For better or worse, to the wider music-consuming populous, “Purple Rain” is undeniably one of Prince’s signature songs, a cultural position it has consistently enjoyed ever since the release of the accompanying album and feature film of the same name forty years ago. In addition to this irrefutable ubiquity at a cultural level amongst the general public, the commercial credentials of “Purple Rain” likewise cannot be denied, with the single release of the track peaking at number two on the Billboard Hot 100. And yet, appended to this undeniable populist favorite is a closing piece of orchestration that is profoundly dissonant and somewhat avant-garde in nature. Consisting of cello, viola, and violin, the angular and experimental sonic landscape of this orchestrated coda stands in stark contrast to the preceding anthemic and broadly radio-friendly composition to which it is attached.

Yet while the lyrical and musical components of this initial portion of “Purple Rain” have been consistently afforded a great deal of scholarly attention, the aforementioned orchestrated coda of the track has largely not been subject to the same degree of critical engagement. While much of the discourse surrounding “Purple Rain” has centered upon the track’s broader thematic concerns from a lyrical perspective, little has been made of the manner in which this closing orchestrated passage likewise articulates these same preoccupations at a musical level. As such, by engaging with the musical composition and structure of this concluding coda, we are able to observe and consider the inextricable thematic relationship exercised between the lyrical component of “Purple Rain” and the orchestral manner in which the song draws to a close.

Declan McCarthy is a graduate of the University of Bangor, Wales, UK with a B.A. (Hons) in English Literature. His principal area of critical interest lies in exploring the interplay between the musical and lyrical components of Prince’s vast body of work and the ways in which discerning this relationship can ultimately aid us in our understanding of the central message of a particular composition. In April 2023, he participated in the Prince #TripleThreat40 symposium organized by Professor De Angela Duff and contributed a presentation entitled “Keeping Time With The Time: Rhythm, Rejection, & ‘777-9311’.”