From: dem2@pyuxd.uucp (Me)
Subject: Re: Prince -- PARADE OUTTAKE 85/86
Organization: Bellcore, Livingston, NJ
Date: Wed, 27 Jan 93 18:37:01 GMT

In article <1993Jan25.205323.14034@bsu-ucs>
00bbharris@leo.bsuvc.bsu.edu gives a review of Parade Outtakes:

>[intro deleted]
>	This is where things get interesting, folks.  The next song is the
>truly wacked-out [There Are Others Here With Us], which sprouts his fascination
>with the number seven:
>	7 month old baby/died in her sleep/Parents wentt crazy/Cried for a week
>This fascination would extend all of the rest of his career, up untill the 
>most recent song [7], which may deal with te 7 images of Prince, or the 7 
>deadly sins, or the 7 rivals that he considers to be.  Who knows.  

There are probably multiple meanings to "7", but the strongest reference
I've found is from Revelation and the "7 heads of the beast" -- the theme
of the song ("all 7 will fall") coincides with the theme of love conquering
evil, which is a common Prince motif. In particular, check out Revelation
13:1, 20:1, and 21:21 for close correspondence with the lyrics.

>	[There Are Others....] features more African woodwind-isque instruments
>and percussion, as well as synthesized coyote howling and what not. 
>Supernatural in content, the song is a gloomy one at that, whose meaning 
>escapes even me.... 8-)

The way I see it, Prince had a pre-occupation with death themes during this
period (eg. "Under the Cherry Moon", "Sometimes it Snows in April").
"Theres Others Here With Us" continues in this vein, and perhaps goes a 
little further to explore what happens after death (the spirit remains
with us). For instance, continuing the line you quoted from the song:
"7 month old baby, died in her sleep/ Parents went crazy, cried for a week
They swore they heard her laugh in the crib by the wall,
They're convinced she's with us if she's anything at all".

>	The next original piece is entitled [Old Friends 4 Sale], which gives
>Prince's side to what happened within the Prince tie, during the dissonant
>pre-Purple Reign era, especially in regards to the dismissal of Jimmy Jam and
>Terry Lewis from the Time.  Officially, the reason was that the two parties
>involved had creative and career  differences.  Unofficially, Pricne supposedly
>fired the two because they were trying to further their own career by producing
>other acts, such as the SOS band.  And, with the intro to this song, the reason
>could very well be that the two were on drugs.  We all know Prince's aversion
>to alcohol and drugs.  We all know the official statement was that JJ and TL's
>couldn't make a show because bad snow delayed their flight back home.  We all
>know of Morris Day's bout with drug addiction.  Now, read this lyric:
>
>	The Sun set in my heart this afternoon/2 friends of mine got stuck 
>	in the snow/Uptown, winter's alarming(???)/Cocaine becomes charming/
>	U talk about things you don't....But i know...
>Hmmm..... Snow flights cancelled?  Career differences???  Makes you wonder what
>really happened.  

Once again, I believe there are multiple meanings to "getting stuck in the 
snow". The literal meaning, which is most likely a reference to Jam & Lewis
getting stranded and missing a gig (Prince filled in on bass behind a curtain
for Lewis, with Jerome faking the part on-stage). Then there's the figurative
meaning, which probably makes reference to the cocaine addiction of 
Vanity/Morris Day/Jesse Johnson/Chick (take your pick of 2). [A closer
analysis of the sequence of events and when the song was actually written
would probably help to narrow it down].
Another interesting reference in the song is the line about a friend
"who sold some more pictures of all my little memories, chump change to
unravel the mystery". This is most likely a reference to his ex-body guard
Big Chick selling a story to the National Inquirer. Also, the song closes
once again with the death theme: "Maybe it'll all make sense when I'm dead".

>[rest deleted]
>I just sit back and digg the funky sounds of the Purple Underground....
>can anybody tell me what that line was from???

Ummm, was it the NPG Radio Show? Its been a while since I've listened 
to it, and sometimes its hard picking up on lyrics out of context.

	Darryle