Song Lyric Sunday was created by Helen Vahdati from This Thing Called Life One Word at a Time. For complete rules or to join in the fun, click here.
The theme for Song Lyric Sunday this week is “car/cars.”
No one could push the envelope quite like Prince Nelson Rogers, known to the world as Prince. It took more than a few plays to understand his 1983 Little Red Corvette was about a one-night stand with a beautiful but promiscuous woman (the Little Red Corvette of the title); although he enjoys the experience, he urges her to “slow down” and “find a love that’s gonna last” before she destroys herself. In addition to the title, he uses several other automobile metaphors, for example comparing their lovemaking to a ride in a limousine.
Prince got the idea for the song when he dozed off in band member Lisa Coleman’s pink Mercury Montclair Marauder after an exhausting all-night recording session. The lyrics came to him in bits and pieces during this and other catnaps. Eventually, he was able to finish it without sleeping.
The song was from Prince’s breakthrough album, 1999, and rose to number six on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 13 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.
Rolling Stone ranked Little Red Corvette #108 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and the guitar solo, played by Revolution band member Dez Dickerson, was ranked #64 by the readers of Guitar World as one of the 100 best guitar solos of all time.
Following Prince’s death in April 2016, Little Red Corvette re-charted on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart at number 29. It rose to number 20 one week later. It has sold 1.08 million digital copies in the United States alone.
Enjoy!
See my Song Lyric Sunday selection on Nesie’s Place.
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Disclaimer: I have no copyrights to the song and/or video and/or hyperlinks to songs and/or videos and/or gifs above. No copyright infringement intended.
Little Red Corvette
by Prince
Written by
[Verse 1]
I guess I should’ve known by the way you parked your car sideways
That it wouldn’t last
See, you’re the kinda person that believes in makin’ out once
Love ’em and leave ’em fast
I guess I must be dumb ‘cuz you had a pocket full of horses
Trojan and some of them used
[Pre-Chorus 1]
But it was Saturday night, I guess that makes it all right
And you say – “What have I got to lose?”
[Chorus]
And honey, I say Little Red Corvette
Baby, you’re much too fast (Oh)
Little Red Corvette
You need a love that’s gonna last
[Verse 2]
I guess I should’ve closed my eyes when you drove me to the place
Where your horses run free
Cuz I felt a little ill when I saw all the pictures
Of the jockeys that were there before me
Believe it or not, I started too worry
I wondered if I had enough class
[Pre-Chorus 2]
But it was Saturday night, I guess that makes it all right
And you say – “Baby, have you got enough gas?”
Oh yeah!
[Chorus]
Little Red Corvette
Baby, you’re much too fast (Yes you are)
Little Red Corvette
You need to find a love that’s gonna last (Oh, oh)
[Verse 3]
A body like yours oughta be in jail
Cuz it’s on the verge of bein’ obscene
Move over, baby, gimme the keys
I’m gonna try to tame your little red love machine
[Chorus]
Little Red Corvette
Baby, you’re much too fast
Little Red Corvette
Need to find a love that’s gonna last, hey hey
[Chorus 2]
Little Red Corvette
Honey, you got to slow down (Got to slow down)
Little Red Corvette
Cuz if you don’t, you’re gonna run your little red corvette right in the ground
(Little Red Corvette)
Right down to the ground (Honey, you got to slow down)
You, you, you got to slow down
(Little Red Corvette)
You’re movin’ much too fast, too fast
Need to find a love that’s gonna last
[Breakdown]
Girl, you got an ass like I never seen, ow!
And the ride
I say the ride is so smooth, you must be a limousine
Ow!
[Chorus]
Baby, you’re much too fast
Little Red Corvette
You need a love, you need a love that’s, uh, that’s gonna last
(Little Red Corvette)
[Chorus 2]
Babe, you got too slow down (you got too slow down)
Little Red Corvette
Cuz if you don’t, cuz if you don’t
You’re gonna run your body right into the ground (Right into the ground)
Right into the ground (Right into the ground)
Right into the ground (Right into the ground)
Felicia Denise, Author 
I always loved listening to this song, but I never took the time to understand what it was about and I really like the way that you explained it. I think music sounds better when it has meaning. Great post!
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One of my favorites of his.
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He really was so talented. Amazing musician and songwriter.
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I was thinking of this song, and then I heard it on the radio! Super song, and I’m glad you posted it. 🙂
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Ah, I think this is the perfect pick for this theme. But can you really ever go wrong with Prince? Great pick!
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