The Ballad of Dorothy Parker

Lore & Background

The track was recorded on newly installed equipment at Prince's home studio. Engineer Susan Rogers recalled that Prince insisted on recording despite the console not being fully operational, resulting in a recording that sounded 'underwater' due to only half of the bipolar power supplies being on. The issue was not fixed for the track. Lyrically, the song mentions a waitress who offers a bath, which fits the underwater sound. The track references Joni Mitchell's song 'Help Me' with the lyric '...and it was Joni singing "help me, I think I'm falling"...'.

In Their Own Story

The stage lights dim to a single amber spot. Prince stands center, no band, just the ghost of a waltz pulse in the monitors. He tilts his head, lips moving silently, then lets the first music-box note spill out of his fingers on the keys. The audience, mid-roar from the previous number, goes quiet. He sways—left, right, left—like a man in a waltz with no partner, eyes half-closed, and sings the first line as if confessing to someone three rows back. A woman in the front row laughs, then her eyes go wet. He tips an imaginary hat, grins, and the waltz swallows the room whole.

Reader's Guide

The track was planned to be the album's fifth and final single, but this never came to fruition and remains unreleased in that format.

Did You Know?

• The recording's underwater quality was caused by only half of the bipolar power supplies on the console being turned on.
• Prince sent Joni Mitchell the track 'Emotional Pump' to sing, but she rejected it as too risqué.
• Despite the rejection, Prince and Joni Mitchell continued to praise each other's work even after Prince's death.