Good Night, Sweet Prince

Sadly, no one can. On April 21, Prince Rogers Nelson got dressed and got on the elevator at his sprawling Paisley Park complex. He never got off. While the world continued spinning, he was taking his last breaths. That he was connected to forces beyond our comprehension was evident in the circumstances of his death. He died in an elevator, something he used as a metaphor for spiritual ascension in one of his most popular songs. He died in April, also the month that the character he played in Under The Cherry Moon died and whose story was told in the song ‘Sometimes It Snows In April.” He died on a rainy Minnesota morning and after his death, a rainbow shone brightly in the grey skies above the complex. World monuments, including Niagara Falls, were already planned to glow purple in honor of Queen Elizabeth’s 90^th birthday. Instead, they seemed to commemorate the death of a Prince.

In the Bible, the parable of the talents, Matthew 25:14-30 is one that teaches us not to squander our gifts. Prince’s gift – that of musical talent so prolific that he told an interviewer that at any given time, he had five albums, not five songs in his head at any given time – was not wasted. He was one of the most prolific musicians of his era, outpacing the output of just about everyone else. He toured for over 30 years, possibly exacerbating hip and ankle problems that had been rumored but never confirmed. None of the pain he may have been in was evident to his fans, including in his last shows in Atlanta during the ‘Prince, Piano and a Microphone’ tour.

In recent days, his quiet financial support of various Black causes and organizations have been revealed. He mentored, encouraged and championed women, especially women in music. He was generous with other artists, showing up to their shows, playing onstage with folks from Erykah Badu to Lenny Kravitz to Amy Winehouse to Stevie Wonder to Q-Tip to an appearance at the SNL 40^th anniversary afterparty where he just grabbed a guitar and rocked with the cast.

To think that the world will never hear another live guitar run from him, to think that he’ll create no more music, ever, that young artists won’t have him as a champion or mentor or that no one will ever experience his humor or the epic shade moments that made him a meme and GIF hit with a younger generation, is such an incalculable loss that it seems unbelievable. Prince touched so many people in a life that seemed to be cut short way too soon. But that is our interpretation as we grieve his loss from our limited human understanding. As a man of faith, Prince believed in God’s timing, as should we, if we can bear it.

To all of us that loved him, we still have the one thing that he was truly and specifically created to bring to this earth and that is the music. Prince was our gift from God and in turn, he gifted us with over three decades of the best he had to give. Rest Well, sweet Prince. Nothing compares 2 U.