- The ending verse is just a wish to try to enjoy life while you can, and just ignore the bad times. A definite late-80s sign o' the times. Prince is a great lyricist when he wants to be. Unfortunately he spends most of his songs obsessing about sex.
- — Prince, 1986 More than any other release in his four-decade-long recording career, Prince's iconic double album Sign O' The Times captured the artist in a period of complete reinvention.
After debuting on the music scene in the 1970s, Prince became a household name during the following decade. In 1987, he released his ninth studio album Sign o' the Times, which is considered a classic to this day. The album's self-titled track served as the lead single and peaked at No. 3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and No. 10 in the U.K., according to The Official Charts. The song may not have been a chart-topper for the deceased icon, but it is highly admired, regardless.
As reported by Song Facts, living legend Chaka Khan covered the track for her Funk This album while Jack Hues of Wang Chung considers 'Sign o' the Times' as one of his top three songs from the '80s. 'This song struck me the moment I heard it for the stripped-down economy of both the production and the actual songwriting,' Hues said, per Song Facts.
'It begins with the bass drum, shaker and a sort of electronic conga part,' Hues continued. 'They are all syncopated and occupy their own spaces in the rhythm, but all slightly 'off.' When the straight snare comes in with the bass guitar everything lines up and sounds funky as hell even though, on paper, it should be a bit of a mess. But this is part of Prince's genius: to use simple, disparate elements and let them groove.'
With that being said, what is the lyrical content from 'Sign o' the Times' actually about? Keep reading to find out.
Sep 23, 2020 For Susan Rogers, Prince’s sound engineer from 1983 to 1987, Sign O’ the Times was an intentional departure for the artist. “Purple Rain was the work of a brilliant young man,” she tells. Prince: The Story of Sign O' The Times is an audio documentary series brought to you by The Current in collaboration with the Prince Estate, Paisley Park, and Warner Records. Listen Thursdays at 8 p.m. Central, and read a written version below. The series is also available as a podcast on multiple platforms.
'Sign o' the Times' has very deep lyrical content
Sonically, 'Sign o' the Times' is a funky, experiential pop song. However, its lyrical content hears Prince discuss a whole range of important topics. During the first verse, the 'Purple Rain' hitmaker talks about a French man who was presumably a drug addict and infected with AIDS from using needles. 'In France, a skinny man died of a big disease with a little name,' he sings, while stating the man's girlfriend may have caught the virus the same way: 'By chance his girlfriend came across a needle and soon she did the same.'
Prince mentions that young kids are up to no good ('At home there are seventeen-year-old boys and their idea of fun is being in a gang called The Disciples, high on crack, totin' a machine gun') and that the world is constantly informing everyone about deaths: 'You turn on the telly and every other story is tellin' you somebody died.' However, Prince tries to tell listeners that no one is focusing enough on these problems, singing, 'And we're sending people to the moon,' which was a reference to Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin being the first two people to land on the moon on July 20, 1969. An achievement that cost $24 billion, per History.
During the song's outro, Prince sings about bringing more people into the world while sharing his pessimistic view: 'Sign o' the times mess with your mind / Hurry before it's too late / Let's fall in love, get married, have a baby.'
Prince Sign O The Times Era
In France, a skinny man died of a big disease with a little name
By chance his girlfriend came across a needle and soon she did the same
At home there are seventeen-year-old boys and their idea of fun
Is being in a gang called 'The Disciples'
High on crack and totin' a machine gun
Time
Times
Hurricane Annie ripped the ceiling of a church and killed everyone inside
You turn on the telly and every other story is tellin' you somebody died
A sister killed her baby 'cause she couldn't afford to feed it
And yet we're sending people to the moon
In September, my cousin tried reefer for the very first time
Now he's doing horse, it's June, unh
Times
Times
It's silly, no?
When a rocket ship explodes and everybody still wants to fly
But some say a man ain't happy unless a man truly dies
Oh why?
Time
Time
Baby make a speech, Star Wars fly
Neighbors just shine it on
But if a night falls and a bomb falls
Will anybody see the dawn?
Time, mm
Times
Is it silly, no?
When a rocket blows and, and everybody still wants to fly
Some say man ain't happy truly until a man truly dies
Oh why, oh why?
Sign o' the times, unh
Time
Time
Sign o' the times mess with your mind
Hurry before it's too late
Let's fall in love, get married, have a baby
We'll call him Nate
If it's a boy
Time
Times
Lyrics submitted by Novartza
Prince Sign O The Times Vinyl
Sign 'O' the Times Lyrics as written by Prince Rogers Nelson
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
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Prince Sign O The Times Lyrics
Prince Sign O The Times Cd
Found on more albums:Prince Sign O The Times Dvd
The Hits/The B-Sides
The Very Best of Prince