Prince Rogers Nelson (June 7, 1958 – April 21, 2016), more commonly known m… Read Full Bio ↴Prince Rogers Nelson (June 7, 1958 – April 21, 2016), more commonly known mononymously as Prince, was an American singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. The recipient of numerous awards and nominations, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest musicians of his generation. He was known for his flamboyant, androgynous persona; his wide vocal range, which included a far-reaching falsetto and high-pitched screams; and his skill as a multi-instrumentalist, often preferring to play all or most of the instruments on his recordings. Prince produced his albums himself, pioneering the Minneapolis sound. His music incorporated a wide variety of styles, including funk, R&B, rock, new wave, soul, synth-pop, pop, jazz, and hip hop.

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.

Player
Prince Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

So there U are
About time U showed up
Yea, I know what U heard
But let me talk

Baby, take a look outside your window
And see your future standing there
I've been here 4 a while now, baby

Or maybe U weren't aware
I knew that U heard every single story
About all the friends that I've got
But baby, if U give me 7 years of your time
All the friends I would have not

CHORUS:
Player - If I had U girl, I wouldn't be one
Player - If U'd let me in the mix, we could have fun
Player - If life was a movie, U'd have the main part
Girl, U're number one with a bullet on my charts

Don't make me say I need U like a begger man
Why don't U let me come inside?
I'm the type of male that a girl like U is in need of
Sho' U right
I could take U sailing in a glass bottom boat
U could drink wine while I read poems that I wrote

I'm sick of fishing in the big sea, baby
I wanna check out the settling down
I wanna dock my boat in your fairway
In your kisses I wanna drown {x3}

CHORUS

If I had U girl, I wouldn't be one

Friends, whatever they told U, they lied
My life's an open book, I ain't got nothing 2 hide
I need U like a begger, yeah, I got no pride
Open your heart, let me come inside

CHORUS

Baby, take a look outside your window
And see your future standing there
I've been here 4 a while now, baby
Or maybe U wouldn't care
I knew that U heard every single story
About all the friends that I've got
But baby, if U give me 7 years of your time
All the friends I will have not

Player - If I had U girl, I wouldn't be one
Player - If U'd let me in the mix, we could have fun
Player - If life was a movie, U'd have the main part
Cuz girl, U're number one with a bullet on my charts

Player {x3}

So that's my day in court

Overall Meaning

The song "Player" by Prince is a classic example of his unique style in blending various musical genres, including funk, soul, rock, and pop, while incorporating his signature sexually charged lyrics. In the song, he sings about trying to convince a woman to give him a chance and that he's not really a player as he has been unfairly labelled. He urges her to look outside her window and see that he's been around for a while and is ready to settle down with her. He promises her a life of fun and adventure if she lets him in and "drowns" in his kisses.

The song is also a reflection of Prince's own public image, which was often seen as a womanizer who had many relationships and flings with women. However, he was also known to be deeply romantic and sensitive, and this song shows that side of him. Despite the sexually suggestive lyrics, he seems to genuinely want to have a committed relationship with this woman and is willing to change his ways for her.

One interesting aspect of the song is the use of the term "number one with a bullet on my charts," which refers to a common ranking system in popular music where songs are ranked in order of their popularity with a bullet symbol indicating a significant increase in sales or airplay.

PlayerPrince Lyrics

Player
Prince Lyrics