And all good things, they say, never last
And all good things, they say, never last
Prince - 'Sometimes It Snows In April' (Parade - 1986)
1980s month continues at The Run Out Grooves, slightly to my annoyance, with this hauntingly beautiful ballad by Prince that I could have planned to post about in April
Prince’s 1986 album Parade was primarily a soundtrack to the film from the same year, Under The Cherry Moon - a film directed and starring Prince and on 36% on Rotten Tomatoes - which is almost half the 70% that Purple Rain has. Compared to the rest of the songs on the album, with ‘Kiss’ ‘Girls & Boys’ and ‘Mountains’ all upbeat and danceable, the closing track, ‘Sometimes It Snows in April’ is notable for the sombre, slower pace, the depth of emotions and the introspective nature of the song.
The song’s stripped-down nature makes me think less about the funky and densely produced tracks on Parade and more about the 2018 posthumous release Piano and a Microphone 1983, which sees the purple one on a piano fleshing out tracks that ended up on Purple Rain and even Sign O’ The Times. That minimalist approach is what you hear in a song that showcases Prince's ability to deliver a heartfelt vocal and a piece with a broad emotional range that touches on themes of love, loss, and the transient nature of life.
The song was recorded at Prince's home studio in Chanhassen, Minnesota, the Galpin Blvd Home Studio, in late April 1985. The song featured Revolution alumni Wendy Melvoin and Lisa Coleman’s co-writing contributions. For the recording of 'Sometimes It Snows In April,' Prince played the piano and sang the lead vocals, while Melvoin and Coleman provided additional vocals and keyboards. The song was recorded live in the studio, with minimal overdubs or other production, giving it a raw and genuine quality.
Lyrically, the song tells the story of a man called Tracy who dies young, leaving behind friends and relatives who mourn his passing - I don’t think it is a stretch to imagine that when the song was being written, it was with Prince’s character in Under The Cherry Moon - Christopher Tracy - in mind as he also meets an untimely death.
We can feel the weight of Prince singing about the inevitability of death and reflecting on the fleeting nature when he gets to the chorus.
Sometimes it snows in April.
Sometimes I feel so bad, so bad
Sometimes I wish life was never-ending
And all good things, they say, never last
The thing about snow in April is it does happen. Contrary to common perception, April experiences a fair amount of snowfall. The Met Office reports that, on average, the UK sees snow on 2.3 days in April, more than the 1.7 days in November. Although a significant portion of this snowfall is found in the Scottish Highlands, it's not uncommon for the April snow to extend to the southern regions.
The song was never released as a contemporaneous single, but the song did find a route to a new audience with the news that Prince had passed away on 21st April 2016, 31 years to the day after the song was recorded. This gave the song a new meaning for fans and non-fans alike, as the timing of his death in April seemed eerily prophetic, as his death had tied the song's title and the themes directly to the artist. This ended up as a marked contrast to the death of David Bowie in January of that year, firstly as he had his most recent work, Blackstar
, for people to rally around and pick over for clues of Bowie’s imminent demise. Secondly, Prince assumedly wasn’t aware that he would not see out the decade, never mind April 2016.Following Prince's passing, the song became an anthem for fans to mourn and celebrate his life. It was played at memorials, covered by various artists, and popularised on streaming platforms. It reached the top 15 on the French charts and saw D’Angelo and Maya Rudolph’s Prince cover band, Princess cover the song on Jimmy Fallon.
I guess this is a spoiler, but in my defence, the film is almost 40 years old, and if you haven’t seen it yet, you probably aren’t going to hold out for a Criterion Blu-Ray at this stage.
“Look up here, I’m in heaven” is a reasonably hefty clue.
On some days, this is my favorite Prince song. Also loved piano and a microphone. Wish he’d done more stripped down stuff during his career. Really let’s the melodies shine.
I’ll admit I never even knew the song until Prince died, as you say, in April. If Purple Rain was the obvious memorial song, this seemed like the stealth connoisseur’s pick. Meshell Ndegleocello’s cover of it is wonderful.