‘1999’ is a song by American musician Prince, the title track from his 1982 album of the same name. Originally peaking at number 44 on the Billboard Hot 100, a mid-1983 re-release later reached number 12 in the US, while a January 1985 rerelease, a double A-side with ‘Little Red Corvette’, later peaked at number 2 in the UK.
Prince gave a rare interview in 1999 when he spoke with Larry King on CNN. More surprisingly, he explained the meaning behind this song. Said Prince: "We were sitting around watching a special about 1999, and a lot of people were talking about the year and speculating on what was going to happen. And I just found it real ironic how everyone that was around me whom I thought to be very optimistic people were dreading those days, and I always knew I'd be cool. I never felt like this was going to be a rough time for me. I knew that there were going to be rough times for the Earth because of this system is based in entropy, and it's pretty much headed in a certain direction. So I just wanted to write something that gave hope, and what I find is people listen to it. And no matter where we are in the world, I always get the same type of response from them."
When the new millennium approached, there was a great deal of concern over the "Y2K Bug," since programmers didn't always account for the change to 2000 in their code. There was minimal impact: When the new year hit, we still had dial tones and internet access, and no major networks were compromised. Prince had no fears. "I don't worry about too much anyway," he told King.
The day after viewing the documentary, at rehearsals, Prince discussed it with his bandmates, where they imagined a huge party would be thrown knowing this terror was about to happen. As Lisa Coleman said, “Prince came to the studio the next day, passing out song lyrics to the band, the song already fully written.”
Leading up to his pay-per-view that aired New Year's Eve 1999, Prince said it would be the last time he performed the song. The special a broadcast of a concert held on December 18 at his Paisley Park Studios, with some additional footage from a show by Morris Day & The Time recorded there the night before. ‘1999’ was the last song in the set, which was later released on video as Rave Un2 The Year 2000. Prince did retire the song, but brought it back in 2007 for his Super Bowl halftime show performance and kept it in many of his subsequent setlists.
Rolling Stone ranked ‘1999’ number 339 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Following Prince's death, the song re-charted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 41, later moving up to number 27, making it the fourth separate time the song had entered the Hot 100 and the third different decade in which the song re-charted (as after its two 1980s entries, it made the chart again on January 16, 1999 at number 40). As of April 30, 2016, it has sold 727,363 copies in the United States.
Label – Warner Bros.
Songwriter – Prince
Producer – Prince
SONG LYRICS
[Intro: Prince]Don't worry, I won't hurt you
I only want you to have some fun
[Verse 1: Prince, Lisa, Dez, All]
I was dreamin' when I wrote this
Forgive me if it goes astray
But when I woke up this morning
Could have sworn it was judgement day
The sky was all purple
There were people runnin' everywhere
Tryin' to run from the destruction
You know I didn't even care
[Chorus: Prince and All]
'Cause they say
2000, zero-zero, party over, oops, out of time
So tonight, I'm gonna party like it's 1999
[Verse 2: Prince, Lisa, Dez, All]
I was dreamin' when I wrote this
So sue me if I go too fast
But life is just a party
And parties weren't meant to last
War is all around us
My mind says, "Prepare to fight"
So if I gotta die
I'm gonna listen to my body tonight
Yeah
[Chorus: Prince and All]
They say
2000, zero-zero, party over, oops, out of time
So tonight, I'm gonna party like it's 1999
Yeah, yeah, shh
[Verse 3: Prince, Lisa, Dez, All]
Lemme tell ya somethin'
If you didn't come to party
Don't bother knockin' on my door, oh, uh, ah
I got a lion in my pocket
And, baby, he's ready to roar, yeah, yeah
Everybody's got a bomb
We could all die any day, oh
But before I'll let that happen
I'll dance my life away
Oh
[Chorus: Prince and All]
They say
2000, zero-zero, party over, oops, out of time
(We're runnin' outta time)
So tonight, I'm gonna party like it's 1999
So tonight, we gonna, we gonna, oh
Say it one more time
2000, zero-zero, party over, oops, out of time
No, no
Tonight, I'm gonna party like it's 1999
So tonight, we gonna, we gonna, woo
[Bridge: Prince and All]
All right, 1999
You say it, 1999
Ooh, 1999, oh, 1999
Don't stop, don't stop, say it one more time
2000, zero-zero, party over, oops, out of time
Yeah, yeah
Tonight, I'm gonna party like it's 1999
So tonight, we're gonna, we're gonna, woo
[Outro: Prince, Lisa, Prince and Lisa, All]
Yeah, 1999
Don'tcha wanna go? (1999)
Don'tcha wanna go? (1999)
We could all die any day (1999)
I don't wanna die
I'd rather dance my life away (1999)
Listen to what I'm tryin' to say
Everybody, everybody say, "Party"
C'mon now, you say, "Party"
That's right, everybody say, "Party"
Can't run from revelation, no (Party)
Sing it for your nation, y'all (Party), wow!
Drum it with your fingers, baby (Party)
Telephone's a-ringin', mama (Party)
C'mon, c'mon, you say, "Party"
Everybody, two times, "Party"
Woo, work it down to the ground, say, "Party"
Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh (Party)
Come on, oh, take my body, baby (Party)
That's right, c'mon, sing the song, ”Party”
(Oh) (Party)
That's right (Party)
Got a lion in my pocket, mama, say, "Party"
Oh, and he's ready to roar (Party)
Ah
[Spoken Outro: Lisa]
Mommy, why does everybody have a bomb?
Mommy, why does everybody have a bomb?