The band went nameless for almost three years while supporting Prince live and appearing in his music videos. Chapman and Cymone left in the early 1980's and were replaced by Lisa Coleman on keyboards and Brownmark on bass. The first album on which The Revolution performed was the 1982 Prince release, 1999, which has the band's moniker written in reverse on the back cover.
When the 1999 Tour ended in 1983, Dez Dickerson left the band for religious reasons and was replaced by Lisa's childhood friend and soon-to-be lover Wendy Melvoin on guitar. The first album officially released as Prince & The Revolution was Purple Rain in 1984, which sold over 16 million copies in the United States alone.
The band's sound incorporated heavy metal, pop, funk, R&B and hard rock elements. Wendy Melvoin & Lisa Coleman formed a particular creative bond with Prince and greatly influenced the band's output during the rest of their tenure. The band achieved two number-one Billboard 200 albums (Purple Rain & Around The World In A Day), six top ten singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and won three Grammy Awards.
In 1985, members of the soon-to-be-defunct group The Family (which, in turn, included former members of another group, The Time) joined The Revolution, along with people from Sheila E.'s band. This included the addition of three dancers/vocalists/comic foils (known as The Bodyguards).
The last lineup of Prince & the Revolution was informally known as the Counter-Revolution and consisted of:
- Jerome Benton (The Bodyguards)
- Atlanta Bliss (trumpet)
- Greg Brooks (The Bodyguards)
- Lisa Coleman (keyboards, piano and vocals)
- Doctor Fink (keyboards and vocals)
- Eric Leeds (saxophone)
- Brown Mark (bass guitar and vocals)
- Susannah Melvoin (backing vocals)
- Wendy Melvoin (guitar and vocals)
- Prince (lead vocals, guitar, and piano)
- Wally Safford (The Bodyguards)
- Miko Weaver (guitar)
- Bobby Z. (drums)
The Revolution was officially disbanded by Prince in 1986 after the Hit N Run tour, which supported Parade, the soundtrack for the movie Under the Cherry Moon. Melvoin and Coleman went on to a successful career as Wendy & Lisa.
God
Prince & The Revolution Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Brr, aah, ooh-ooh
Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo
Hoo!
Eeeeeee!
Oh
In the beginning
There was God
And the heavens
He gave us light
To rule the day
And another light
To rule the night
The Lord, thy God
Made, He made the seas
He made the fruit upon the trees
When He saw
When He saw that it was good
He made a man
He made a man, only He could, only He could
God made you
God made me, too
He made us all
Made us all equally
Now you say
God made you
God made me
He made us all equally
Aah!
Aah!
Yeah-yeah-yeah
Wake up, children
Dance the dance electric
There isn't much time
Who screamed?
Was it you?
The lyrics to Prince & The Revolution's song "God" can be interpreted as a reflection on the creation story from the Bible. The song begins with Prince harmonizing with haunting "oohs" and "ahhs" before launching into the opening lines that state, "In the beginning, there was God. He made the earth and the heavens. He gave us light to rule the day, and another light to rule the night." Here, Prince establishes God as the creator of everything, who gave light to humanity to rule over the natural world.
As the song progresses, Prince sings about the various things that God created, including the seas and the "fruit upon the trees," which he saw as "good." However, Prince then changes his focus to emphasize that God also created humans, stating, "He made a man, only He could, only He could. God made you, God made me, too. He made us all, made us all equally." Here, Prince suggests that each individual is a product of God's divine creation, and that this fundamental equality should be recognized and celebrated.
The song concludes with a call to action, as Prince urges listeners to "wake up, children" and "dance the dance electric," seemingly encouraging them to embrace their inherent equality and celebrate their shared humanity. Overall, "God" is a powerful ode to the divine and a call to recognize and embrace the inherent equality of all human beings.
Line by Line Meaning
Ooh, aah-ooh
Non-verbal expression to set the tone of the song
Brr, aah, ooh-ooh
Non-verbal expression to set the tone of the song
Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo
Non-verbal expression to set the tone of the song
Hoo!
Non-verbal expression to set the tone of the song
Eeeeeee!
Non-verbal expression to set the tone of the song
Oh
Exclamation to draw attention to the lyrics
In the beginning
Referring to the start of time
There was God
The belief that God existed before anything else
He made the earth
God created the planet we inhabit
And the heavens
God created the skies and space beyond Earth
He gave us light
God provided the sun for light during the day
To rule the day
The sun's role in daylight hours
And another light
Referring to the moon, which provides light at night
To rule the night
The moon's role when the sun is no longer shining
The Lord, thy God
Referring to God
Made, He made the seas
God created the oceans on Earth
He made the fruit upon the trees
God created the fruit that grows on trees and plants
When He saw
Once God had created something
When He saw that it was good
If God saw that what he had created was good then it was good
He made a man
God created male human beings
He made a man, only He could, only He could
God was the only one who could create human beings
God made you
The belief that God created each individual person
God made me, too
The belief that God created the singer, Prince
He made us all
God created all people
Made us all equally
The belief that every person is equal in the eyes of God
Now you say
Addressing the listener, expressing a desire for them to join in
God made you
Reinforcing the idea that every person was created by God
God made me
Further reinforcing the idea that the singer was created by God
He made us all equally
Repeating the idea that every person is equal in the eyes of God
Aah!
Non-verbal expression to set the tone of the song
Aah!
Non-verbal expression to set the tone of the song
Yeah-yeah-yeah
Non-verbal expression to set the tone of the song
Wake up, children
A call to action to the listener to become more spiritually aware
Dance the dance electric
An invitation for the listener to dance using religious metaphors
There isn't much time
A warning that life is short and important things should not be delayed
Who screamed?
A sudden, jarring question to capture the listener's attention
Was it you?
A direct question to the listener
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: PRINCE ROGERS NELSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind