Prince Rogers Nelson, born on June 7, 1958 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, was a musician, singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. In this article, we are sharing with you the best and most thoughtful Prince quotes he has ever said or sung.
Prince was known for his talent as a multi-instrumentalist. He played a variety of music styles, among them are: R&B, funk, soul, rock, jazz, pop, hip-hop, soul, and more. His music and songs are well known and loved worldwide. Over the course of his career has won many awards, including the Billboard Icon Award, the Grammy President’s Merit Award, the American Music Awards for Achievement and of Merit, a Golden Globe Award and the Academy Award for Best Original Song Score for the song “Purple Rain”.
Prince had released 39 albums during his career and even wrote amazing and successful songs for other musicians and artists. Some of his famous works to other musicians include the songs “Manic Monday” for The Bangles and “Nothing Compares to You” for Sinead O’connor.
He had sold more than 150 million records all over the world. In 2004 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In 2006 he was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame, and in 2016 into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame.
Sadly, on April 21, 2016, Prince died of an accidental fentanyl overdose. We are grateful that we can enjoy his work, music, and quotes.
Here is a sneak peek at the quotes in this article:
Table of Contents
- Prince Quotes on Life
- Prince Quotes on Love
- Prince Quotes on Music
- Prince Quotes from Songs
- Interesting Facts about Prince
Prince Quotes on Life
I don’t really care so much what people say about me because it usually is a reflection of who they are.
Yeah, everybody’s got a bomb, we could all die any day. But before I’ll let that happen, I’ll dance my life away.
I learned from Jimi Hendrix. They all wanted him to do the tricks, and at the end of his career, he just wanted to play. I lived longer than he did, and I can see how those pressures can really play with your head.
Despite everything, no one can dictate who you are to other people.
I want to make heart decisions in business. If you can’t do that, you’re not free. I want to be able to dictate which way I’m going to go.
Too much freedom can lead to the soul’s decay.
To create something from nothing is one of the greatest feelings, and I would – I don’t know, I wish it upon everybody. It’s heaven.
Every day I feel is a blessing from God. And I consider it a new beginning. Yeah, everything is beautiful.
When you don’t talk down to your audience, then they can grow with you.
I’ve grown up, everyone has got to grow up. But there’s something inside me, I’m always going to have that little sort of…how do you say? Child streak.
I had a massive ego. Massive. But that’s not such a bad thing. Because at least you’re aspiring to be something.
It gets embarrassing to say something untrue because you put it online and everyone knows about it, so it’s better to tell the truth.
I want to tell people to create. Just start by creating your day. Then create your life.
When you wake up, each day looks the same, so each day should be a new beginning.
Instead of hate, celebrate.
Contracts don’t work. They’re not based in trust.
It’s a hurtful place, the world, in and of itself. We don’t need to add to it. And we’re in a place now where we all need one another, and it’s going to get rougher.
Time is something we created in order to measure the span of our lives. It’s not meant to create fear in you or paralyze you from moving forward. You are never too old and it is never too late to start over.
Hopefully, the press will get to a point where there will be a law where you have to tell the truth.
I don’t vote and I got nothing to do with it.
I don’t talk to old people; they try to find ways to stay static. Young folks are the ones with the ideas and constantly moving forward.
There is something that happens when you get emancipated. You approach life differently. You eat differently. You respect yourself more. You respect the gift you have been given.
I always knew I had a relationship with God. But I wasn’t sure God had a relationship with me.
When I found out that there were eight presidents before George Washington, I wanted to smack somebody.
The voice that you hear is the alchemy of your mind.
Artists have the ability to change lives with a single performance.
My hat goes off to anybody who can sit down and put their heads together. I am ready for something like that because I am free and I am happy and I have time. There were a lot of things in the way before. I have nothing but time, and I love getting older.
I’ve always understood the two to be intertwined: sexuality and spirituality. That never changed.
The ego is one thing and money is one thing, but reverence for life and service to others, is the key to getting off this planet.
If you lend your consciousness to someone else, you’re a robot.
In the tech-savvy, real-time world we all live in today, everything is faster.
Technology is cool, but you’ve got to use it as opposed to letting it use you.
Anyway, all these computers and digital gadgets are no good. They just fill your head with numbers and that can’t be good for you.
Time is a mind construct. It’s not real.
I ain’t mad at anybody. I don’t have any enemies.
I like to open people’s eyes.
I used to have seizures when I was young. My mother and father didn’t know what to do or how to handle it but they did the best they could with what little they had.
So much has been written about me, and people don’t know what’s right and what’s wrong. I’d rather let them stay confused.
I live in the world, but I’m not of it.
Everyone has a rock bottom.
I learned from Jehovah’s Witnesses that a fatalistic view is counterproductive.
When everyone recognizes Jehovah’s name, then everyone will be happy because everyone will know what to do and how to do it.
The Bible is a study guide for social interaction.
There are people who are unhappy with everything.
Wouldn’t it be cool to just tell people about thing that you like and things you think have merit? Spending your life just criticizing another man’s work and his gift, is such a waste.
All people care about nowdays is getting paid, so they try to do just what the audience wants them to. I’d rather give people what they need, rather than just what they want.
If I need a psychological evaluation, I’ll do it myself.
The highest thing you can pay people, much greater than money, is a compliment.
There are no accidents. And if there are, it’s up to us to look at them as something else. And that bravery is what creates new flowers.
No child is bad from the beginning. They just imitate their atmosphere.
One thing I’d like to say is that I don’t live in a prison. I am not afraid of anything. I haven’t built any walls around myself, and I am just like anyone else. I need love and water.
I’m not entangled in a bunch of lawsuits and a web that I can’t get out of. I can hold my head up … a happily married man who has his head in order. There isn’t a bunch of scandal in my life.
You decide how you view the world each day. Choose to make it inspired!
Everyone has their own experience. That’s why we are here, to go through our experience, to learn, to go down those paths.
I don’t live in the past. I don’t play my old records for that reason. I make a statement, then move on to the next.
People say I’m wearing heels because I’m short. I wear heels because the women like ‘em.
Cool means being able to hang with yourself.
Cool means being able to hang with yourself. All you have to ask yourself is, ‘Is there anybody I’m afraid of? Is there anybody who, if I walked into a room and saw, I’d get nervous?’ If not, then you’re cool.
People who have no creativity, talent, or courage are the ones who follow the rules. Be brave, be bold, step up and make your own! The passion that lies inside of you means you don’t need to follow the pack, because you transcend it.
People speculate on your personal life all the time anyway. So I just think it’s important to keep my private life private and my public persona more into music.
Art is about building a new foundation, not just laying something on top of what’s already there.
Compassion is an action word with no boundaries.
A strong spirit transcends rules.
Don’t hate me because I’m fabulous.
I have a very thick skin. I take everything that comes and let it bounce right off me because I know the time will come when nobody will be able to speak falsely.
Sometimes it takes years for a person to become an overnight success.
Money won’t buy you happiness, but it will pay for the search.
I like constructive criticism from smart people.
Oh, I love critics. Because they love me. It’s not a joke. They care.
Prince Quotes on Love
Any charitable act is love in motion, and love needs no publicity because love just is.
Sex is in the mind. It’s in your imagination. When you lose that, it’s just skin.
Always cry for love, never cry for pain.
Sex is a spiritual union.
Prince Quotes on Music
Music is music, ultimately. If it makes you feel good, cool.
Michael Jackson’s album was only called Bad because there wasn’t enough room on the sleeve for Pathetic.
Just sharing music with each other is cool. It’s the selling that becomes the problem.
I don’t want anyone to fail, so if you can make money off music even though you can’t sing or dance, that’s genius.
When I was younger, I always said that I was going to play all kinds of music and not be judged for the color of my skin, but the quality of my work.
Music is real. It affects people.
I think music should uplift. There’s enough things to bring you down. We don’t need to jack up our music that way too. There’s still a way to get anger and even hate across sometimes in music, but you have to resolve it. You have to show that it’s useless to hold these ideas.
I am a musician, and I am music.
When I first started out in this music industry, I was most concerned with freedom. Freedom to produce, freedom to play all the instruments on my records, freedom to say anything I wanted to.
All these non-singing, non-dancing, wish-I-had-me-some-clothes fools who tell me my albums s*ck. Why should I pay any attention to them?
You don’t need a record company to turn you into anything.
Like books and black lives, albums still matter.
What’s missing from pop music is danger.
The music, for me, doesn’t come on a schedule. I don’t know when it’s going to appear, and when it does, I want it out.
When you sit down to write something, there should be no guidelines. The main idea is not supposed to be, ‘How many different ways can we sell it?’ That’s so far away from the true spirit of what music is.
When I started playing music, people weren’t selling 5 million records. That was not the standard, that was not the focus.
The hardest thing with musicians is getting them not to play.
The music industry is a matrix that is counter to what is natural and right.
No one can come and claim ownership of my work. I am the creator of it, and it lives within me.
You can’t understand the words of Cocteau Twins songs, but their harmonies put you in a dreamlike state.
Most bands out there are basically pretty boring. I try to affect people inside their bodies.
Hip-hop is very diverse, but if you only focus on one aspect of it, then what you get is this image of Black America that is completely contrary to what actually goes on.
I’ve never stopped writing, never stopped recording.
I don’t know who was the one that came up with the notion that you have to play the same songs every concert.
You can always tell when the groove is working or not.
The key to longevity is to learn every aspect of music that you can.
I would tell any young artist…don’t sign.
I really believe in finding new ways to distribute my music.
When Doves Cry came out, it sounded like nothing that was on the radio. ‘Let’s Go Crazy’ was number one on R&B stations, and there’s nothing that’s been like that on radio since.
There’s not a lot of pop music in the mainstream that makes you feel scared, that makes you wonder what’s happening.
Prince Quotes from Songs
Cause in this life Things are much harder than in the afterworld. In this life You’re on your own.
– Let’s Go Crazy, Purple Rain (1984)
Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to get through this thing called life.
– Let’s Go Crazy, Purple Rain (1984)
Why do we scream at each other? This is what it sounds like when doves cry.
– When Doves Cry, Purple Rain (1984)
I’m not a human, I am a dove, I’m your conscience, I am love. All I really need is to know that you believe.
– I Would Die 4 You, Purple Rain (1984)
I am yours now and you are mine and together we’ll love through all space and time.
– 7, Love Symbol (1992)
There’s always a rainbow at the end of every rain.
– Papa, Come (1994)
But life is just a party and parties weren’t meant to last.
– 1999, 1999 (1982)
I’d like to think that I’m a man of exquisite taste. A hundred percent Italian silk, imported Egyptian lace.
– Adore, Sign o’ the Times (1987)
She knew how to get her kicks She wore a… raspberry beret.
– Raspberry Beret, Around the World in a Day (1985)
Life is just a game, we’re all just the same…do you wanna play?
– Controversy, Controversy (1981)
If you ever lose someone dear to you, never say the words ‘They’re gone.’ And they’ll come back.
– Comeback, Crystal Ball (1998)
Paint a perfect picture, bring to life the vision in one’s mind. The beautiful ones always smash the picture, always, every time.
– The Beautiful Ones, Purple Rain (1984)
If you set your mind free baby, maybe you’d understand.
– Starfish and Coffee, Sign “O” the Times (1987)
I only want to see you laughing in the purple rain.
– Purple Rain, Purple Rain (1984)
I know times are changing. It’s time we all reach out for something new.
– Purple Rain, Purple Rain (1984)
When the day turns into the last day of all time. I can say I hope you are in these arms of mine.
– The Most Beautiful Girl in the World, The Gold Experience (1995)
Make the rules, then break them, ’cause you are the best.
– Cream, Diamonds and Pearls (1991)
Act your age, not your shoe size.
– Kiss, Parade (1986)
You don’t have to be rich to be my girl. You don’t have to be cool to rule my world.
– Kiss, Parade (1986)
It’s hard for me to say what’s right When all I wanna do is wrong.
– Gett Off, Diamonds and Pearls (1991)
And love, it isn’t love until it’s past.
– Sometimes It Snows in April, Parade (1986)
Why should you wait any longer? Take a chance, it could only make you stronger. It’s your time.
– Cream, Diamonds and Pearls (1991)
I don’t care where we go. I don’t care what we do. I don’t care pretty baby, just take me with you.
– Take Me with U, Purple Rain (1984)
Now, where I come from, we don’t let society tell us how it’s supposed to be. Our clothes, our hair, we don’t care. It’s all about being there.
– Uptown, Dirty Mind (1980)
I feel like I’m looking for my soul. Like a poor man looking for gold.
– Thieves in the Temple, Graffiti Bridge (1990)
Interesting Facts about Prince
Now it’s time to share some interesting facts about Prince that you may have not known about. Enjoy!
- The Symbol of Prince Had a Name – When Prince introduced his symbol, everyone referred to him as “The Artist” or “The Artist Formerly Known as Prince”. However, the symbol that Prince used had a name and it was known as “Love Symbol #2”.
- Prince’s Sister Sued Him – Back in 1987, Lorna Nelson, who is Prince’s half-sister sued him. According to Nelson, she was the one who wrote the lyrics to the song “U Got the Look” featuring in the album Sign o’ the Times. Two years later, in 1989, she lost in court that sided with Prince.
- Prince Got His Very Own Color – In 2017, Pantone, which is the global color authority decided to create a royal shade of the color purple to be in honor of Prince. This color is known as Love Symbol #2.
- Holding the Number One Spot for Film, Single, and Album – The week of July 27, 1984 was a special occasion for Prince, as he held the No.1 spot for film, single, and album, all at the same time. The film Purple Rain was No.1 at the movie theaters, the soundtrack of the movie was the best-selling that week, and the single from the soundtrack and movie “When Doves Cry” held the No.1 spot for singles.
- Scrapping an Entire Album – “The Black Album” by Prince was supposed to be released in 1987, however, just days before the scheduled date, Prince had decided to scrap the entire album as he thought it was immortal and dark. Prince claimed he had a spiritual epiphany that led him to this decision.
- Doing it for Kim – Prince has contributed his work to the soundtrack of Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman movie, but rumor has it that he agreed to do it only because he had a crush on actress Kim Basinger, and this gave him the opportunity to meet her. Prince got lucky, and the two actually dated for almost a year, until Kim met her future husband to be – Alec Baldwin.
- Purple Rain Song Could Have Been Different – We all know the song Purple Rain, one of Prince’s most known and best songs he has ever recorded. However, the song could have been different altogether. You see, Prince became friends with Fleetwood Mac’s Stevie Nicks. So, he sent her a 10-minute long instrumental and asked her to write the lyrics. It was too much for her and she apologized to Prince and declined. With that, Prince and his band did their own thing on that piece which turned out to be the song we all know and love – Purple Rain.
- Master of the Instruments – Prince was really talented and maybe you’ve seen him play the guitar and the piano, but he was known to play and master at least 27 different musical instruments! If you happen to listen to his 1978 debut album, For You, then you should know that Prince played every instrument you hear in that album. Yes, it’s all Prince. Everything you’re about to read now was played in that album by him: electric guitar, bass, acoustic guitar, bass synth, electric piano, singing bass, Fuzz bass, acoustic piano, mini-Moog, poly-Moog, syndrums, Arp string ensemble, Arp Pro Soloist, Oberheim four-voice, clavinet, bongos, drums, water drums, slapsticks, congas, finger cymbals, wind chimes, orchestral bells, woodblocks, brush trap, tree bell, hand claps and finger snaps.
- Talented and not Only in Music – Even tough Prince was only 5-foot-2; he was a very talented basketball player. He played in the high-school basketball team and then later recreationally when he was adult.
For more quotes from famous poets, please visit our pages on Emily Dickinson quotes and Sylvia Plath quotes.