"I Wish U Heaven" is a song by

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

, and the third single from his 1988 album, ''

Lovesexy ''Lovesexy'' is the tenth studio album by American recording artist Prince. The album was released on May 10, 1988 by Paisley Park Records and Warner Bros. Records. The album was recorded in just seven weeks, from mid-December 1987 to late Janua ...

''. The 12" single is a substantially extended three-part suite which runs over ten minutes. This song was a replacement for "The Line", an upbeat jam featuring Boni Boyer and Sheila E. on backing vocals. "I Wish U Heaven" is a joyful, spiritual song with few lyrics The

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...

, "Scarlet Pussy", is credited to Prince's

alter ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I", " doppelgänger") means an alternate self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other self, one with a differen ...

, Camille. The song is very sexual, using metaphors of cats and dogs for sexual organs, a theme Prince previously used for the B-side "La, La, La, He, He, Hee". Prince uses his sped-up Camille vocals, as well as a slowed-down vocal, similar to "Bob George" from '' The Black Album''. The song features a

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

solo from

Eric Leeds Eric Leeds is an American saxophone player, mostly known for his work with Prince. He has recorded mostly music in the pop and funk genres, but is a studied jazz musician.Cole, George.Eric Leeds: Interviews: The Last Miles: The Music of Miles D ...

. The decision to include such a raunchy song with the spiritual

A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

was noteworthy. The edit of "Scarlet Pussy" was included on 1993's ''

The Hits/The B-Sides ''The Hits/The B-Sides'' is a box set by American recording artist Prince. It was released on September 10, 1993, by Paisley Park Records and Warner Bros. Records. The album is a comprehensive three- disc set consisting of many of his hit single ...

''.

Composition

Part One of the mix starts with a stripped-down version of the ''Lovesexy'' album song, remixed with a dance beat. The original drum programming and rhythmic electric guitar riffs are deleted for much of the song. Part Two is a

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

rendition with new lyrics, continuing the spiritual theme. This part of the song was often sung in concert during the

Lovesexy World Tour Prince Rogers Nelson (June 7, 1958April 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 ...

. The beginning of this section paraphrases lyrics from "Housequake", from the previous album '' Sign "☮" the Times''. Prince also quotes the film '' Scarface'' with the lines "Say hello to my little friend..." and then introduces the "Blue Angel", a new blue version of his custom "White Cloud" guitar featured in the film '' Purple Rain''.

Sheila E. Sheila Cecilia Escovedo (born December 12, 1957) better known under the stage name Sheila E., is an American percussionist and singer. She began her career in the mid-1970s as a percussionist and singer for The George Duke Band. After leaving t ...

is also given a call out, and her voice can be heard responding in this section. Part Three is based on an outtake called "Take This Beat" and deviates quite a bit from the original theme. This segment has Prince using his "Jamie Starr" persona to humorously tout the fact that he's funky, musically talented, and has plenty of beats (songs) that are "so fine". The song ends with a looped repeat of the title. This version of the song became one of the highlights during the supporting tour in which Prince would usually order the house lights to be turned up, and instruct the crowd during a call and response segment.

Reception

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' called Prince's performance "heavenly".

Track listing

;7" single / Cassette single # "I Wish U Heaven" (LP Version) – 2:43 # "Scarlet Pussy" (Edit) – 4:10 ;12" single / CD single # "I Wish U Heaven (Part 1, 2 & 3)" – 10:13 # "Scarlet Pussy" – 6:09

Charts

References

{{authority control Prince (musician) songs Songs written by Prince (musician) 1988 singles Darren Hayes songs Paisley Park Records singles Warner Records singles Music videos directed by Jean-Baptiste Mondino Song recordings produced by Prince (musician) 1988 songs