Released: March 24, 2009

Songwriter: Prince

Producer: Prince

[Intro]
Oh yeah

[Verse 1]
I was born, raised on the same plantation
In the United States of the red, white and blue
Never knew that I was different
'Til Dr. King was on a balcony lyin' in a bloody pool
I expected so much more from a lovin', a lovin', lovin' society
A truthful explanation, you know what
I got another, another conspiracy

[Chorus]
If it was just a dream, listen
Call me, call me a dreamer too

[Verse 2]
With more rewards and accolades then anyone before or after
Twenty-first century, oh what a shame, what a shame race, race still matters
A race to what and where we goin'?
We in the same boat but I'm the only one rowin'

[Chorus]
Last time I checked you were sleepin'
But you can call me a dreamer too
Uh, separatist

[Ad libs]
Yeah
Oh
Yeah
Ow

[Verse 3]
Peanut butter logic, served on a bed of lies
Don't go down too easy when you've seen your father cry
Have you ever clutched the steerin' wheel in your car too tight
Prayin' that the police sirens just pass you by that night
While the helicopter circles us, this theory's gettin' deep
Think they're sprayin' chemicals over the city while we sleep

[Chorus]
From now on I'm stayin' awake
You can call me a dreamer too

[Outro]
I got one eye open for the devils
Oh yeah, oh yeah, no
Come on! Come on!
Wake up
Please wake up
So what's it feel like?
Do you feel like?
You must be dreaming
It's time to wake up
Wake up, wake up

Prince

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.