Born and raised in Minneapolis, Prince signed a record deal with Warner Bros. Records at the age of 19, soon releasing the albums For You (1978) and Prince (1979). He went on to achieve critical success with the influential albums Dirty Mind (1980), Controversy (1981), and 1999 (1982). His sixth album, Purple Rain (1984), was recorded with his new backing band the Revolution, and was also the soundtrack to the film of the same name in which he starred. Purple Rain garnered continued success for Prince and was a major commercial achievement, spending six consecutive months atop the Billboard 200 chart. The soundtrack also won Prince the Academy Award for Best Original Song Score. After disbanding the Revolution, Prince released the album Sign o' the Times (1987), widely hailed by critics as the greatest work of his career. In the midst of a contractual dispute with Warner Bros. in 1993, he changed his stage name to the unpronounceable symbol logo. Hollow circle above downward arrow crossed with a curlicued horn-shaped symbol and then a short bar (known to fans as the "Love Symbol") and was often referred to as The Artist Formerly Known as Prince (or TAFKAP) or simply The Artist.
After signing with Arista Records in 1998, Prince reverted to his original name in 2000. Over the next decade, six of his albums entered the U.S. top 10 charts. In April 2016, at the age of 57, Prince died after accidentally overdosing on fentanyl at his Paisley Park home and recording studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota. He was a prolific musician who released 39 albums during his life, with a vast array of unreleased material left in a custom-built bank vault underneath his home after his death, including fully completed albums and over 50 finished music videos. He also released songs under multiple pseudonyms during his life, as well as writing songs that were made popular after being covered by other musicians, most notably "Nothing Compares 2 U" by Sinéad O'Connor and "Manic Monday" by the Bangles. Estimates of the complete number of songs written by Prince range anywhere from 500 to well over 1,000. Released posthumously, his demo albums Piano and a Microphone 1983 (2018) and Originals (2019) both received critical acclaim.
Prince sold over 100 million records worldwide, ranking him among the best-selling music artists of all time. His awards included the Grammy President's Merit Award, the American Music Awards for Achievement and of Merit, the Billboard Icon Award, an Academy Award, and a Golden Globe Award. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2004, the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2006, and the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2016, and was inducted twice into the Black Music & Entertainment Walk of Fame in 2022.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_(musician)
Studio albums
For You (1978)
Prince (1979)
Dirty Mind (1980)
Controversy (1981)
1999 (1982)
Purple Rain (1984)
Around the World in a Day (1985)
Parade (1986)
Sign o' the Times (1987)
Lovesexy (1988)
Batman (1989)
Graffiti Bridge (1990)
Diamonds and Pearls (1991)
Love Symbol (1992)
Come (1994)
The Black Album (1994)
The Gold Experience (1995)
Chaos and Disorder (1996)
Emancipation (1996)
Crystal Ball (1998)
The Truth (1998)
The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale (1999)
Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic (1999)
The Rainbow Children (2001)
One Nite Alone... (2002)
Xpectation (2003)
N·E·W·S (2003)
The Chocolate Invasion (2004)
The Slaughterhouse (2004)
Musicology (2004)
3121 (2006)
Planet Earth (2007)
Lotusflow3r (2009)
MPLSound (2009)
20Ten (2010)
Plectrumelectrum (2014)
Art Official Age (2014)
HITnRUN Phase One (2015)
HITnRUN Phase Two (2015)
Posthumous releases:
Piano and a Microphone 1983 (2018)
Originals (2019)
Welcome 2 America (2021)
Prince also released two albums credited to Madhouse, three albums credited to the New Power Generation, and one credited to the N.P.G. Orchestra:
Madhouse:
8 (1987)
16 (1987)
The New Power Generation:
Goldnigga (1993)
Exodus (1995)
Newpower Soul (1998)
The N.P.G. Orchestra:
Kamasutra (1997)
For Serbian singer Princ, please use Princ.
Compassion
Prince Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Right on
A zero point approaches
And the field around you drop
Thoughts become reality
And it feels like time has stopped
When all that's on the radio
Steady, your teeth are gnashing
Compassion
Get it on
Compassion
Right on
Love for the greater number
Freezes over and cools
And everyone around you acts
Like a bloody fool
No sanctity to the left of you
No righteousness to the right
The only thing that's left in fashion
Compassion
Get it on
Compassion
Right on
Whatever skin you're in
We all need to be friends
All happy again
So much better than nothing
Everybody can win
With a little faith in man
Beginning of an end
The start of a brand new something
When ego, fear, and judgment
Become the rule of law
Watch the polar ice caps
Heat up, melt down, and thaw
When the greedy one forgets
That he's the reason for it all
The only gold that's so worth stashing
Compassion
Get it on
Compassion
Right on
In the high-seated lawless no love can be found
Nature will rise against nature and get down
Whatever skin you're in
We all need to be friends
All happy again
So much better than nothing
Everybody can win
With a little faith in man
Beginning of an end
The start of a brand new something
If you got compassion
Let's get back in fashion
The new international anthem
Whatever skin you're in
We all need to be friends
All happy again
So much better than nothing
Everybody can win
With a little faith in man
Beginning of an end
The start of a brand new something
Whatever skin you're in
(Whatever skin you're in)
We all need to be friends
(Black and white and yellow, we can be friends)
All happy again
It's so much better than nothing
Everybody can win
With a little faith in man
Beginning of an end
The start of a brand new something
The song "Compassion" by Prince is a call to action for everyone to embrace compassion and love for one another in a time when the world feels polarized and divided. The lyrics speak of a zero point, a moment when everything seems to come to a standstill and thoughts become reality. The field around the listener drops as they observe the world around them, feeling overwhelmed by the electromagnetic pop music, the foolishness of people, and the absence of sanctity and righteousness.
Amid this chaos, Prince urges listeners to embrace compassion as a means of coming together and finding common ground, stating that "whatever skin you're in, we all need to be friends." He advocates for love for the greater number and calls out the dangers of ego, fear, and judgment becoming the rule of law. The song ends with a plea for everyone to embrace compassion and start anew.
Line by Line Meaning
Get it on
Let's do this
Right on
Exactly
A zero point approaches
A significant point is coming up
And the field around you drop
Your surroundings change
Thoughts become reality
What you think becomes true
And it feels like time has stopped
Time doesn't matter anymore
When all that's on the radio
The only thing on the radio
Is electromagnetic pop
Shallow music dominates
Steady, your teeth are gnashing
Stay calm, this is frustrating
Compassion
We need to be understanding
Love for the greater number
Caring for all
Freezes over and cools
We become indifferent
And everyone around you acts
People become irrational
Like a bloody fool
Like they are losing their minds
No sanctity to the left of you
No virtue
No righteousness to the right
No moral goodness
The only thing that's left in fashion
The only important thing
Whatever skin you're in
Your race doesn't matter
We all need to be friends
We need to connect
All happy again
We can be happy again
So much better than nothing
This is an improvement
Everybody can win
Everyone can succeed
With a little faith in man
If we believe in each other
Beginning of an end
A new start
The start of a brand new something
The beginning of something new
When ego, fear, and judgment
When we become self-centered, scared, and harsh
Become the rule of law
They dictate our actions
Watch the polar ice caps
The environment changes
Heat up, melt down, and thaw
Getting warmer and colder
When the greedy one forgets
When the selfish person ignores
That he's the reason for it all
That he caused the problem
The only gold that's so worth stashing
The only valuable thing worth treasuring
In the high-seated lawless no love can be found
In a society without compassion, no love can survive
Nature will rise against nature and get down
The environment will harm itself
If you got compassion
If you are capable of understanding
Let's get back in fashion
Let's make this a popular idea again
The new international anthem
A new song for the whole world
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Prince Rogers Nelson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind