Pregnant Widow
Well, there’s more than meets the eye… when the pregnant widow walks on by
There’s lots of whispering in town…when the pregnant widow comes around
Don’t get your knickers in a twist
Don’t get your testes in a fix
Messing around, pants come down
Pop your dress right off
Shame on me, shame on you
Shame we had to stop
It’s in the Bible, but we’re liable to forget ourselves
She’s a slut, and I’m a nut
And we’re both going to hell
You know something isn’t right…when the doctor’s in the house all night
Hey Doc, just give it to me straight
Why won’t you give it to me straight now?
Aw, give it to me straight
You gotta, gotta, gotta, gotta
Give it to me straight
This song was written and recorded in the weeks following Prince's death. Like a lot of people, I took it pretty hard, and I was listening his stuff for days on end afterwards. In particular, I found myself going back to his early records, and just being in awe of their audacity. Songs like "Controversy", "Head" and "Let's Pretend We're Married", among so many others. The confidence, and the fearlessness he had back then is just staggering.The tunes are crammed with hooks, yet there's a lot of space in the arrangements, and great dynamics. Listening to it all again, I got inspired to do my own modest tribute to one of the greatest DIY artists of all time.The tune is based on a stomping drum track by James Carmichael Dooley. I also had the Talking Heads' Remain in Light" album on my mind, which is really where I first heard this kind of melding of African rhythms with rock instruments.Later I got deeper into African music; Fela, King Sunny Ade, Ebenezer Obey, to name just a few. But that Talking Heads album in 1980 was a kind of pollinator- it led me to so many great artists.
I had the title well in advance of the track. I was reading an article about the writer Martin Amis, which referenced his book by the same name. I thought to myself, "That's a great idea for a song". I can't say I've ever read one of his books cover to cover, but I've always been curious about him- he wound up marrying perhaps the most beautiful girl from my High School days at Concord Academy- Isabel Fonseca. When I was in 10th grade, and she was a senior, she gave me a copy of Saint-Exupery's "The Little Prince" as a gift.
By way of thanks, I stole a kiss from her lips- I can still see the look of shock (dismay? - Ed) on her face. She had every right to slap me, as I was a cheeky little bugger, as Martin himself might say. She later became a distinguished writer herself. But back then at Concord Academy, she was on par with Vanity, Sheila E., Sheena Easton, and Apollonia. Here's her yearbook picture from 1979:
What can I say? Robert Browning put it best: "Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for?"
This is a great record, and a great cover. I went to see him in concert at the Ritz in NYC around 1983. His band was something like 40 people which included all his wives dancing in beautiful multicolored robes, and about four people playing the talking drum. Unforgettable.
Anyway, all these elements worked their way into the song. It's a song about doing things you know you shouldn't, but you feel compelled. Sometimes you gotta take a risk, reach beyond your grasp. Ask yourself, what would Prince do?