Prince

Released: October 8, 1980

Songwriter: Prince

Producer: Prince

[Verse 1]
When you were mine
I gave you all of my money
Time after time
You done me wrong
It was just like a dream
You let all my friends come over and meet
And you were so strange
You didn't have the decency to change the sheets
Oh girl, when you were mine
I used to let you wear all my clothes
You were so fine (so fine)
Maybe that's the reason
That it hurt me so

[Chorus]
I know (I know)
That you're going with another guy
I don't care (Don't care)
Cause I love you, baby, that's no lie
I love you more than I did
When you were mine

[Verse 2]
When you were mine
You were kinda sorta my best friend
So I was blind (So blind)
I let you fool around
I never cared (Didn't care)
I never was the kind to make a fuss
When he was there
Sleeping in between the two of us

[Chorus]
I know (I know)
That you're going with another guy
I don't care (Don't care)
Cause I love you, baby, that's no lie
I love you more than I did
When you were mine

[Bridge]
When you were mine
You were all I ever wanted to do
Now I spend my time
Following him whenever he's with you

[Chorus]
I know (I know)
That you're going with another guy
I don't care (Don't care)
Cause I love you, baby, that's no lie
I love you more than I did
When you were mine

[Outro]
When you were mine, yeah, oh no
Love you, baby
Love you, baby
When you were mine

An American singer-songwriter, musician, multi-instrumentalist, and actor that produced 22 RIAA-platinum albums during his 40-year career, Prince may be known for one of many different things – his turn as “The Kid” in the iconic film/album/8 ½ minute ballad “Purple Rain”, being the writer behind the acclaimed anthem “Kiss,” rivaling Michael Jackson at the pinnacle of his career, being the inspiration behind censorship laws, or being the artist addressed as an unpronounceable symbol throughout the 1990s—but while many know of Prince, most don’t fully understand the impact his legacy left on this world.

Going by many aliases throughout his life, Prince Rogers Nelson was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on June 7, 1958 with his father’s (John L. Nelson) stage name as his own given one. Growing up, Prince suffered from serious epileptic seizures at a very young age, but he had wrote his first composition of many by age seven, and outside of his love for basketball, he wanted music to be his purpose in life. His tumultuous childhood, witnessing alcoholism and abuse, caused him to find refuge in neighbor André Cymone’s home in his teens, where the two competed in local band competitions, leading to Prince’s introduction to Morris Day alongside music with his cousin’s band 94 East, leading him to be courted by record labels and ultimately signed to Warner Bros. Records with complete creative control; at 19, his debut album, For You (1978) was released – Prince played all 19 instruments on the record.

Influenced by the likes of Miles Davis, Rick James, and James Brown, Prince desired to form a music dynasty and after the success of his next albums – the platinum-selling Prince (1979), the sexually-charged Dirty Mind (1980), and politically-motivated Controversy (1981) – he negotiated for the ability to form his own label and manage artists of his own. Prince’s trademark sexual/religious rhetoric within pop-and-dance, funk-rock sound gained him a following, but his opening slates for Rick James and The Rolling Stones were both negatively received and facing bankruptcy, the young artist began to reach for mainstream popularity. Cashing on the drug-influenced doomsday mania of the times, 1982’s 1999 easily achieved that mainstream appeal, landing him on MTV, music charts, and radio stations across the world.

more tracks from the album

Dirty Mind

From the albums

Dirty Mind (1980)
The Rolling Stone Collection - 25 Years Of Essential Rock (1993)
The Hits/The B-Sides (1993)
Prince 4Ever (2016)

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When You Were MinePrince

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Dirty Mind