The Lyricist Formerly Known as Prince

Whenever Prince has been interviewed the most often asked question has been about his preoccupation with sex in his lyrics.while it's no secret that he has written many songs about the physical act ,lets not forget that he writes more imaginative,witty,original and passionate songs about sex than many other artists have about love.while "love songs" often have contrived or corny lyrics,Princes sexual songs are never cliched, mainly because of the the clever imagery or circumstance he uses,which puts them above the formula songs which clutter up the charts.

Princes main lyrical tool in achieving these ends is the use of the metaphor. he has described a sexual partner as "a peach" (soft,smooth,succulent),"cream" (the best), even a "little red corvette"(a great body,a smooth ride).sex itself has been visualised as kicking it tight,ramming,the ride,le grind amongst others,emphasizing the physical nature of the act.on the subtler side there are beautiful metaphors such as "when we're making love its like surgery" which brilliantly describes how delicate and intimate sex can be.additionally the final orgasm "twas like thunder","the place where your horses run free" (ie.the "thunder " of hooves) and " a 100 million little heartattacks."

of course there are many non-sexual metaphors including "when doves cry" (when a relationship,eg.the family unit or a love affair is broken up a peaceful situation/relationship eg.the family unit or a love affair is broken up),"in the purple rain" (in a peaceful,happy,spiritual state of mind),"thieves in the temple" (the body is a temple,an invasion of the sacred place,maybe a rival, stealing a lover's heart away).

Another great touch to certain songs is the phrases,sounds which may start them,these are carefully thought out and are always relevant to the title. examples included the prolonged orgasm which heralds "cream" (definitely no explanation needed!),the yelp of pain before "gett off";more subtle strokes of genius include "alphabet street's"opening exclamation of "no!",the only proper word contained in the consecutive letters of the alphabet,and starting "sign o the times"-"oh yeah",a streetwise interpretation of "oyez",said by a town crier before he proclaims the news,as Prince does through the social commentary of "sign o the times".such attention to detail by someone so prolific is incredible,further proof that as well as musically, Prince is a lyrical genius too.