Purple Rain
Prince/Rosie Gaines Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Never meant to cause you any sorrow
Never meant to cause you any pain
I only wanted to one time to see you laughing
I only wanted to see you in the purple rain

Purple rain
Purple rain




Overall Meaning

The opening verse of "Purple Rain" is quite straightforward. Prince is expressing regret for causing any suffering or sadness to his lover. He never intended to bring any harm to her. The second line further emphasizes his hurtful actions and shows that he didn't intend to cause pain either.


The chorus brings the song's thematic elements to fruition by referencing the purple rain. The purple rain is a metaphorical device used in the song to demonstrate the emotional turmoil that Prince experiences as a result of his love. He desires only to see his lover happy and laughing, but the pain and sadness become so much that it manifests itself in his soaked eyes. The purple rain is a symbol of that emotional pain that Prince feels within himself, and he wishes he could share it with his lover. In essence, the purple rain is the culmination of Prince's passionate and intense feelings for his lover.


Line by Line Meaning

Never meant to cause you any sorrow
I did not intend to make you feel sad or regretful in any way


Never meant to cause you any pain
I didn't mean to make you feel hurt or uncomfortable


I only wanted to one time to see you laughing
All I wanted was to see you happy and laughing just once


I only wanted to see you in the purple rain
I wanted to be with you in a moment of magic and beauty, where everything seems perfect and unreal


Purple rain
This magical and beautiful moment that I desire, where everything is perfect and unreal


Purple rain
This magical and beautiful moment that I desire, where everything is perfect and unreal




Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Prince Rogers Nelson

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Comments from YouTube:

@peterbarbounis4591

I always laugh when people say he is doing a cover of this song... It's his song!

@katiebrady7361

True but my god Sinéad O’Conner’s version is so good it’s easy to mistake it for the definitive version. She was made to sing this song.

@stephenperkins9945

@@katiebrady7361No it’s not.

@nyeelahelaamir5273

Correct!

@SY-ut5dz

@@stephenperkins9945 A quick Google search will confirm that he WROTE it.

@cherokeegypsymama

The genius wrote it and an angel covered it 🖤 there's no bad cover to this. Chris Cornell does a terrific version too

5 More Replies...

@nuschlerclark895

Eric Clapton was asked “What does it feel like to be the best guitarist of all time?”
Eric: “When I see Prince I’ll ask him.”

@brightsky5586

LOVE ❤

@tahraludwig950

Kerouac Cossel

@roba6660able

That's just BS.

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