The Political And Spiritual Artist Known As Prince

Xpert Lover

Prince died on April 21, 2016 — a few weeks before Donald Trump clinched the Republican presidential nomination. This was not a deliberate political statement. After all, Prince was never considered an overtly political artist. He wasn’t Bono or Bruce Springsteen, and his many messages about how love was stronger than hate could make him seem more suited for a previous generation when hippies roamed free.

However, there was a clear sociopolitical theme in his work if you looked closely. Prince was not especially subtle. That was part of his charm. In 1980’s “Partyup,” he sings, “That Army bag, such a double drag,” before stating more aggressively, “Fighting war is such a fucking bore.” The song ends with the repeated chant — ironically, not unlike a military cadence: “You’re gonna have to fight your own damn war. ‘Cause we don’t wanna fight no more. I said we don't wanna fight no more (gonna have to fight your own damn war). ‘Cause we don’t wanna FIGHT NO MORE!” (Listen below.)

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Earlier in the song, Prince offers the boastful lament, “I don’t wanna die. I just wanna have a bloody good time.” This reflects an almost nihilistic hedonism, which is found in much of his early work. In 1981’s “Controversy,” Prince says, “People call me rude. I wish we were all nude. I wish there was no black and white. I wish there were no rules.” That’s paired with the direct political appeal of “Ronnie Talk To Russia,” where he worries that the necessary conversation could come too late. He warns, “Don’t you blow up my world!”

Those of us who grew up during the Cold War can recall that very real fear of nuclear war. So, it made sense that one of Prince’s first major hits was “1999,” a song about partying during the end of the world. He sings, “Yeah, everybody’s got a bomb, we could all die any day. But before I’ll let that happen, I’ll dance my life away.” The song ends with a child asking, “Mommy, why does everybody have a bomb?” (Watch below.)

Later, in “Lady Cab Driver,” when Prince and the titular lady fool around in the backseat, he shouts, “This is for politicians who are bored and believe in war.” (Maybe, he’s just thinking this and not saying it out loud, as she sounds like she’s enjoying herself. If she were an Uber driver, she’d give him five stars.)

Prince’s frustrations with the modern world was balanced by a deep religious faith, which often felt rooted firmly in the Book of Revelations. The world might end in some nightmare holocaust of our own making, but there is another, better world waiting for us — if you believe that sort of thing. Prince obviously did. He ends 1982’s “Let’s Pretend We’re Married” with this proto-rap:

Whatever you heard about me is true
I change the rules and do what I wanna do
I'm in love with God, he's the only way
'Cause you and I know we gotta die some day
If you think I'm crazy, you're probably right
But I'm gonna have fun every motherfuckin' night
If you like to fight, you're a double-drag fool
I'm goin' to another life, how 'bout you?

He begins 1984’s Purple Rain with these gospel-tinged words: “Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life. Electric word life. It means forever and that’s a mighty long time. But I’m here to tell you: There’s something else — the afterworld. A world of never ending happiness. You can always see the sun, day or night.”

Even the scandalous (well, for 1984) “Darling Nikki” features the backmasked message: “Hello, how are you? I’m fine. 'Cause I know that the Lord is coming soon, coming, coming soon.”

The 1980s were a brutal decade — with the looming threat of war and a literal plague that cut down people in the prime of life while a callous government looked the other way. Prince started to lose that delicate balance between nihilism and faith. In 1987’s “Sign o’ the Times,” he despairs, “Some say a man ain’t happy truly until a man truly dies.” The last side of the Sign o’ the Times album offers more upbeat messages: There’s the spiritual salvation in “The Cross” — “Ghettos to the left of us. Flowers to the right. There’ll be bread for all, y’all. If we can just, just bear the cross, yeah.” Then the jubilation in “It’s Gonna Be A Beautiful Night”: “No time for politics, no we don't wanna fight. Everybody get up, it’s gonna be a beautiful night. No time for sorrow, this is gonna be the one. Tonight there’s no tomorrow. Tonight we’re gonna have some fun.”

That was the constant push and pull for Prince. The title track from his unreleased 1986 triple album Crystal Ball was written during what he described as “a deepbluefunk depression as Prince pondered his future in a music business that had become more business than music. His only solace during this time was his continuing search 4 a soul mate.”

The haunting “Crystal Ball” is about Prince and this imagined soul mate together as the world burns around them: “As bombs explode around you and hate advances on your right, the only thing you can be sure of is the love we make tonight.”

At over 10 minutes, it’s a funky yet gloomy song that my mostly gloomy 20something self would listen to for hours in the dark when it was finally released in 1998. Those were, of course, simpler times compared to now. Prince is physically no longer with us, but his life’s work will always remain. Perhaps that’s why “Crystal Ball” hits such a somber note today. It’s more prescient than ever.