Essential Prince: “If I Was Your Girlfriend”

Only a handful of songs in Prince’s legendary catalog give “When Doves Cry” a run for its money. “Purple Rain” is one, as is “Sometimes It Snows in April” from Parade. “If I Was Your Girlfriend” breathes in the same rarified air.

It’s one of those rare recordings that few would dare to try, let alone pull off successfully. A master musical fusionist, Prince could reinvent his signature sound at will. Those cool Linn-Drums, warm bass slaps, heavenly organ swells, and ghostly synths have the power to dim lights and ignite candles on their own accord. Prince’s desire to follow wherever his muse took him meant nobody could predict what he would do next.

Emotionally, I almost feel like I’m eavesdropping on the most private of conversations. But the song reaches its loving hand out to create the illusion of a perfect relationship. (“If I was your girlfriend / Would you remember to tell me all the things you forgot / When I was your man? / Hey, hey, when I was your man.”)

For years, some have said Prince used his high-pitched Camille persona as “ear candy” to get that special someone undressed and into bed. I hear that in songs such as “Erotic City” and “Feel U Up,” but not “If I Was Your Girlfriend.” (Engineer Susan Rogers said the distortion on his voice came from a mistake she made while setting up Prince’s equipment. On any other day, the oversight would have gotten her fired. On this day, though, he “never said a word. He had this attitude, ‘Well, maybe that was meant to be.’”)

Tender moments like “Would you let me wash your hair?” and “I want to be all of the things you are to me” all flow from a deep respect for women. He wants to bond the way female best friends do. (“Is it really necessary for me to go out of the room just because you wanna undress?”)

“If I Was Your Girlfriend” is now considered a classic in Prince’s catalog. However, in 1987, it received significant backlash as the second single from Sign O’ the Times.

“Girlfriend” limped to №67 on the U.S. Pop charts because mainstream radio felt it was too bizarre. Fortunately, it did reach №12 on the U.S. R&B charts, and in 2010, the song earned its rightful place on the Peach & Black Podcast’s Top 20 Greatest Songs episode.

The critical knee-jerk reaction back then is why I firmly believe great art isn’t always the most popular. And the most popular art isn’t always the artist’s finest work.