‘When Doves Cry’ is a song by American musician Prince, and the lead single from his sixth studio album Purple Rain. According to the DVD commentary of the film Purple Rain (1984), Prince was asked by director Albert Magnoli to write a song to match the theme of a particular segment of the film that involved intermingled parental difficulties and a love affair. The next morning, Prince had composed two songs, one of which was ‘When Doves Cry’. According to Prince's biographer Per Nilsen, the song was inspired by his relationship with Vanity 6 member Susan Moonsie.
‘When Doves Cry’ was Prince's first Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 single, staying there for five weeks, and was also a worldwide hit. According to Billboard, it was the top-selling single of 1984. It is certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It was the last single released by a solo artist to receive a Platinum certification before the certification requirements were lowered in 1989. ‘When Doves Cry’ was ranked number one on the Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1984. Following Prince's death, the song re-charted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at number eight, its first appearance in the top 10 since the week ending September 1, 1984.
Besides writing, composing, and producing the track, Prince played all the instruments on the song. There is no bass on this song. Prince took out the bass track at the last minute to get a different sound, though he hated to see it go. "Sometimes your brain kind of splits in two - your ego tells you one thing, and the rest of you says something else. You have to go with what you know is right," he told Bass Player magazine. Peggy McCreary, Prince's engineer on this song, told Billboard about the day the song was recorded and the singer's confidence that it would become a hit: "[Prince] took the bass out and he said, 'There's nobody that's going to have the guts to do this.' And he was smiling from ear to ear. He felt this was the best and he knew he had a hit song... so he decided to do something really daring. That's what Prince was all about."
McCreary also recalled Prince's exhausting recording process: "He would run through a song with just a piano and a vocal. And sometimes he'd do the drums and then the bass... The room was always set up and you had to be ready to do whatever he felt like doing. It was real spontaneous. You had to be there with him, which was the hard part and the exciting part. But when you're exhausted, it's hard to be excited. It was the longest I ever worked with anybody in my life. I worked around the clock, 24 hours. He said sometimes the only reason he went home was so I could sleep."
The music video, directed by Prince, premiered on MTV in June 1984. It opens with white doves emerging from double doors to reveal Prince in a bathtub, then shows him performing the song in various scenes. The video sparked controversy among network executives, who thought that its sexual nature was too explicit for television. ‘When Doves Cry’ is ranked number 37 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and is included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.
Label – Warner Bros.
Songwriter – Prince
Producer – Prince
SONG LYRICS
[Intro]Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
[Verse 1]
Dig, if you will, the picture
Of you and I engaged in a kiss
The sweat of your body covers me
Can you, my darling?
Can you picture this?
[Verse 2]
Dream, if you can, a courtyard
An ocean of violets in bloom
Animals strike curious poses
They feel the heat
The heat between me and you
[Chorus]
How can you just leave me standing
Alone in a world that's so cold? (So cold)
Maybe I'm just too demanding
Maybe I'm just like my father, too bold
Maybe you're just like my mother
She's never satisfied (She's never satisfied)
Why do we scream at each other?
This is what it sounds like
When doves cry
[Verse 3]
Touch, if you will, my stomach (Hmm)
Feel how it trembles inside (Mhm)
You've got the butterflies all tied up
Don't make me chase you
Even doves have pride
[Chorus]
How can you just leave me standing
Alone in a world so cold? (World so cold)
Maybe I'm just too demanding
Maybe I'm just like my father, too bold
Maybe you're just like my mother
She's never satisfied (She's never satisfied)
Why do we scream at each other?
This is what it sounds like
When doves cry
[Bridge]
Yeah, yeah
Doo-doo, woah-oh
(Yeah, yeah)
[Chorus]
How can you just leave me standing
Alone in a world that's so cold? (World that's so cold)
Maybe I'm just too demanding (Maybe, maybe)
Maybe I'm just like my father, too bold (My father, you know he's cruel)
Maybe you're just like my mother (Maybe you're just like my mother)
She's never satisfied (Never, never satisfied, why scream?)
Why do we scream at each other? (Why?)
This is what it sounds like
When doves cry
[Break]
When doves cry (When doves cry, when doves cry)
When doves cry (When doves cry, they cry)
Oh, no, oh
Oh, no, yeah
Oh, oh, yeah
Oh, oh, yeah
Oh, oh, yeah
When doves cry
When doves cry (Hoo)
When doves cry (Hoo)
Baby, baby, baby, yeah
[Outro]
When doves cry (When doves cry, when doves cry)
Don't cry
Darling, don't cry
Don't cry, don't cry, don't, don't cry