The song was also notable for opening with a funeral-like organ solo with Prince giving the "eulogy" for "this thing called life." That eulogy ends with a distinctive drum machine pattern and then quickly becomes a full hard rock number with heavy guitar, bass and keyboards. The song's percussion was programmed with the venerable Linn LM-1 drum machine, an instrument frequently used in many of Prince's songs.
"Traffic Jam", by "Weird Al" Yankovic, is a style parody of "Let's Go Crazy", while two segments of Prince's unaccompanied guitar solo in the song's coda were sampled into Public Enemy's single "Brothers Gonna Work It Out".
Song shows Prince's skills on guitar. Prince plays Hendrix-styled guitar licks and solos.
Let's Go Crazy
Prince Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We are gathered here today
To get through this thing called life
Electric word, life
It means forever and that's a mighty long time
But I'm here to tell you
There's something else
The afterworld
You can always see the sun, day or night
So when you call up that shrink in Beverly Hills
You know the one, Dr. Everything'll-Be-Alright
Instead of asking him how much of your time is left
Ask him how much of your mind, baby
'Cause in this life
Things are much harder than in the afterworld
In this life
You're on your own
And if de-elevator tries to bring you down
Go crazy, punch a higher floor
Hoo
If you don't like the world you're living in
Take a look around you
At least you got friends
You see, I called my old lady
For a friendly word
She picked up the phone
Dropped it on the floor
(Ah, ah) is all I heard
I'm not gonna let de-elevator
Bring us down
Oh, no let's go
Let's go crazy
Let's get nuts
Let's look for the purple banana
'Til they put us in the truck, let's go
We're all excited
But we don't know why
Maybe it's 'cause
We're all gonna die
And when we do (when we do)
What's it all for (what's it all for)
You better live now
Before the grim reaper come knocking on your door
Tell me, are we gonna let de-elevator bring us down
Oh, no let's go
Let's go crazy
Let's get nuts
Look for the purple banana
'Til they put us in the truck, let's go
Come on, baby
Let's get nuts
Yeah
Crazy
Let's go crazy
Are we gonna let de-elevator bring us down?
Oh, no let's go
Go crazy (woo)
I said let's go crazy (go crazy)
Let's go, let's go
Go (let's go)
Dr. Everything'll-Be-Alright
Will make everything go wrong
Pills and thrills and daffodils will kill
Hang tough, children
He's coming
He's coming
Coming
Take me away
Prince's Let's Go Crazy is a song packed with life lessons and challenges to seize moments of joy while we can. The opening lyrics describe how we are gathered to tackle the challenges of life. Prince references "Electric word, life" and its implicit link to forever, which may seem long, given its implications. However, he believes in the afterworld, where there is no ending to joy and happiness, a world that we can all aspire to. He advises that instead of asking "how much of your time is left," we should ask "how much of your mind," to prioritize the things that truly matter in this life.
Prince refers to the difficulties of life and the challenges of facing them. He urges listeners not to be held back by these challenges and instead says we should "go crazy, punch a higher floor." The song continues, noting that we should take control of the world around us, face our fears and live in the moment. The chorus becomes a call-to-action, encouraging people to get nuts and look for the purple banana, despite whatever obstacles may present themselves.
Let's Go Crazy is ultimately an uplifting anthem that encourages listeners to live life on their terms and not be held back by fear. The message is that the world we live in can be challenging, but we can rise above and find our own happiness by not taking things too seriously, taking control and letting go of our inhibitions.
Line by Line Meaning
Dearly beloved
Hello, everyone
We are gathered here today
We are here now in this moment
To get through this thing called life
To survive our lives
Electric word, life
Life is intense and powerful
It means forever and that's a mighty long time
Life lasts a very long time
But I'm here to tell you
But I have something else to say
There's something else
There is more to life than what we know
The afterworld
A spiritual dimension outside of our world
A world of never ending happiness
A place where everyone is always happy
You can always see the sun, day or night
The sun, which represents life, is always present
So when you call up that shrink in Beverly Hills
If you need help from a professional, like a therapist
You know the one, Dr. Everything'll-Be-Alright
A specific therapist who claims to make everything better
Instead of asking him how much of your time is left
Rather than asking how long you have to live
Ask him how much of your mind, baby
Ask how much of your mental wellbeing can be saved
'Cause in this life
Because in our world
Things are much harder than in the afterworld
Life is more complicated than the spiritual realm
In this life
In our world
You're on your own
You must fend for yourself
And if de-elevator tries to bring you down
If life shatters you
Go crazy, punch a higher floor
Get wild and aim higher in life
If you don't like the world you're living in
If you are unhappy in life
Take a look around you
See what you can change
At least you got friends
Remember that you have people to support you
You see, I called my old lady
For example, I called my girlfriend
For a friendly word
Just to chat
She picked up the phone
She answered the call
Dropped it on the floor
But then she hung up unexpectedly
(Ah, ah) is all I heard
I only heard a sound
I'm not gonna let de-elevator
I won't let life beat me
Bring us down
Defeat us
Oh, no let's go
Let's not be beaten
Let's go crazy
Let's act wild
Let's get nuts
Let's do something unusual
Let's look for the purple banana
Let's search for something impossible
'Til they put us in the truck, let's go
Let's keep going until we're defeated
We're all excited
We are enthusiastic about life
But we don't know why
But we don't know why we feel this way
Maybe it's 'cause
Perhaps it's because
We're all gonna die
We will all inevitably die
And when we do (when we do)
And when death comes
What's it all for (what's it all for)
What is the purpose of life
You better live now
You should live life fully
Before the grim reaper come knocking on your door
Before death comes to take you away
Tell me, are we gonna let de-elevator bring us down
Are we going to allow life to beat us
Let's go crazy
Let's act wild
Let's get nuts
Let's do something unusual
Look for the purple banana
Search for something impossible
'Til they put us in the truck, let's go
Let's keep going until we're defeated
Come on, baby
Let's go
Yeah
Yes
Crazy
Wild
Are we gonna let de-elevator bring us down?
Are we going to allow life to beat us?
Go crazy (woo)
Get wild (yeah)
I said let's go crazy (go crazy)
I mean it, let's act wild
Let's go, let's go
Let's move on, let's go forward
Go (let's go)
Let's get going
Dr. Everything'll-Be-Alright
A specific therapist who claims to make everything better
Will make everything go wrong
Will probably make things worse
Pills and thrills and daffodils will kill
Drugs and excitement won't solve your problems
Hang tough, children
Stay strong, everyone
He's coming
Death is inevitable
Take me away
Death will take us away
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Prince Rogers Nelson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@DollFunk
Prince, The Revolution - Let's go crazy
Dearly beloved, we have gathered here today
To get through this thing called life
Electric word life it means forever and that's a mighty long time
But I'm here to tell you there's something else
The afterworld, a world of never ending happiness
You can always see the sun, day or night
So when you call up that shrink in Beverly Hills
You know the one Dr. Everything'll Be Alright
Instead of asking him how much of your time is left?
Ask him how much of your mind, baby
'Cause in this life things are much harder than in the afterworld
This life you're on your own
And if the elevator tries to bring you down
Go crazy punch a higher floor
If you don't like the world you're living in
Take a look around you at least you got friends
You see I called my own lady for friendly word
She just picked up the phone, dropped it on the floor
Ahh, ahh is all I heard
Are we gonna let the elevator
Bring us down, oh, no let's go
Let's go crazy, let's get nuts
Look for the purple banana
'Til they put us in the truck, let's go
All excited but we don't know why
Maybe it's 'cause we're all gonna die
And when we do, what's it all for
Better live now before the grim reaper
Come knocking on your door
Are we gonna let the elevator
Bring us down, oh, no let's go
Let's go crazy, let's get nuts
Look for the purple banana
'Til they put us in the truck, let's go
Come on baby let's get nuts
Yeah, crazy
Let's go crazy
Are we gonna let the elevator bring us down
Oh, no let's go, go crazy
I said let's go, go crazy
Let's go, let's go, go, let's go
Dr. Everything'll Be Alright
Make everything go wrong
Pills and thrills and daffodils will kill
Hang tough children
He's comin'
He's comin'
Comin'
Take me away
@nkmade
In 2013, at age nine I remember listening to the Purple Rain album with my mom.
The first time I heard that guitar solo leading into the outro, I was speechless. As a 2000s boy I'd never heard anything like that before, and I likely won't hear anything like it again.
I was actually hit hard with the news of Prince's death three years later. Didn't grow up during his prime, but I knew we lost a musical legend.
This song, and for that matter the entire album, are timeless and should never be forgotten.
Prince Rogers Nelson
1958 - 2016
@user-wh5ir4fo4r
I can't even classify his work. It's pop. It's rock. It's electronica. It's dance. It's everything and it's all his. No one compares.
@viroking
He was one of a kind, for sure. I grew up in Minneapolis and didn't know what to think of him at first because it was so different than most of what was going on in music at the time. Really grew to appreciate him as an artist (and especially as a guitar player, he was amazing live).
@justins21482
the guy was amazing hands down. pure talent when you realize how much music he wrote for OTHER people. mind bending
@banglove
It is called Genius.
@Return26-p4t
Not from Minneapolis, i'm from the uk but watched a documentary on him where it said that that the local radio played all sorts of music, not one genre, when he was growing up. That was a big influence on him.
@dave929
He was amazing and played all of the instruments on his songs. A bit over-the-top with guitar solos, which was his signature. Just think if he had a duet with Eddie Van Halen.
@ModernBarbarian187
At the Superbowl, the rain was pounding down, and he walked out and played this, and you were reminded what a real Rock Star was.
@Howlingburd19
His Halftime Show is hands down the best one and probably always will be!
@kathebitz6851
Remember that time in 2007 that a football game played in the middle of a Prince concert 💜Ƭ̵̬̊💜
@seanmcdonough4902
Still the best super bowl halftime show ever !