Released: October 9, 1999

Songwriter: Prince

Producer: Prince

[Intro]
The greatest romance that's ever been sold

[Verse 1]
So what do you know, you and me
Finally face to face
Checking each other up and down
In all of the obvious places
Was there ever a reason for us to be apart?
The air that fills up this room says not hardly

[Pre-Chorus]
So this is where you end
And you and I begin
(This is where you and I, you and I begin)

[Chorus]
The greatest romance that's ever been sold
The greatest romance that's ever been sold

[Verse 2]
Baby baby, now your mind is open
To poetry seldom heard
Your heart has never been broken
Until you have heard these words
Your body was designed to respond to mine
In spite of your desire to mold me

[Pre-Chorus]
And in the middle of it all
We kiss and like rain (like rain) we fall into

[Chorus]
The greatest romance that's ever been sold
Baby, baby baby
The greatest romance that's ever been sold

[Bridge]
Oh, I know you can feel me, I know that you can dance
But what do you know about the greatest romance?
Not what you think, but what you believe
What was the real reason that Adam never left Eve?
And if the truth sounds like a memory
Then you know it was meant to be (meant to be), meant to be
Leave your inhibitions behind, come on, come on and see

[Pre-Chorus]
So this is where you end (this is where you end)
And you and I begin (you)

[Chorus]
The greatest romance that's ever been sold
The greatest romance that's ever been sold

[Breakdown]
I know you can feel me, I know you can dance
But what do you know about the greatest romance?
(The greatest romance that's ever been sold)
Not what you think, but what you believe
Can you tell me the reason, the reason that Adam never left Eve
(The greatest romance that's ever been sold)
The greatest, listen to me, uh
You brought me the grapes from the vine, oh yes you did
(The greatest romance) Can I talk to you
(That's ever been sold) Listen

You help me to remember the secrets of time
And you, you, you, you offer me your love
Your love, your love, so divine
And in return, girl, in return I will surrender
Oh yeah, I will surrender, oh, yes I will

[Outro]
The greatest romance that's ever been sold

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.