"Let's Pretend We're Married" is a song by American musician

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. The ...

from his 1982 album ''

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

''. It was the final US single from the album and peaked at number 52 in the US.

Background

The song consists mainly of keyboards and

drum machine A drum machine is an electronic musical instrument that creates percussion sounds, drum beats, and patterns. Drum machines may imitate drum kits or other percussion instruments, or produce unique sounds, such as synthesized electronic tones. A d ...

s, along with Prince's vocals. Two verses followed by

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song), the part of a song that is repeated several times, usually after each verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in whic ...

es form the main basis of the song. The song breaks down to an instrumental section with Prince repeating "I wanna fuck you" followed by him saying "Look here, Marsha; I'm not saying this just to be nasty. I sincerely wanna fuck the taste out of your mouth." The final part of the song is an

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

with Prince stating his

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

on life—he loves

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

for fear of the

afterlife The afterlife or life after death is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's Stream of consciousness (psychology), stream of consciousness or Personal identity, identity continues to exist after the death of their ...

but he's going to have fun while he can, a theme echoed in "

". The song was performed live on the

Purple Rain Tour The Purple Rain Tour was a concert tour by American recording artist Prince (musician), Prince and The Revolution (band), the Revolution following up on the success of his sixth studio album ''Purple Rain (album), Purple Rain'' and his 1984 film ...

. Prince's vocal range on the song spans from F₂ to B₆.

Reception and performances

The

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

, "Irresistible Bitch", received equal airplay and so qualified to chart alongside the

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

. The track was written and first recorded in 1981, and segues from the song "Feel U Up", which was re-recorded in 1986 for the '' Camille'' project. The original version of "Irresistible Bitch" has a much rougher vocal, and is an

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

-driven song. The 1982-1983 remake which was released as the B-side of "Let's Pretend We're Married" has more

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

, both live drums and drum machines, along with bell-like keyboards and vocal backup from

Wendy & Lisa Wendy & Lisa (briefly known as Girl Bros.) is a music duo consisting of Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman. They began working with Prince in the early 1980s and were part of his band the Revolution, before branching out on their own and releasi ...

. The lyrics are the familiar Prince theme of a jilted lover who treats his woman well, but gets treated badly in return. The song was performed on the ''Purple Rain'' tour, once again with

the New Power Generation The New Power Generation, also known as the NPG, was the backing band of musician Prince from 1990 to 2013. They were replaced by 3rdeyegirl as his backing band in 2013. In 2015, the New Power Generation reunited as Prince's backing band for ...

, for their 1992–1993 tours.

Personnel

Credits sourced from Benoît Clerc and Guitarcloud *

– lead and backing vocals, Oberheim synthesizers, bass guitar,

Linn LM-1 The Linn LM-1 Drum Computer is a drum machine manufactured by Linn Electronics and released in 1980. It was the first drum machine to use samples of acoustic drums, and one of the first programmable drum machines. Its designer, the American en ...

, Pearl SY-1 Syncussion

Chart performance

Cover versions

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939 – May 24, 2023) was a singer, songwriter, actress, and author. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", her vocal prowess, raspy voice, and electrifyin ...

covered "Let's Pretend We're Married" in live performances, and one of these is included on her '' The Collected Recordings – Sixties to Nineties'' album. This performance was originally released as the B-side of her own "

Show Some Respect "Show Some Respect" is a song recorded by recording artist Tina Turner. It was written by Terry Britten and Sue Shifrin and released as the sixth single from her fifth solo album ''Private Dancer'' (1984). While not released as a single in Europe, ...

" single in 1984 (in the UK, it was included as the B-side of " I Can't Stand the Rain" in 1985).

References

{{authority control 1982 songs 1983 singles Prince (musician) songs Songs written by Prince (musician) Tina Turner songs Music videos directed by Bruce Gowers Warner Records singles Song recordings produced by Prince (musician) Songs about marriage