Prince

Released: November 19, 1996

Songwriter: Prince

Producer: Prince

[Intro]
It's courtin' time

[Verse 1]
I've been holding back a good deal longer than I shoulda oughta
I bet you got the notion that I couldn't make up my mind
But now I'm ready to tell your mama
That I got to gets with her daughter
Put on your good dress, baby
It's courtin' time

[Verse 2]
Every day I wait is just another day your baby's lonely
No matter what I'm talking about it always comes back to you (You)
I lost more friends this week because the only
The only one I want deserves the best, the very best that I can do
Put on your shopping shoes, honey
It's courtin' time

[Interlude]
Yes, it is
Yeah
Keep it right there

[Verse 3]
All the friends I thought I had found out they were not at all
With no regrets, the joy I get from knowin' that you're mine
A thousand times the victor
(Victor)
I am
(Yes!)
Baby, baby, it's courtin', courtin', courtin', courtin' time

[Interlude]
Yeah!
Get ready

[Outro]
It's courtin' time
Yeah
Courtin', it's courtin' time
It's courtin' time
Baby, now you going to know
What it's like when a boy truly loves a girl
Courtin', it's courtin' time
It's courtin' time
Well
When I do that
(Do that)
When I do that
(Do that)
When I do that
I'm gonna make them honeys twirl
(Twirl)
It's courtin' time
It's courtin', courtin' time
It's courtin', courtin' time
It's courtin', courtin', courtin' time, yeah
Come on and get some, baby
It's courtin' time
Yeah, yeah

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.

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