Musical analysis #1 blog post
Camryn Williams
When Doves Cry - Prince & The Revolution
Song link - When Doves Cry - 1984, USA
Clearly when this song came out, I was not even thought of. My parents listen to Prince so I grew up to his songs. When I was first introduced to this song, I immediately loved it. I just wanna dance every time it comes on! The chorus caught my attention the most. I liked the way Prince's pitch ranged and his high pitched screams. The adlibs in the song were always my favorite. It showed his pitch range, which is immaculate. Personally, I would consider him better than Mariah Carey - although she is fabulous.
When Doves Cry came out, it quickly hit the Billboard Charts. For 5 weeks, it remained the #1 song in Charts. It was produced for the movie Purple Rain.
Not only was the song popular for its wild beats, chords and melodies, the meaning was deep. Its about the loss of his relationship with his parents and lover. He is dealing with the stress of becoming like his parents. He does not want his relationship to be negative and lots of arguing, like his parents.
(Purple Rain - Movie)
"Maybe I'm just too demanding
Maybe I'm just like my father, too bold
Maybe you're just like my mother
shes never satisfied"
- CHORUS
Beat -
In this song, it starts out with a small guitar solo, then the beat of 1, 2, 3, 4. The beat stays 1, 2, 3, 4 throughout the whole song. According to Wikipedia, the beat is being produced by the "Linn LM-1 drum machine." I really like the beat in this song due to its uniqueness and repetitiveness.
Melody -
The melody changes in this song frequently. Another word I would compare this to is... adlibs. Prince tends to use random mouth noises to add to his song. They are short and add onto the beat. Not only does this make the song more interesting, but it counts as another musical instrument. There are many background noises that support the element. " YEAH YEAH YEAH YEAH" Those noises add to the melody of the song.
Chord -
In my personal opinion, Prince & The Revolution use the musical element chords, repeatedly. I can not quite determine how many chords are in this song. The chords stay pretty consistent until the vocals come out. They are still there but not as obvious. He changes up his tone and voice near the end of the song, which affects the chords.
In the song, When Doves Cry, the beat, melody, and chords all play a major role. In my opinion, these are the most prominent features of the song - which makes it unique. As the song continues, the elements fade in and out.
Sources:
Hopper, Alex. “Behind the Deeper Meaning of ‘When Doves Cry’ by Prince.” American Songwriter, 26 July 2022, americansongwriter.com/meaning-when-doves-cry-prince-song-lyrics/.
Khan, Tariq. “Billboard Chart Flashback: ‘when Doves Cry’ by Prince Soared to #1 in July 1984.” GoldDerby, GoldDerby, 11 July 2024, www.goldderby.com/article/2024/billboard-charts-prince-when-doves-cry/.
“When Doves Cry.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 16 July 2024, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_Doves_Cry.
Hi Camryn! I LOVE your song choice for this analysis. Prince is such an icon. Any song in his discography is a great depiction of well crafted music. I found your descriptions of the three musical elements very engaging and gave me a new perspective on them as a whole.
ReplyDeleteHi Camryn, I completely agree with your take on Prince's "When Doves Cry"! His vocal range and pitch control in that song are absolutely next-level, and those iconic high-pitched screams add so much energy to the track. It’s a song that makes you want to get up and dance every time you hear it, and it never gets old!
ReplyDeleteHi Camryn, to start off, nice job on your blog- it is so nicely organized. I have never heard of this song until now, but after listening and reading your blog I agree with what you chose for your musical elements and that the meaning of this song was deep. I agree with how you mentioned the Chords because they seemed to be repeated. Your blog is all in order as well! Great Job.
ReplyDeleteHi, I loved reading your post! I actually never heard this song before reading your post, so I enjoyed listening to the song and reading your analysis of it!
ReplyDelete