"I Would Die 4 U" 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. ...

and the Revolution, the fourth single in the US from their 1984 album, '' Purple Rain''. The up-tempo

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

song was a top 10 hit—the final one from the album—in the US, reaching number 8 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online stream ...

. The song's lyrics evoke

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and relig ...

's message to his followers: "U—I would die 4 U, darling if U want me 2"; as well as, "if you're evil I'll forgive you", "all I really need to know is that U believe," and, "I'm your

messiah In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; , ; , ; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of '' mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach ...

and you're the reason why."Saunders, Martin
"I Would Die 4 U: The Christian themes in Prince's lyrics,"
''Christian Today'' (22 Apr 2016). ''

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 onli ...

'' called the song "a practice in restrained ecstasy" in which "Prince delivers one of his finest and most passionate...vocal performances." "I Would Die 4 U" is often played in sequence with " Baby I'm a Star", the track following it, on ''Purple Rain''. As of April 30, 2016, it has sold 561,772 copies in the United States.

"Another Lonely Christmas"

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 ...

, "Another Lonely Christmas", is a melancholy account of a man mourning his lover, who had died from

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severit ...

on a previous

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...

. Prince recorded "Another Lonely Christmas" in February 1984.Ross, Alex Robert.
"Prince's Only Christmas Song Is Still Completely Devastating,"
''Vice'' (Dec. 11, 2018). Although during that period of his life Prince was socially very solitary, he insisted that "Another Lonely Christmas" was a fictional story. The song has been compared to the song " Sometimes It Snows in April," from the 1986 album ''

Parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of s ...

''. He only performed "Another Lonely Christmas" live one time, on the day after Christmas, December 26, 1984, at the

St. Paul Civic Center The St. Paul Civic Center was an indoor arena located in Saint Paul, Minnesota. The arena opened in 1973 and was closed and demolished in 1998. It once sat near the Ordway Music Theater and the Roy Wilkins Auditorium. The Xcel Energy Center was b ...

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over t ...

.Needham, Jack
"The story behind Prince's lost Christmas song,"
Red Bull (December 20, 2019).

Alternate versions

The extended version of "I Would Die 4 U" is actually a rehearsal jam on the song with The Revolution and musicians from Sheila E.'s band, Eddie M (on sax) and

Miko Weaver A , or shrine maiden,Groemer, 28. is a young priestess who works at a Shinto shrine. were once likely seen as shamans,Picken, 140. but are understood in modern Japanese culture to be an institutionalized role in daily life, trained to perform ...

(guitar), along with Sheila E. herself recorded some time before the

Purple Rain Tour The Purple Rain Tour was a concert tour by American recording artist Prince and The Revolution following up on the success of his sixth studio album '' Purple Rain'' and his 1984 film '' Purple Rain''. According to ''Spin'', the tour sold over ...

. The jam features some

overdubbing Overdubbing (also known as layering) is a technique used in audio recording in which audio tracks that have been pre-recorded are then played back and monitored, while simultaneously recording new, doubled, or augmented tracks onto one or more av ...

and fades at the end; a longer version, nearly 31 minutes long, was never released officially, but has been bootlegged. The extended mix was also used as the B-side of the 1989 " Erotic City" single (the artwork of which features the same image of Prince that was used for this single's cover). The B-side of the UK

12" single The twelve-inch single (often written as 12-inch or 12″) is a type of vinyl ( polyvinyl chloride or PVC) gramophone record that has wider groove spacing and shorter playing time with a 'single' or a few related sound tracks on each surfac ...

release includes "Another Lonely Christmas" as well as the ''

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

'' track "Free".

Personnel

– lead and background vocals and various instruments *

Wendy Melvoin Wendy Ann Melvoin (born January 26, 1964) is an American guitarist and singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Prince as part of his backing band The Revolution, and for her collaboration with Lisa Coleman as one half of the duo Wendy ...

– guitar, vocals * Lisa Coleman – keyboards, vocals * Matt Fink – keyboards *

Brown Mark Mark Brown (born March 8, 1962), better known by the stage name Brown Mark, also styled Brownmark and BrownMark, is an American musician, bassist and record producer. Life and career Born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, Brown's early ...

– bass *

Bobby Z. Robert B. Rivkin (born January 9, 1956), better known by the stage name Bobby Z., is an American musician and record producer, most known as being the original drummer for Prince's backing band The Revolution from 1978 to 1986. Life and ca ...

– drums, percussion

Track listing

7": Paisley Park / 7-29121 (US)

# "I Would Die 4 U" (Single version) – 3:03 # "Another Lonely Christmas" – 4:51

12": Paisley Park / 9 20291-0 (US)

# "I Would Die 4 U" (Extended version) – 10:15 # "Another Lonely Christmas" (extended version) – 6:47

12": Warner Bros. / W9121T (UK)

# "I Would Die 4 U" (Single version) – 2:57 # "Another Lonely Christmas" – 4:51 # "Free" – 5:00

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

External links

* Dedicated Prince site featuring..
"I Would Die 4 U" lyrics
and B-side track..

{{authority control Prince (musician) songs 1984 singles Songs written by Prince (musician) Warner Records singles Song recordings produced by Prince (musician) 1984 songs Songs written for films Songs about death