Sign o' the Times (song)

Infobox Single
Name = Sign "☮" The Times


Caption = U.S. 7" single
Artist = Prince
from Album = Sign "☮" The Times
B-side = "La, La, La, He, He, Hee"
Released = 18 February, 1987
Format = 7" single
12" single
Recorded = Home studio, Minneapolis and Sunset Sound; March – December 1986
Genre = Funk, Pop
Length = 7" edit: 3:44
Album/12": 5:02
Label = Paisley Park Records
Writer = Prince
Producer = Prince
Certification =
Chart position = * #1 (R&B chart)
* #3 (USA)
* #10 (UK)
Last single = "Anotherlover-
holenyohead"
(1986)
This single = "Sign O' The Times"
(1987)
Next single = "If I Was Your Girlfriend"
(1987) Extra tracklisting
Album = Sign O' The Times
Type = single
prev_track =
prev_no =
this_track = "Sign "☮" The Times"
track_no = 1
next_track = "Play in the Sunshine"
next_no = 2

"Sign "☮" The Times" (or "Sign O' The Times") [the question mark meaning a "peace symbol" or in this case a "peace sign"] is the lead single off Prince's classic 1987 album of the same name. The song is a holdover from both the "Dream Factory" and "Crystal Ball" projects, promoted to the title track of the 1987 release. Prince performs the entire track except for some backing vocals by then-girlfriend Susannah Melvoin. "Sign O' The Times" was written on a Sunday, when Prince usually wrote his most introspective songs. The song proved popular upon release, topping the R&B chart, and reaching #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Rolling Stone" ranked "Sign O' The Times" #299 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Composition and Arrangement

The song was constructed by Prince almost entirely on the Fairlight sampling synthesizer, which provides the primary keyboard riff and sampled electronic bass sounds heard on the track. Unlike some artists, Prince did not program new sounds for this song. He simply used the stock sounds the Fairlight offered, including the famed "orchestra hit" towards the end of the composition. The single marked a shift from those pulled from the "Parade" and "Around the World in a Day" albums, with a spare, electronic-based arrangement, simple drum machine hits and minimal stacked synth patterns, as well as a bluesy, funk-rock guitar part (cut from the single edit of the song). The record was noticeably bluesier and more downcast (both melodically and lyrically) than any of Prince's previous singles, addressing various socio-political problems including AIDS, gang violence, natural disasters, poverty, drug abuse, Iran-Contra, the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster and impending nuclear holocaust.

Artwork

* The single's cover features new band member Cat Glover posing with a large heart covering her face, and on the back of the cover, posing with Prince's guitar. Many people incorrectly thought it was Prince in drag.

B-side

The B-side was the funky "La, La, La, He, He, Hee." The song was written as a rejoinder to Sheena Easton. The track features vocal samples morphed into drumbeats not dissimilar to that of a dog barking. The lyrics refer to a dog's affair with a cat with playful sexuality. Part of the refrain was used briefly in the song "I Wanna Melt with U," from the "Love Symbol" album.

Other version

*In 2007, Chaka Khan released Funk This, and covered this classic Prince song.
*Singer and pianist Nina Simone recorded a version of the song for her last studio album "A Single Woman" (1993). It never made it to the final album. [cite book |last=Hampton|title= A Musical Odyssey (David Nathan) in: Break Down And Let It All Out |pages= pp. 220]
*Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree covered the song on the fifth release of his Cover Versions series.
*Dubstep producer Kode 9 along with vocalist the Spaceape produced a dark, slow, dub-influenced cover of this track, called Sine O The Dub, on the album Memories of the Future.

Track listing

7": Paisley Park/7-28399 (US)

# "Sign o' the Times (Edit)" – 3:42
# "La, La, La, He, He, Hee" – 3:21

12": Paisley Park/0-20648 (US)

# "Sign o' the Times (LP Version)" – 4:57
# "La, La, La, He, He, Hee (Highly Explosive)" – 10:32

* Also available in UK as a picture disc (W8399TP).

References

External links

* "Sign o' the Times" [http://www.dtt-lyrics.com/albums/sign.html#sign lyrics]