Raspberry Beret

[JazzManJim]

"One! Two! One, Two, Three, Uhhh!"

Okay, this song is perhaps the best song Prince has ever done. It's not the deepest lyrical writing, nor the most complex musical tune, but the groove is just killer. It's subtle and you find yourself tapping your feet even before you know what you're doing.

Great tune.

"Built like she was, she had the nerve to ask me if I planned to do any harm..."


(Editied to try to correct the title of the song. Ugh! I'm such a LOSER trying to post any damned thing before noon!)

 

[amelia]

the kind you find in a second hand store??

 

[perks]

His best song?

You've got to be kidding me. It's good, but it's so fluffy, lyrically speaking. The groove doesn't move me half as much as some of his other stuff.
It's so bubblegum.

 

[Rhys]

and if it was warm she wouldn't wear much more

 

[InnocentAngel81]

aww i still like that song

 

[MissTaken]

Thanks!

Now, I will humming that damn song all day long!

 

[Dixon Carter Lee]

I love that song. I love most of what Prince did (is doing?). I think "Kiss" is one of the best pop songs ever written. "Purple Rain" rules. And if the elevator ever tries to bring you down, go crazy.

 

[JazzManJim]

Re: His best song?

You've got to be kidding me. It's good, but it's so fluffy, lyrically speaking. The groove doesn't move me half as much as some of his other stuff.
It's so bubblegum.

I'd not call it bubblegum. It has a great groove, the musical stuff happening in it is pretty intricate, when you really listen, but not so much that it's obscure. It's not his most complex, but it's a perfect example of how you don't need to be fancy to write a solid song. I love the tune. I can't say that it's his best, but it's in my Top 5.

 

[perks]

so bring that fat ass round, so I can work on that zipper baby. Tonight, you're a star, and I'm the big dipper.


I have all his albums.

as for your change from perhaps his best song to maybe in his top five, I might agree with you. Nothing he does is without complexities. I just wouldn't fill his number one slot with Raspberry Beret.

 

[JazzManJim]

Thanks!

Now, I will humming that damn song all day long!

Why just hum it?

"I was working part time in a five-and-dime
My boss was Mr. McGee
He told me several times that he didn't like my kind
'Cause I was a bit 2 leisurely

Seems that I was busy doing something close 2 nothing
But different than the day before
That's when I saw her, Ooh, I saw her
She walked in through the out door, out door

She wore a
Raspberry beret
The kind U find in a second hand store
Raspberry beret
And if it was warm she wouldn't wear much more
Raspberry beret
I think I love her

Built like she was
She had the nerve 2 ask me
If I planned 2 do her any harm

So, look here
I put her on the back of my bike
And-a we went riding
Down by old man Johnson's farm

I said now, overcast days never turned me on
But something about the clouds and her mixed

She wasn't 2 bright
But I could tell when she kissed me
She knew how 2 get her kicks

She wore a
Raspberry beret
The kind U find in a second hand store
Raspberry beret
And if it was warm she wouldn't wear much more
Raspberry beret
I think I love her

The rain sounds so cool when it hits the barn roof
And the horses wonder who U are
Thunder drowns out what the lightning sees
U feel like a movie star

Listen
They say the first time ain't the greatest
But I tell ya
If I had the chance 2 do it all again

I wouldn't change a stroke
'Cause baby I'm the most
With a girl as fine as she was then

(Raspberry beret)
The kind U find (The kind U find)
The kind U find (In a second hand store)
Oh no no
(Raspberry beret)
(And if it was warm)
Where have all the raspberry women gone? (She wouldn't wear much
more)
Yeah (Raspberry beret)

I think I... I think I... I think I love her

(Raspberry beret)
No No No
No No No (The kind U find)
(In a second hand store)
(Raspberry beret)
Tell me
Where have all the raspberry women gone? (And if it was warm she)
(Wouldn't wear much more)
(Raspberry beret)
I think I love... "

 

[JazzManJim]

as for your change from perhaps his best song to maybe in his top five, I might agree with you. Nothing he does is without complexities. I just wouldn't fill his number one slot with Raspberry Beret.

Well, I don't really have a particular rank for the Top 5. I'd say that there are perhaps 5 songs that could be considered his best song, and I'd be very hard pressed to pick just one. "Raspberry Beret" is definitely one of the five, IMO.

 

[Rhys]

Perfectly useless factoid:

Jim Warren did the cover art for Around the World in a Day. Jim has done art for Bob Seger (won a grammy for Against the Wind) and Alice Cooper among others. Prince sent Jim a set of instructions for what he wanted on the cover of this particular album. So, a few days into the commission, Prince's people called and said that Prince wanted to see the painting. So, Jim flew to Minneapolis with a half complete painting. He got to his hotel room and one of Prince's people came by and got the painting. Later, that same evening, the painting was returned with a note from Prince attached, asking Jim to go ahead and finish it.

So, Jim took the painting and went home. He says it was one of the most surreal experiences he's ever had doing a commission. But, then, so is the painting...


true story

 

[perks]

I've always loved him, ever since my mom told me he was a pervert and I couldn't listen to him.

IMO, RB isn't one of my favorites, although it does have a complexity underneath all that bubblegum.