Prince

Released: August 21, 1990

Songwriter: Prince

Producer: Prince

[Intro]
He liked to frequent this club down up on 36th
Pimps and thangs like to hang outside and cuss for kicks

[Verse 1]
Talking to no one in particular, they say: "The baddest I am tonight"
Four letter words are seldom heard with such dignity and bite
All the poets and the part time singers always hang inside
Live music from a band plays a song called "Soul Psychodelicide"
The song's a year long and had been playing for months when he
Walked into the place
No one seemed to care, an introverted this-is-it look on most of their faces
Up on the mic repeating to words, over and over again
Was this woman he had never noticed before he lost himself in the
Articulated manner in which she said them
These two words, a little bit behind the beat
I mean just enough to turn you on
For every time she said the words another one of his doubts were gone

[Verse 2]
Should he try to rap with her? Should he stand and stare?
No one else was watching her, she didn't seem to care
So over and over, she said the words til he could take no more, (no more)
He dragged her from the stage and together they ran through the back door
In the alley over by the curb he said tell me what's your name
She only said the words again and it started to rain (rain, rain, rain)
Two words falling between the drops and the moans of his condition
Holding someone is truly believing there's joy in repetition
There's joy in repetition
There's joy in repetition
There's joy in repetition
There's joy in repetition
She said love me, love me, what she say?
She say love me, love me
Joy, why don't you love me baby, joy, why can't you love me baby
Joy, come on and love me baby, joy in repetition
Alright, joy in repetition
Alright, joy in repetition
Alright, joy in repetition
Alright, joy, all my wishes add up to one
Love me, joy, Love me, joy, Love me, joy
Love me, Love me, joy, joy, joy in repetition
Joy, joy in repetition
Joy, joy (love me) in repetition
Love me, love, joy, joy, joy in repetition
Joy, and I'm gonna say it again, joy, joy, and I'm gonna say it again
Joy, I'd like to go way up high and say, Love me, joy
I'll say Love me, joy
Joy, joy in repetition, joy in repetition
There's joy in repetition

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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