Meaning of Little Red Corvette – Prince

The album “1999” marked a major breakthrough in the work of Prince. With this record, he hit the top 10 of the Billboard 200 chart for the first time and entered the world stage. His name, by that time well known in the United States, thundered all over the planet and made the singer an international star.

The most popular track from the album was the composition “Little Red Corvette” (“Little Red Corvette”), which rose high in the charts and became one of the most significant works of the legendary American musician.

Prince was really inspired to write the track by a car. What’s more, the story of the Little Red Corvette began in the back seat. Only now it was not a “corvette” and not even a red car. Let’s turn to the book “Prince: Inside the Music and the Masks” written by Ronin Rho:

One morning, after another night in the studio, Prince got into Lisa Coleman’s pink Edsel. [клавишницы Revolution]. During that period, Lisa, with whom he had a platonic relationship with his bandmates, sometimes visited him, sometimes with one of his friends, and continued to participate in the recording of some of his songs. Then he dozed off, but suddenly an idea arose. The phrase came to his mind: “I guess I should’ve known by the way you parked your car sideways that it wouldn’t last”. Further, falling asleep, then coming to his senses, he composed and recorded a few more lines.

It turns out that the song, named after a cool sports car, originated in the disgusting Edsel, the shameful brainchild of Ford. By the way, the model turned out to be so unsuccessful in all respects that the word Edsel itself turned into a household name and is associated with Americans with complete failure.

The lyrics to “Little Red Corvette” are about casual sex. Allegedly referring to the car, the protagonist addresses the girl with whom he is going to have sex. Prince skillfully veiled the subtext so as not to offend overly sensitive listeners and not close the track to radio and television.

February 9, 1983 “Little Red Corvette” was released as a single from the album “1999”. The track peaked at number two on the UK charts and peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Prince’s first Top 100 song.

“Little Red Corvette” is included in several popular ratings, including the following lists:

Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (#109);
“6000 Top Songs of All Time” from Acclaimed Music (#153);
“One Hundred Best Guitar Solos” from Guitar World (#64, solo by Dez Dickerson).

The music video for “Little Red Corvette” was directed by Bryan Greenberg. We offer you to watch the video clip, which was incredibly popular on MTV.

Interesting Facts

For radio, the length of the track was cut from 5:03 to 3:08 minutes.
Stevie Nicks heard “Little Red Corvette” in the car. Impressed, she wrote the lyrics to “Stand Back” and immediately called Prince. The musician came to her studio and composed a keyboard part for a future composition.
Naturally, Chevrolet used the song in one way or another in advertising their cars. For example, in 2001, she posted banners saying “No songs are written about Volvo.”

Little Red Corvette LyricsLittle Red Corvette LyricsI guess I should’ve known
By the way you parked your car sideways
That it wouldn’t last
See you’re the kinda person
That believes in makin’ out once
Love ’em and leave ’em fast
I guess I must be dumb
‘Cause you had a pocket full of horses
Trojan and some of them used
But it was Saturday night
I guess that makes it right
And you say, “What have I got to lose?”
And honey I say…By the way you parked the car
I should have guessed
What is it for a short time
You see, you are one of those
Who prefers to merge once in a kiss,
Love and leave quickly
I think I’d better keep quiet
‘Cause you’ve got a lot of Trojan horses with you
And some of them used
But it was a Saturday night
So I guess it’s all right
And you said, “What do I have to lose?”
Honey, I answered … Little red Corvette
Baby you’re much too fast
Little red Corvette
You need a love that’s gonna last
Baby you’re too fast
Little red Corvette
You need lasting love I guess I should of closed my eyes
When you drove me to the place
Where your horses run free
‘Cause I felt a little ill
When I saw all the pictures
Of the jockeys that were there before me
Believe it or not
I started to worry
I wondered if I had enough class
But it was Saturday night
I guess that makes it right
And you say, “Baby, have you got enough gas?”
Oh yeah I think I should have closed my eyes
When you took me there
Where do your horses run without barriers2
‘Cause I got a little crazy
When I saw the photo
All the jockeys that were there before me
Believe it or not
I started to worry
I doubted if I had the skill
But it was a Saturday night
So I guess it’s all right
And you said, “Baby, do you have enough fuel?”
Oh yeah Little red Corvette
Baby you’re much to fast, yes you are
Little red Corvette
You need to find a love that’s gonna last
Baby you’re too fast
Little red Corvette
You need lasting love
Oughta be in jail
‘Cause it’s on the verge of bein’ obscene
Move over baby
Gimme the keys
I’m gonna try to tame your little red love machine
Gotta hide behind bars
After all, it is on the verge of decency
Move over, baby
give me the keys
I’m trying to tame your little red love car Little red Corvette
Baby you’re much to fast
Little red Corvette
You need to find a love that’s gonna last
Baby you’re too fast
Little red Corvette
You need lasting love Little red Corvette
Honey you got to slow down
Little red Corvette
‘Cause if you don’t you gonna run your
Little red Corvette right in the ground
Right down to the ground
Slow down you’re movin’ much too fast
You need to find a love that’s gonna last
Baby you need to slow down
Little red Corvette
‘Cause if you don’t want
Ditch your little red Corvette
Break it to smithereens
Slow down, you’re going too fast
You need lasting love Girl, you got an ass like I never seen
And the ride
I say the ride is so smooth
You must be a limousine
And you are moving
I say you move so smoothly
Like a limousine