I Would Die 4 U

Lore & Background

Cash Box called the song "a practice in restrained ecstasy" in which "Prince delivers one of his finest and most passionate...vocal performances." Billboard called it "electrifying", saying that "the nervous excitement zaps like a high-tension wire." "I Would Die 4 U" is often played in sequence with "Baby I'm a Star", the track following it, on Purple Rain. As of April 30, 2016, it had sold 561,772 copies in the United States.

In Their Own Story

The stage lights dim to a single blue wash. The house band falls silent. Prince stands center stage, guitar slung low, eyes half-closed as the first clipped drum hit cracks through the PA. The crowd, a sea of upturned faces in a mid-size club, goes quiet. He doesn't announce the song. He just starts to hum the melody, low and rough, and the synth bed swells beneath him like a tide. Halfway through the second verse he sets the guitar down, steps into the light, and presses one palm flat against his chest as if the words are physically pulling him forward. The last note rings out into the dark. Someone in the front row whispers "thank you" and the room exhales all at once.

Reader's Guide

The B-side, "Another Lonely Christmas", is a melancholy account of a man mourning his lover, who had died from pneumonia on a previous Christmas Day. Prince recorded "Another Lonely Christmas" in February 1984. Despite the fact that, during that period of his life, Prince was very solitary, he insisted that "Another Lonely Christmas" was a fictional story. The song has been compared to "Sometimes It Snows in April", from the 1986 album Parade. He performed "Another Lonely Christmas" live only one time, on the day after Christmas, December 26, 1984, at the St. Paul Civic Center in Minnesota. The extended version of "I Would Die 4 U" is actually a rehearsal jam on the song with the Revolution and musicians from Sheila E.'s band, Eddie M (on sax) and Miko Weaver (guitar), along with Sheila E. herself recorded some time before the Purple Rain Tour. The jam features some overdubbing and fades at the end; a longer version, nearly 31 minutes long, was never released officially, but has been bootlegged. The extended mix was also used as the B-side of the 1989 "Erotic City" single (the artwork of which features the same image of Prince that was used for this single's cover). The B-side of the UK 12" single release includes "Another Lonely Christmas" as well as the 1999 track "Free".

Did You Know?

• The song was a top 10 hit in the US, reaching number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100.
• The B-side "Another Lonely Christmas" was recorded in February 1984 and is a fictional story about a man mourning his lover who died from pneumonia on Christmas.
• Prince performed "Another Lonely Christmas" live only once, on December 26, 1984, at the St. Paul Civic Center in Minnesota.
• The extended version of "I Would Die 4 U" is a rehearsal jam featuring musicians from Sheila E.'s band, and a nearly 31-minute version has been bootlegged.