Talk:7 (Prince song)

Meaning?

Just curious. Does anyone have any idea what this song is referring to? I suppose it's something obvious to someone here. It almost sounds like it's describing some sort of apocalypse such as the book of revelations, in a very militaristic way ("we'll watch them fall", "we will smoke them"). And yet something tells me Mr. Lovesexy Symbol is not exactly a Rapture-hoping evangelical member of the 700 Club... so what the hell *does* this weirdass song mean? -Kasreyn 10:12, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Re: Meaning

I believe it does have to do with the apocalypse. Even though it seems he is referring to individuals, there are the 7 seals. Also, I think the song is supposed to convey that the world will not be devastated as Revelations says. This would be against what is widely believed. I think that is the reason for the line "Before us Animosity will stand and decree, we speak not of love only blasphemy." However the song mentions a plague and a river a blood and then a new city with streets paved of gold....this may represent the reign of Christ after Judgment Day. I heard once that he wrote 1999 because he believed it would be Judgment Day. Then he retired the song after the world made it into 2000. Don't know if there is any truth to that though.

My interpretation is that "7" refers to the Seven Deadly Sins but is a metaphor for the concept of sin or religion-imposed codes of morality in general. What he seems to be saying is that the concept of "sin" interferes with the concept of "love", which is used as a metaphor for compassion towards all of humanity. The "angel" with "words of compassion, words of peace" seems to be a metaphor for hypocritical religions who profess to offer "love" but really spread hate, symbolized by "the army's marching feet." Those like himself who reject the religious values will face "animosity" and be "cursed" but will outlast the oppressors and "still be here" in the future, symbolized by the end of the world references from Revelations. The song goes on to envision a future utopia without "sin" (or religion) where the lack of religious oppression leads humanity to develop greater potential, symbolized by "young so educated they never grow old" and live in harmony with itself, symbolized by the "song of many colours." --Darth Borehd 03:48, 3 November 2007 (UTC)

I've heard (though I couldn't give you a credible source) that the 7 were the seven major music corporations at the time - Sony, Warner, EMI, Universal, etc. That said, I'd love to argue your point about the idea of the song being about Judgement Day (I think too many people find too much religious subtext that isn't there, and I'm a theology major), but you may be right. Prince was formally baptized as a Jehovah's Witness in 2001, but he'd been a devout student for many years prior - it's not illogical to suggest he was borrowing on themes from the Revelations. 76.100.55.65 03:26, 6 November 2007 (UTC)User:m3rkvry 22:26, 5 November 2007

Book of Revelation connection

The song is almost certainly about Revelation. I have listed some of the obvious references to the book of Revelation:

• • Prince: And I saw an angel come down unto me, In her hand she holds the very key
  • Revelation 20:1: And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain.

• • Prince: And we lay down on the sand of the sea, And before us animosity will stand and decree, That we speak not of love only blasphemy, And in the distance, 6 others will curse me
  • Revelation 13:1: And I stood on the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his horns ten crowns, and on his heads the name of blasphemy.

(The "6 others" Prince mentions are possibly the six other heads of the seven-headed beast of the sea.)

• • Prince: And we will see a plague and a river of blood
  • Revelation 11:6: These men have power to shut up the sky so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want.

• • Prince: There will be a new city with streets of gold
  • Revelation 21:21: The twelve gates were twelve pearls, each gate made of a single pearl. The great street of the city was of pure gold, like transparent glass.

• • Prince: And a, there will be no death 4 with every breath
  • Revelation 21:4: He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

The Book of Revelation is full of references to the number seven: the Seven Churches of Revelation, seven spirits, seven golden lampstands, seven stars, Seven Seals, Seven Trumpets, Seven Thunders, seven angels with the seven bowls with the seven last plagues, and many more. I'm not a bible scholar or a Christian, but the Book of Revelation is interesting reading, mainly for the bizarre imagery. Markfury3000 (talk) 15:56, 3 December 2009 (UTC)

Meaning

Well, some of you have sure given this a lot of thought, but the meaning is pretty clear and ties into the plot of the 3 Chains o' Gold movie that it's from. It's also shown in abbreviated form in the music video. 7 assassins kill Matye's fictional father (in the movie she's an Egyptian princess) and Prince sets about getting revenge by killing the 7 assassins. See the 3 Chains o' Gold plot summary for details. Andrew Lenahan - Starblind 05:29, 6 March 2012 (UTC) What you've offered doesn't negate any of the other theories. You've just presented the fact that there is a visual representation of the song and those visuals could well be interpreted in the way others have offered. Knowing that Prince was beginning his Jehovah's Witness journey at the time the song came out gives more weight to the apocalyptic/biblical interpretation. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.32.242.112 (talk) 05:33, 7 October 2019 (UTC)

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