Prince

Released: November 9, 1999

Songwriter: Prince

Producer: Prince

[Verse 1]
Okay, let me say this quick before I start to cry
You are the only one that I gave in to, the one I fantasize for
And time away from you has taught me
What I should have known
That this hole I'm trying to fill with another yeah, it's growin'
And I got your package
But when I tried to write back I bailed
See, trying to express the future, sometimes language fails
And over this time I've learned
My life force is increased by knowing you
Every door that closes, another one opens
Strange but true
Strange but true

[Verse 2]
No regrets because I forget the unfamiliar faces
Those petty lies and alibis, just gold diggers chasing
Dreams of sovereignty, they're tryin' to come between you and me
A curse therein set forces a chain of events
That only freed me when I remembered
Where I was and who I am
The only Prince that will ever rule this holy land
All understand and all stand under this affirmation now
By the power invested in me by God
All negativity bows
Strange but true
Let's see what you can do

[Verse 3]
You may have lost me, but I found myself
The ones who love me without condition, this is my wealth
And with these words I will win
Repeat them over and over again
All understand and all stand under this affirmation now
By the power invested in me by God
All negativity bows
All negativity bows
All negativity bows
Strange but true
Let's see what you can do
Strange but true
Let's see what you can do
All negativity bows

[Outro]
Strange but true
All negativity bows
Strange but true
Let's see what you can do
All negativity bows
All negativity bows
Strange but true
Strange but true
Strange but true
Strange but true

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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