On Episode 77 of the Press Rewind – Prince Lyrics Podcast, Eloy Lasanta and I talk about the short, funky, innuendo-filled Parade track, “New Position.” Is there more to this song than meets the ear, or is this a classic case of overthinking the lyrics? We’ll let you be the judge!
“Let’s go fishing in the river, the river of life.”
Eloy and I go fishing for hidden lyrical meanings in this sparse funk track, one of the Parade standouts. What do we catch? Some serious innuendo, maybe a slightly spiritual angle (probably not, though), and possibly a plea for a menage a trois. Yeah, this is one of the few “raunchy” songs on this French romanticism, classic Hollywood, and Romeo & Juliet melodrama-inspired album/film cycle from 1986.
As the second piece of a four-piece suite of songs that kick off the album, “New Position” is the funkiest of the bunch (not to be confused by a Funky Bunch of the Marky Mark variety) by a long shot. We even touch on the alternate version with Clare Fischer orchestration removed before its final inclusion on the Parade album.
The goal of each episode of Press Rewind is to:
- Take a track by track look at the lyrical content of Prince’s discography
- Discuss my own interpretation of each song’s lyrics along with any guest I may have
- If submitted, discuss listener’s interpretations of each song’s lyrics
Thank you for joining me on this journey through Prince’s catalog!
