Music Review: Prince "When Doves Cry"

Prince

When Doves Cry

Album: Purple Rain

Year: 1984

          Prince tries to make his crush see that he loves her in  the  lush “When Doves Cry.”

          A charged electric guitar opens the signal, setting a compulsory tone. Her eyes flash as she walks away from him. He tells her to think about a relationship with him for a moment. He asks her to imagine them kissing in the middle of courtyard, paved with marble. The violents have begun to sprout. They untangle themselves from each other, drips of sweat glistening on their faces and spotting their clothes. The birds are perched on the tree limbs, their heads cocked. The squirrels hold a half-eaten nut in their paws. They see primal instinct take over between two people. It’s obvious something is happening. (“ Dig if you will the picture/Of you and I engaged in a kiss/The sweat of your body covers me/Can you, my darling?/Can you picture this?/Dream if you can a courtyard/An ocean of violets in bloom/Animals strike curious poses/They feel the heat/The heat between me and you.”)

           In the chorus, she tells him he’s being delusional. He blames himself for coming on too strong. He has been forward and aggressive, which has alienated her. Regardless of the tactics he takes, she will reject him each time. She has a fixed idea of who he is in his head. It reminds him of his parents’ volatile relationship. Like his parents, she and his crush argue. It’s a painful sound that he wants to go away but it won’t. (“How can you just leave me standing/Alone in a world that's so cold?/Maybe I'm just too demanding/Maybe I'm just like my father: too bold/Maybe you're just like my mother/She's never satisfied/Why do we scream at each other?/This is what it sounds like/When doves cry.”)

           She apologizes to him later on, saying she was harsh. He decides to explain again. He moves his shirt up, revealing his stomach. He tells her to put his hand there and feel his emotions for her. With her hand, she she grazes his stomach and then feels his goose pimples rise. He closes his eyes and asks her to let him know. (“Touch if you will my stomach/Feel how it trembles inside/You've got the butterflies all tied up/Don't make me chase you/Even doves have pride.”)

               The chorus is sung again.

               At the end, he puts his hand on her shoulder and tells everything is ok. They are together now. (“Darling don't cry.”)

                  Prince’s craving vocals thirst for her to be near him, touching, His hunger is all-consuming and it takes all that he has not to grab hold of her. His intensity and romanticism are the core of the single, driving its all-or-nothing ultimatum.

                 The enthralling “When Doves Cry” smolders with an unabetted passion.