Prince

Released: November 9, 1999

Songwriter: Prince

Producer: Prince

[Chorus]
Why you screaming?
You know I'm not a man of war
Break the gold chain that I gave you
Throw it down on the floor
Instead of this seven page letter
I wish I had peace of mind
My friends tell me, "You should go get her"
But loving you, loving you, loving you
Is a waste of time

[Ad lib]
Oh yes it is, a waste of time, ooh

[Verse 1]
I need to get out of this city
I need to get you out of my head
I need to get away from the words that you said to me
Oh baby
(Why you screaming? You know I'm not a man of war)
How could you think that I could put something
Inside of someone that I put inside you, inside you?
Even if I tried to, if I tried to
I couldn't 'cause I still smell like the last time that we...
I...
But lovin' you, lovin' you, lovin' you is a waste of time
(Waste of time) Oh yes it is
Lovin' you's a waste of time, baby, ooh

[Verse 2]
I need to feel wanted again
I need to feel love is alive, yeah
I need to hear you say that you ain't looking for another reason to make me cry
(Why you screaming? You know I'm not a man of war)
I've been trying to make you happy, baby, ever since we were sophomores
But lovin' you, lovin' you, lovin' you is a waste of time, oh yes it is
Oh, is a waste of time, waste of time, waste of time

[Verse 3]
And if there is no future then there is no past
And all we've got is right now
Oh girl, let's make it last, make it last, make it last, ooh

[Chorus]
Why you screaming?
You know I'm not a man of war
Break the gold chain that I gave you
Throw it down on the floor
Instead of this seven page letter
I wish I had peace of mind
My friends tell me, "You should go get her"
But loving you, loving you, loving you's a waste of time
(A waste of time) Waste of time

[Verse 4]
I need to get out of this city
I need to get you out of my head
I need to
I need to get away from the words that you said to me
I need to
I need to feel wanted again
Oh, I need to, huh, feel no sin, hear me

[Chorus]
Why you screaming?
You know I'm not a man of war
Break the gold chain that I gave you
Throw it down on the floor
Instead of this seven page letter
I wish I had peace of mind
My friends tell me, "You should go get her"
But loving you, loving you, loving you is a waste of time

[Outro]
You know I'm not a man of war

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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