When You Were Mine

Song infobox
Name = When You Were Mine


Caption =
Artist = Prince
alt Artist =
Album = Dirty Mind
Published =
Released = 1980
track_no = 2
Format = Vinyl 12" promo single
Recorded = 1980
Genre = Pop
Length = 3:43
Writer = Prince
Composer = Prince
Label = Warner Bros. Records
Producer = Prince
Chart position =
Tracks =
prev = "Dirty Mind"
prev_no = 1
next = "Do It All Night"
next_no = 3
Misc = Infobox Single
Name = When You Were Mine


Caption = Japanese promotional 7" single
Artist = Cyndi Lauper
from Album = She's So Unusual
B-side = "I'll Kiss You"
Released = 1985
Format = Vinyl
(7")
Recorded = 1983
Genre = Pop
Length = 5:00
Label = Epic Records
Writer = Prince
Producer = Rick Chertoff
Certification =
Chart position =
Last single = "I'll Kiss You"
(1984)
This single = "When You Were Mine"
(1985)
Next single = "The Goonies 'R' Good Enough"
(1985)

"When You Were Mine" is a song written and released by Prince on his 1980 album "Dirty Mind". Though not released as a single, the song received a promotional 12" release (which included "Gotta Broken Heart Again" and "Uptown") and was later the B-side for "Controversy" in 1981.

Prince has performed the song many times in concert, and it was included on his 2002 live album, "One Nite Alone... Live!". The studio version was also included on "The Hits/The B-Sides" in 1993. Prince has mentioned that he was inspired to write the simple but effective rock song while listening to John Lennon. The track is full of guitar licks, and includes a Farfisa-inspired organ sound played on an Oberheim OB-X.

Cover versions

Iain Matthews (of Fairport Convention, Matthews' Southern Comfort, and Plainsong) and David Surkamp (of Pavlov's Dog) were the first to record a cover version of the song when their Seattle-based band Hi-Fi recorded it for their album "Moods for Mallards" in 1981. The version featured Iain Matthews on lead vocals and received much airplay in the Northwest U.S. upon its release. It was released on cd in 2006 by Blue Rose Records on the compilation Hi-Fi: Complete Works.

In 1983, Mitch Ryder released his remake of "When You Were Mine" as a single. It was also a track on his album "Never Kick a Sleeping Dog". The single featured production work by John Mellencamp and was released on his record label, Riva Records. The track received some airplay in the United States and even charted on the Billboard Hot 100. The video starred Kitten Natividad. Ryder's version also appeared in the film "Hot Dog... The Movie" (1984).

Cyndi Lauper's version is a bit slower and gives her punk edge to the song. She did not change the pronoun gender in the song lyrics, which caused it to allude that the lost love to whom she is singing is having a new affair with another man. The single was released in Canada and Japan. Lauper performed the single at the 1985 American Music Awards. In the U.S., Lauper released it as a promo-only single and more recently in 2003 on "The Essential Cyndi Lauper".

The Blue Rubies (Susan Maunu and Mitzi Johnson) performed a version of the song accompanied only by a lute. It can be heard on the 1989 compilation, "".

In 1996, Australian singer Penny Flanagan released an acoustic version of the song on her album "Seven Flights Up".

Crooked Fingers released a version of the song on their 2002 "Reservoir Songs" EP.

In 2003, indie rock band Tegan and Sara also did a cover, but did not change the pronoun gender.

The song has also been covered by The Pillows, a Japanese rock band.

Casiotone for the Painfully Alone covered the song for a 2005 release, "Young Shields"

The song has also been covered by Ani DiFranco as an encore live performance in 1999. She was performing in Minnesota, and she performed the song as a duet with Maceo Parker, who often collaborates with Prince.

Boyracer covered the song on their 2007 release "Jukebox Volume One."

Joshua James covered a version of this song on his 2007 release "Joshua James and the Runaway Trains". [ [http://cdbaby.com/cd/joshuajames3 CD Baby: JOSHUA JAMES: Joshua James and the Runaway Trains ] ]

References

External links

* [http://www.dtt-lyrics.com/albums/dirty.html#mine "When You Were Mine" lyrics]