First, I must state I have no idea where he got the phrase “Purple Rain” from but it does not take a genius to gather the general meaning. He regrets the ending of a friendship, possibly after a one-night stand and he acknowledges that they will probably go their separate ways. It is entirely possible his influence, his help is the “Purple Rain”. Whatever it is the lyrics are vague enough to ensure that it speaks to all of us about one relationship or another. The real hook of course is the melody line, picked out by Prince repeatedly throughout on his guitar. I have a couple of live versions where he plays the song live for around 20 minutes and there he plays around with the motif even more, frankly it is very reminiscent of the way jazz musicians take a theme and mutate it in a new way whilst still keeping the essence of the piece. It is my favourite “guitar” track of his and as you saw on Friday it is a live favourite that has the power to send shivers down the spine.
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