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Prince’s Subtle Anti-War Statement During Halftime

By Manila Ryce
Published Monday, February 5th, 2007, 1:59 am
Filed under: Society/Culture: Civil Unrest, Videos: Music, Videos: Political, World: Asia, War, Personal Posts, Videos, Society/Culture, World Issues, Entertainment, US Politics

The clip below is only half of the halftime show (making it a quartertime show?). While I only understood Prince’s performance of “All Along the Watchtower” and “Best of You” to have an anti-war message, I left the end of his performance in as well. Why? Well, not only was it also amazing, but there’s an extremely suggestive silhouette of Prince behind a giant sheet showing us exactly how excited he was to be performing at the Superbowl. Intentional or not, I had to include it for hilarity sake.

WPvideo 1.10

At about the midpoint of Prince’s halftime performance, the artist performed a mixed cover of “All Along the Watchtower” and “Best of You”. Prince starts “All Along the Watchtower” at its proper beginning, with the two riders (the joker and the thief) approaching. Dylan, who wrote the lyrics in ’68, placed the middle of the story at the beginning of the song to throw the listener into a conversation which had already begun.

“All Along the Watchtower” is generally considered to be a statement about social reform in the 60’s, with the watchtower representing an established power structure guarding itself from those who have a true, yet unaccepted view of human worth. The story is largely uneventful, and the only confrontation taking place is between value systems. Biblical references are also plentiful, leading some to believe that the Joker and the Thief are Jesus and the crucified man next to him, respectively. Without analyzing every line, the song originally described the growing resistance to the Vietnam War and the establishment which made it possible. Why would Prince play this song at the Superbowl? In my opinion, he was making an anti-war statement about the current resistance to the Iraq War.

After the one verse, Prince transitions into “Best of You” by the Foo Fighters. I believe this song is originally about a failed relationship between a man and a woman, but coupled with “All Along the Watchtower” it takes on a different meaning. In this case, we might think of the administration as the one getting the best of us as we fight its restraints on our freedom. Again, Prince does not start at the beginning of the song, but transitions in at “Are you gone and onto someone new? I needed somewhere to hang my head, without your noose.” This may have been a convenient place to open the song, as the lyric could refer to Saddam’s execution, and the persecution anyone might face for opposing the establishment. After confirming the pain we feel as a society, Prince asks over and over again, “Is someone getting the best of you?” At the end he defiantly states, “I ain’t no fool”.

Perhaps I drank too much during the game, and am simply reading into this. Then again, they do seem like odd song choices for Prince to cover without having a specific reason. Your thoughts and interpretations are appreciated.

Lyrics to the performance:

All along the watchtower,
Princes kept the view,
While all the women came and went —
Barefoot servants too.
Outside in the cold distance,
A wildcat did growl.
Two riders were approaching, and
The wind began to howl.

Are you gone and onto someone new?
I needed somewhere to hang my head
Without your noose
You gave me something that I didn’t have
But had no use
I was too weak to give in
Too strong to lose
My heart is under arrest again
But I break loose
My head is giving me life or death
I will choose
I swear I’ll never give in
I refuse

Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Has someone taken your faith?
Its real, the pain you feel
You must
Confess
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Oh…

Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?
Is someone getting the best, the best, the best, the best of you?

I’ve got another confession my friend
I ain’t no fool

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13 Responses to “Prince’s Subtle Anti-War Statement During Halftime”

  1. By the way, just as a side note, how shameless were those Black History Month commercials? It’s almost as if Coca-Cola was taking credit for the achievements of African Americans.

    Manila Ryce
    02/5/07 at 3:39 am

  2. Prince is a huge JIMI HENDRIX fan. All Along the Watchtower was covered on Electric Ladyland, Hendrix’s last album with the Jimi Hendrix Experience, in 1968. Even Dylan, loved Hendrix’s cover. Too many, this is one of the most beloved tracks on this album and highlighted Hendrix’s guitar especial. Could it be that Prince just wanted to make a tribute to his guitar hero….? I don’t know, but it would be nice to know. And knowing, is half the battle.

    SirJouge
    02/5/07 at 8:48 am

  3. I think you’re reading too much into it. Prince and the Foo Fighters have a good relationship. The Foos made a hit out of Prince’s song “Nikki” - a song Prince couldn’t get aired because it was considered obscene. I think he was just returning props to the Foo Fighters by playing one of their songs.

    cephyn
    02/5/07 at 1:44 pm

  4. I’m still reeling from the number of levels that Prince’s performance succeeded upon.
    The man is a bona fide master of Blues Rock and Soul.
    No way would I call his anti-war message subtle.
    Everyone is so gorged on the predigested pablum, that the message goes over their heads.
    Thank heavens that Prince abandoned the corporate machine and got on with real musical mastery.

    Thank you Lord Prince for the best Half-time show to date. The rain was a nice touch as well

    Richard Bacchus
    02/5/07 at 2:57 pm

  5. […] The Largest Minority: “Prince’s Subtle Anti-War Statement During Halftime” (via Truthdig) […]

    Blipster.info » What followed was a dizzying demonstration
    02/5/07 at 4:48 pm

  6. Much was made about Prince becoming a Jehovah’s Witness. “Watchtower” happens to also be their main publication… Also thought it was odd to cover the Foo Fighters when he was so publicly put off by their covering “Nikki.”

    Bella
    02/5/07 at 11:20 pm

  7. Prince was not too charmed witht he Foo Fighters covering one of his songs. Prince got back at them by covering Best of You, preceded by the classic All along the Watchtower.
    Watchtower was originally a Bob Dylan song, but after Jimi Hendix covered it, the song will always be remembered by Jimi Hendix’ version. By starting with Watchtower, Prince put his cover of Best of You in that context, suggesting that from now on that song will be remembered by his interpretation. And his version rocks!!! Prince pulled a Jimi on the Foo Fighters

    bla
    02/6/07 at 12:03 pm

  8. Re: Coca-cola ads - if major corporations ignore black history month in their advertising they would be slammed as (at best) not recognizing diversity or (at worst) racist. Besides which they are based in Atlanta and they have many minority executives and employees. They should be commended for their Super Bowl ads.

    Re: Prince having an anti-war message - I’m not so sure about that, but I do know Little Red Corvette is about va-jay-jay. And I’m sure Prince is not anti va-jay-jay.

    Patrick
    02/6/07 at 4:24 pm

  9. @Patrick
    My beef with Coke isn’t that they did black history month ads, but how they did them. This one in particular didn’t sit right with me. By having a huge Coke bottle on the same stage with these great achievements, it almost seemed as if Coke was claiming to be just as relevant a part of history in 1947 as Jackie Robinson or as influential in 1955 as Rosa Parks. Graphically speaking, the changing bottle was competing with the text, drawing attention away from what we’re supposedly paying tribute to. It would’ve been much more genuine a tribute had Coke gone through the history, and only placed their logo and statement at the end. We may have to agree to disagree, but to me it seemed more like an exploitative effort to draw attention to their product than to celebrate black history. On the other hand, perhaps I just have a problem with commercials in general, as they all exploit one thing or another for the sake of profit.

    Manila Ryce
    02/7/07 at 1:52 am

  10. Great write up on the subtle message. Many of the same thoughts occured to me after the game, we seem to share a similar thought process. I have been a great fan of Prince and his music for many years and have learned much of his brillance has come in subtle forms. This Super Bowl performance is no different. While many Hollywood types have long made a mistake of confusing their celebrity as a political platform. Prince has done what creative type’s are best at, using their emotion or worldviews and putting them in a creative form that can both be interpreted and enjoyed.
    Rarely has Prince ever been outward about his worldviews, certaintly not blatent. Rather he often weaves these very thoughts into his songs and lets the listeners figure it out. Funny part is, teh listeners don’t have to decode the message to enjoy the song, as the songs themsleves are entertaining regardless of interpretation. This is largely proven by his song Lets Go Crazy. A song wrought with religous messages but generally percieved as a party anthem to…well, Go crazy.
    Moreover, Prince has been so good at disguising these views in his career that most people never would have considered him to offer a political stance. So, this performance’s subtle message has gone mostly overlooked. Meanwhile, he has always had a reputation for incorporating love and sex into his music, so after the Super Bowl all the talk was the phallic symbol. Of which I am sure Prince laughed to himself thinking, sex still sells.
    Personally, I have no tolerance for the “Celebritician”. The Celebrity that blatently and usually ignorantly critiques the government. However, musicians have long made great albums with an impetus taken directly from socio-political events. Crosby Stills Nash, come to mind immediatly. Prince has always been in that class of artists. Too bad SO MANY celebs have failed to learn this eloquent method of delivering it. Yet, it is the great ones that can do this who have gone down in history. Which is why with this performance truly is a beautiful one for the books.

    I hope to hear your thoughts. Thanks

    tylerwigs
    02/13/07 at 12:07 pm

  11. […] John, at The Largest Minority, suggests that Prince’s suggestive half time show might have been a Prince’s Subtle Anti-War Statement. […]

    hell’s handmaiden » Blog Archive » this is not my country - March 1, 2007
    03/1/07 at 6:15 am

  12. Although Prince is a master of obliqueness, I still believe that the best, explicitly anti-war song of the last 30 years is Party Up. I’ve never seen the Little Man live so I don’t know if he’s played it in concert since 1981, but I know that if he plays it now, he’d have even the Republicans in the crowd chanting “You’re gonna have to fight your own damn war, ‘cos we don’t wanna fight no more!”

    I’m one of those who find Foo Fighters more interesting than Nirvana, so I was really pleased to hear Prince do “Best of You”. I don’t think he did it better than Foo per se, it’s just that he’s a superior showman, thus Mr. Hawkins’ impression.

    Idiot
    07/28/07 at 3:20 am

  13. Wow u people make me want to cry !
    U think u’re so stupid !
    Yes I said it right.
    So proven that you are not
    that smart or are u ?
    prove it…
    fore the most part u have no idea of WHAT U Speak about, nor facts or do U ?
    YOu can xplain yoURself better thAN I could. Bad mouth’in Prince. R Nelson.
    Like That, didn’t your Mother teach you better than that ? He is so Eloquent you can’t even stand it. What A shame. Find some thing to do like a class on commuications and caring about others.
    Good Luck All you uneducated Foes.
    John 4:8 and,
    Everything God made is good.
    O’ SO GL

    mariel.bella
    09/1/07 at 4:01 am

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