PURPLE RAIN: SACRED HYMN FROM PRINCE TO MR. TRUMP

The Prince people complained about Mr. Trump using Purple Rain at his latest republican rally.

Since the gathering was in Minnesota, the complaint hit close to the Prince home.

Why can’t Mr. Trump use any song he wants? Ask Bruuuuce about politicians using popular songs, like Mr. Reagan playing Born In The USA.

No thanks from the Bruce camp. And Prince agrees.

But why?

I like to think of Prince as a voice gone before his time, and some of his songs mark time passages. For example, it once felt like Prince and Michael Jackson were the future of rock and roll.

Then I saw the movie Purple Rain and knew it was Prince and only Prince. I laid a sod yard once in exchange for Prince tickets at a Tacoma Dome show. Back breaking work exchanged for music. Sounded fair then, and fair now.

And my back agrees. It even agrees that the song Purple Rain is sacred in its meaning, but not the sort of sacred Mr. Trump would understand. A close reading of the lyrics explains it better:

I never meant to cause you any sorrow
I never meant to cause you any pain

I believe Prince sang about a girl. He’s a rock star singing about a girl, about a car, stuff rock stars write songs about.

A show of hands of those who think Mr. Trump never meant to cause anyone any sorrow. Hands of those who believe Mr. Trump never meant to cause any pain?

But he liked Purple Rain

I never wanted to be your weekend lover
I only wanted to be some kind of friend
Baby, I could never steal you from another
It’s such a shame our friendship had to end

In a way, Mr. Trump is the anti-Prince. From most accounts he wants to be a weekend lover and not some kind of friend.

Would he steal a woman from another man? Or take up with another woman while he portrayed himself as a married man?

(Checking media notes for accuracy.)

Honey I know, I know, I know times are changing
It’s time we all reach out for something new
That means you too

When times are changing, do they change for better or worse? Either way, change is always coming, and we all hope for better when we reach out for something new.

If something works, we use it until it stops working

Then comes the next stanza, which seems to speak to Mr. Trump’s voter base:

You say you want a leader
But you can’t seem to make up your mind
I think you better close it

Life is complicated, then it gets more complicated, until the best decision seems like shutting down and ignoring the flood of news from every corner of the world and let someone else do the work of interpreting.

Mr. Trump understands the need, so did Prince, but the need was different for both.

If you know what I’m singing about up here
C’mon, raise your hand

From slate.com:

Because of all the legal loopholes, an artist who wants a politician to stop using their music may then find that the most effective method for getting them to stop isn’t the law but the candidate’s sense of shame—something Trump is not known for. At the same rally where “Purple Rain” was played, Trump railed against Somali refugees and Rep. Ilhan Omar, who he called “an America-hating socialist” to a jeering crowd.

At the same event he played Purple Rain, Mr. Trump explained how his opponent became a national figure: brown nosing, kissing up, to President Obama as his Vice President. It’s funny to those old enough to remember the video of a Trump cabinet meeting where everyone kissed up to Mr. Trump.

Minor Leaguer Bloggers?

Too often, minor league bloggers take a shot at the big guys in the media world for things said, and left unsaid. Playing Purple Rain at a campaign stop isn’t the worst offense. It would have been worse had the song been played over the story of Mr. Trump taking inventory during his time as a beauty pageant owner.

From fortune.com:

“I’ll tell you the funniest is that I’ll go backstage before a show and everyone’s getting dressed,” Trump told Stern in the recordings. “No men are anywhere, and I’m allowed to go in, because I’m the owner of the pageant and therefore I’m inspecting it…. ‘Is everyone OK’? You know, they’re standing there with no clothes. ‘Is everybody OK?’ And you see these incredible looking women, and so I sort of get away with things like that.”

What song could he have been humming?

I only want to see you, only want to see you
In the purple rain

That’s not what Prince had in mind.