After recording their debut single "Ode to a Forgetful Mind" in 1988, P.M. Dawn released their first album Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross: The Utopian Experience in 1991 to critical acclaim. It achieved immediate commercial success because of its single "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss". Their 1993 follow-up The Bliss Album...? was also praised by critics and featured the hit singles "I'd Die Without You" and "Looking Through Patient Eyes". P.M. Dawn continued to receive strong reviews, but sold poorly with their subsequent albums Jesus Wept (1995) and Dearest Christian, I'm So Very Sorry for Bringing You Here. Love, Dad (1998).
The Cordes brothers' father died of pneumonia when they were children. Further family tragedy occurred when their baby brother, Duncan, drowned at the age of two. The two elder brothers were raised by their mother and their stepfather George Brown, a founding member of Kool & the Gang.
Prince Be began DJing parties and composing songs in ninth grade. Within a few years, he had determined to make a demo tape of some of those pieces with the $600 he had set aside from his after school job as a security guard at a homeless shelter. By then, he and his brother were putting in studio time as P.M. Dawn.
They first approached Tommy Boy Records, the rap music subsidiary of Warner Brothers, with their demo, but they were told that they were too much like alternative hip-hoppers De La Soul, and not hardcore or ghetto, and were turned away. Eventually, Warlock, an independent record label, issued a debut single, "Ode to a Forgetful Mind", in 1989, but it went unnoticed.
The record label that released the single in the United Kingdom, Gee Street Records, found greater success. Gee Street mixed and marketed the song so that it earned considerable attention from music reviewers, and P.M. Dawn found themselves courted not just by Gee Street's head, Jon Baker, but also by most of the major UK record labels. Gee Street brought the brothers to London in 1990 to record tracks for an album; however, the label found itself facing bankruptcy during the recording. The entire Gee Street operation, along with P.M. Dawn's recording contract, was sold to the highest bidder, Island Records. Island issued a few more singles in the United Kingdom before releasing their debut album, Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross: The Utopian Experience.
Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross featured the international hit "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss", which sampled the Spandau Ballet song "True", and featured a cameo by Spandau Ballet singer Tony Hadley in the music video of the song. "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" hit #1 the week of November 30, 1991, and holds the distinction of being the first #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart following the introduction of Nielsen SoundScan to the chart. The song also reached #3 in the United Kingdom. "Paper Doll", which was one of the early singles Island released in the United Kingdom, was released in the US as a follow-up to "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss", and peaked at #28 in early 1992. "Paper Doll" is said well over 100 times in the song, which makes it second only to MC Hammer's "Pray", which holds the record for the most times a title is repeated in a US Top 40 hit (147).
With the success of their debut album, the band parted company with their manager Nick Hemmings and embarked on a world tour. During this world tour, a statement Prince Be made in Details magazine led Boogie Down Productions' KRS-One and his crew to storm the stage during a P.M. Dawn concert, forcing the group off the stage and performing three BDP classics. To warrant this reaction from KRS-One, Prince B had asked, "KRS-One wants to be a teacher, but a teacher of what?" Defending his motives to USA Today's James T. Jones IV, KRS-One remarked, "I answered his question. 'A teacher of what?' I'm a teacher of respect."
In 1992, P.M. Dawn appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation CD Red Hot + Dance, contributing the Richie Rich Mix of "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss". The album, featuring George Michael and Madonna among others, was meant to raise money and awareness in support of the AIDS epidemic.
Before releasing their follow-up album, The Bliss Album…? (Vibrations of Love and Anger and the Ponderance of Life and Existence), P.M. Dawn contributed the single "I'd Die Without You" to the 1992 Eddie Murphy comedy Boomerang and its soundtrack. This #2 pop hit was also included on The Bliss Album…?, as was the Billboard #2 pop hit "Looking Through Patient Eyes".
"Looking Through Patient Eyes" featured backing vocals by Cathy Dennis and sampled George Michael's hit "Father Figure". The music video for the song was shot in a church, and featured Christian images throughout — most notably, Prince Be wore a T-shirt with "Thank you, Jesus" written across it in black lettering.
The Bliss Album…? featured the Boy George duet "More Than Likely" and a cover of The Beatles' "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)". The album also included "So On and So On," which led to a 1999 sampling lawsuit. In the lawsuit Batiste v. Island Records, Inc., Paul and Michael Batiste claimed that P.M. Dawn's song "So On and So On" used unauthorized samples from David Batiste & The Gladiators' "Funky Soul". The fifth Circuit Federal Appellate Court found that the Batistes point to no evidence in the record demonstrating that consumers were confused or deceived by either the use of a digital sample of "Funky Soul" in "So On and So On", or the attribution to David Batiste as a co-author of the track. The Batistes' claim that Paul and Michael Batiste were improperly excluded from the liner notes accompanying the album also failed to suggest that consumers were confused, especially because the liner notes do credit the name of the band in which both Paul and Michael Batiste performed. Though Island Records won the lawsuit, the song was removed from subsequent releases of The Bliss Album and is no longer available for purchase in their publishing catalog.
P.M. Dawn contributed a cover of "You Got Me Floatin'" to the 1993 compilation album Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix. Artists ranging from Pat Metheny to Eric Clapton to Ice-T's Body Count were included.
Their 1995 album Jesus Wept was unable to attain the success of their first two albums. The album's highest charting single was "Downtown Venus", which contained a sample of Deep Purple's "Hush", and reached #48 on the Billboard chart. Also, in 1995, P.M. Dawn was credited with the remix of White Zombie's "Blood, Milk and Sky" (Miss September Mix) on the Supersexy Swingin' Sounds compilation album. In 1996, P.M. Dawn contributed "Non-Fiction Burning" to the AIDS benefit album Red Hot + Rio produced by the Red Hot Organization. In 1998, Prince Be contributed the tracks "Perfect for You" and "Gotta Be...Movin' on Up" to the Marlon Wayans and David Spade comedy Senseless, followed later in the year by P.M. Dawn's fourth album, Dearest Christian, I'm So Very Sorry for Bringing You Here. Love, Dad. It was less successful again, with the album's single, "Being So Not for You (I Had No Right)" being a minor chart hit.
In the same year, Jarret Cordes (DJ Minutemix) was accused of sexually abusing a 14-year old relative and was subsequently arrested in Burlington County. The girl is said to have been a "close relative".
In 2000, they released the compilation, The Best of P.M. Dawn. Through their website, they also began selling a mail-order-only album called Fucked Music on December 1, 2000. This was paired with a bonus CD, Unreleased Vol. 1, and a T-shirt.
Prince Be suffered a massive stroke in early 2005 that left him paralyzed on the left side of his body. Undeterred, P.M. Dawn appeared on NBC's Hit Me, Baby, One More Time, performing "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss", and covered Puddle of Mudd's "Blurry". Despite the fact that Prince Be was still suffering the effects of this stroke, they beat Animotion, Missing Persons, Juice Newton and Shannon to claim the $20,000 charitable prize, which they contributed to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, as Prince Be was a diabetic.
Following their appearance on Hit Me, Baby, One More Time, Minutemix was terminated for misconduct. This led to the introduction of the Cordes brothers' paternal first cousin, Gregory Lewis Carr II, known by his stage name Doc. G (also known as 'Dr. Giggles' or 'Blissboy #2'.)
On May 15, 2010, Prince Be's 40th birthday, Doc. G performed in Manila before an audience of 50,000 people and dedicated the performance to Guru of Gang Starr and Francis M.
On June 17, 2016, Prince Be died of renal disease at the age of 46.
Doc. G continues to perform and record music under the P.M. Dawn name. On April 6, 2018, Doc.G announced K-R.O.K. as a new member of P.M. Dawn.
To Serenade A Rainbow
P.M. Dawn Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I think I want to fly away.
I think I want to fly away.
I think I want to fly away.
I think I want to fly away.
I think I want to fly away.
I think I want to fly away.
I think I want to fly away.
I think I want to fly away.
I think I want to fly away.
I think I want to fly away.
I think I want to fly away.
Sitting on top of the setting sun
Trying to capture at age twenty-one
? beauty's only skin deep
But love likes to sail when I exhale my lungs.
Fine wines, good times
To try to be an angel's pantomime
That's the ticket but a different definition than the soul defines
Does "X" mark spot on a single heart
When it's borne the billion's of Cupid's darts?
To try to spread love to the multitude...
But then there's the few that tears things apart.
Moonbeams condition my dreams
To its current shades of purple and green.
I'm convinced that my aura has the same glow,
And this produces my affection toward rainbows.
Wondering why
Why only my eyes embrace you?
As if I was blind, I persist to chase you.
Through my window I'm watching you smile at me.
And I live for the times when you profile for me.
The breeze, the wind
It fluctuates my adrenaline.
See, it's an ode to the fact you've put your colors on.
Now all I've got to do is tell you it's wrong,
And counteract my tears with a grin.
To balance your feelings in a mind that spins
Is to serenade a rainbow,
While riding on the tail of the wind.
I think I want to fly away.
I think I want to fly away.
I think I want to fly away.
I think I want to fly away.
I think I want to fly away.
I think I want to fly away.
I think I want to fly away.
I think I want to fly away.
Loving you is easy cause your beautiful.
I don't think so. I think that that's a lot of bull.
My heart and soul are completely taken over.
I'm sick from one of those love hangovers.
I watch the comedy called intellect
Which wraps the nooses around our necks.
It seems the unreal is becoming more real.
They've taken me down to strawberry fields.
Leave me at the tip of Orion's nose,
And play me a song that your heart composed.
Why you can blow me away and I can still see blue,
Agape compels me to love you.
Break me down until you see the sun.
I look at you and smile and you ask, "How come?"
Father, I talk to you for peace of mind.
? goes home that makes me blind.
It's like a fairy tale from the Brothers Grimm.
That fall love in love on the slightest whim
Is to serenade a rainbow,
While riding on the tail of the wind.
I think I want to fly away.
The lyrics of "To Serenade A Rainbow" by P.M. Dawn describe the singer's feelings towards a person they are in love with. The repeated phrase "I think I want to fly away" could reflect the singer's desire to escape from the intensity of their emotions. They feel overwhelmed by love and the beauty of the world around them, and they are captivated by rainbows, moonbeams, and the changing colors of their dreams.
Despite their feelings of love, the singer is aware of the challenges that come with it. Love can bring pain, and it's difficult to reconcile the idealized version of love with the reality of human relationships. The lyrics mention the difficulty of trying to spread love to the multitude while also dealing with the few who tear things apart. The singer is also aware that beauty is only skin deep, and that true love goes beyond superficial qualities.
The song ends on a note of hope and peace. The singer asks for guidance from a higher power and finds solace in the idea of "serenading a rainbow" while riding on the tail of the wind. This suggests that the singer is content to enjoy the beauty of the world and their feelings of love without trying to control or manipulate them.
Line by Line Meaning
I think I want to fly away.
Expressing a desire to escape from current circumstances.
I think I want to fly away.
Repeating a desire to escape from current circumstances.
I think I want to fly away.
Repeating a desire to escape from current circumstances.
I think I want to fly away.
Repeating a desire to escape from current circumstances.
I think I want to fly away.
Repeating a desire to escape from current circumstances.
I think I want to fly away.
Repeating a desire to escape from current circumstances.
I think I want to fly away.
Repeating a desire to escape from current circumstances.
I think I want to fly away.
Repeating a desire to escape from current circumstances.
I think I want to fly away.
Repeating a desire to escape from current circumstances.
I think I want to fly away.
Repeating a desire to escape from current circumstances.
I think I want to fly away.
Repeating a desire to escape from current circumstances.
I think I want to fly away.
Repeating a desire to escape from current circumstances.
Sitting on top of the setting sun
Looking back on youth, trying to capture beauty.
Trying to capture at age twenty-one
Reflecting on a specific age where beauty was important.
? beauty's only skin deep
Beauty is superficial.
But love likes to sail when I exhale my lungs.
Love is deep and personal.
Fine wines, good times
Describing the good life.
To try to be an angel's pantomime
Trying to be something perfect.
That's the ticket but a different definition than the soul defines
Beauty and perfection have different meanings to different people.
Does "X" mark spot on a single heart
Questioning if there is a one true love.
When it's borne the billion's of Cupid's darts?
Questioning if love is unique or not.
To try to spread love to the multitude...
Striving to spread love to many.
But then there's the few that tears things apart.
Reflecting on those who ruin things.
Moonbeams condition my dreams
The moon influences dreams.
To its current shades of purple and green.
Colors of dreams.
I'm convinced that my aura has the same glow,
Feeling a connection to nature.
And this produces my affection toward rainbows.
Rainbows hold special meaning.
Wondering why
Questioning why.
Why only my eyes embrace you?
Questioning why only he is attracted to someone.
As if I was blind, I persist to chase you.
Following love blindly.
Through my window I'm watching you smile at me.
Watching someone from afar.
And I live for the times when you profile for me.
Living for moments when someone is present.
The breeze, the wind
Natural phenomena.
It fluctuates my adrenaline.
Feeling energized by nature.
See, it's an ode to the fact you've put your colors on.
Praising someone's expression of themselves.
Now all I've got to do is tell you it's wrong,
Recognizing when something is not right.
And counteract my tears with a grin.
Putting on a brave face.
To balance your feelings in a mind that spins
Trying to balance emotions in a chaotic mind.
Is to serenade a rainbow,
Comparing emotional balance to a beautiful idea.
While riding on the tail of the wind.
Attempting to maintain balance despite turbulence.
Loving you is easy cause your beautiful.
Beauty attracts.
I don't think so. I think that that's a lot of bull.
Disagreeing with the idea that beauty is easy to love.
My heart and soul are completely taken over.
Feeling strongly for someone.
I'm sick from one of those love hangovers.
Experiencing emotional pain from love.
I watch the comedy called intellect
Observing the jokes of academia.
Which wraps the nooses around our necks.
Difficulty of understanding complex concepts.
It seems the unreal is becoming more real.
Reality is hard to grasp.
They've taken me down to strawberry fields.
Feeling overwhelmed.
Leave me at the tip of Orion's nose,
Feeling lost.
And play me a song that your heart composed.
Wanting emotional connection.
Why you can blow me away and I can still see blue,
Being in awe of someone.
Agape compels me to love you.
Feeling a selfless, all-encompassing love.
Break me down until you see the sun.
Breaking down emotional barriers.
I look at you and smile and you ask, "How come?"
Enjoying someone's company.
Father, I talk to you for peace of mind.
Talking to a higher power for comfort.
? goes home that makes me blind.
Feeling blinded by emotion.
It's like a fairy tale from the Brothers Grimm.
Describing the intensity of love.
That fall love in love on the slightest whim
Impulsive, passionate love.
Is to serenade a rainbow,
Comparing passionate love to a beautiful idea.
While riding on the tail of the wind.
Trying to maintain emotional balance despite turbulence.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group, THE ROYALTY NETWORK INC.
Written by: HUGH MASEKELA, ATTRELL CORDES, GEORGE KRANZ
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
john rowland
fabulous tune:~)
xtabubar
grEat ! happy to listen this now after 20 years .. ^^'
wes frye
dope ass album. actually it was too good for a premier effort, could only go down from there. too bad.
Rachael Collins
Think I wanna fly away
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