Throwback Thursday: Prince – “If I Was Your Girlfriend”

Throwback Thursday: Prince – “If I Was Your Girlfriend”

Today marks six years since we lost Prince, so it’s only right that we pick something from his outstanding catalog.

“If I Was Your Girlfriend” was originally recorded for Camille, a self-titled album named after Prince’s alter ego that was supposed to be released in 1986 but was ultimately shelved weeks before it’s planned release. The alter ego in question was to be realized through pitch-shifting technology to make Prince’s sound more “womanly,” and the plan was to never acknowledge that Camille was actually Prince. The Camille album will finally have its day later this year.

Released as the second single from his ninth album, Sign o’ the Times, “If I Was Your Girlfriend” is a series of questions posed by a man wondering if his woman could ever be as comfortable around him as she is around her female friends. It wouldn’t be unreasonable to describe this song as weird, but if you take a step back, you might be able to appreciate it as an examination of intimacy within platonic (typically same-sex) relationships. It can also be seen as an examination of the jealousy that men sometimes feel towards their female partners’ friendships (with other women). Interestingly, the song is rumored to be about Prince’s jealousy of then-girlfriend Susannah Melvoin‘s relationship with her twin sister, Wendy.

Whether or not you can appreciate it for its profundity, there is no denying that “If I Was Your Girlfriend” is a solid track that was way ahead of its time. The track failed to crack the top 40 in the States, but it was a top 20 hit in the UK. Fifteen years later, it was sampled on Jay-Z’s 2002 hit, “‘03 Bonnie & Clyde” (featuring Beyoncé), which peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The album version of “If I Was Your Girlfriend” is the superior version by far, so we’re gonna go ahead and link it here. However, the video version isn’t half-bad. Check it out below.

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