the relative unpopularity of a Marauder, the car switch was made…and the rest is history.
2.) LET’S GO CRAZY wasn’t intended to strike up a party.
The idea that we’re going to “go crazy, go nuts,” and never let the elevator bring us down, always feels like we’re going to some sort of Prince-ly bash with dancers, drinks, loud music, lights…the whole nine yards. But when Prince wrote the lyrics to “Let’s Go Crazy,” it had very little to do with a blow out bash; it was, to him, the battle between God and Satan.
So when you take a look back and soak in the whole context of the afterworld – maybe this does mean a little more than just about throwing a party!
3.) “SEVEN” and the LOVE SYMBOL and passages through The Bible.
The seven deadly sins…AMIRITE? AMIRITE? Not so much. Similar to “Let’s Go Crazy,” Prince begins to dabble into some deep spirituality and messaging with his 1992 release, “Seven,” that comes out right before he changes himself to “The Symbol Formerly Known As Prince.” Between references to Jerusalem, the number Seven being looked at as holy, and so much more, writer Andrea Mai spells it out here in an incredibly compelling story of Prince’s depth.
So, by all means; party on to “Let’s Go Crazy,” find a vette that’s little and red, or “sin” away with “Seven.” The beauty of music is that we can enjoy and interpret it as we see fit. But as we tip our cap to the purple one, enjoy the homework here on what HE was envisioning – and enjoy some of your favorites from Prince in a whole new light.
