About The Song
“Let’s Go Crazy” is a 1984 song by Prince and The Revolution, from the album Purple Rain. It is the opening track on both the album and the film Purple Rain. “Let’s Go Crazy” was one of Prince’s most popular songs, and was a staple for concert performances, often segueing into other hits. When released as a single, the song became Prince’s second number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100, and also topped the two component charts, the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and Hot Dance Club Play charts, as well as becoming a UK Top 10 hit. The B-side was the lyrically controversial “Erotic City”. In the UK, the song was released as a double A-side with “Take Me with U”.
Common to much of Prince’s writing, the song is thought to be exhortation to follow Christian ethics, with the “De-elevator” of the lyrics being a metaphor for the Devil. The extended “Special Dance Mix” of the song was performed in a slightly edited version in the film Purple Rain. It contains a longer instrumental section in the middle that includes a chugging guitar riff, an atonal piano solo and some muddled samples of the spoken word intro. This version was originally going to be used on the album but when “Take Me With U” was added to the track list, it was edited down to its current length.
Cash Box called the song “one of the finest fusions of jump rock and synth pump.”
Following Prince’s death, the song re-charted on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart at number 39 and rose to number 25 by the week of May 14, 2016. As of April 30, 2016, it has sold 964,403 digital copies in the United States.
In 2013, British rock band The Darkness performed the song at the 44th Annual Rock Music Awards.
The song was also notable for opening with a funeral-like organ solo with Prince giving the “eulogy” for “this thing called life.” The introduction’s words are overlapped with each other on the single version. The song climaxes with a distinctive drum machine pattern and then features a heavy guitar outro leads, electronic drums, bass and whirring synthesizers and a climatic drum outro. The song’s percussion was programmed with a Linn LM-1 drum machine, an instrument frequently used in many of Prince’s songs. The song is also known for its two guitar solos both performed by Prince.
Video
Lyrics
Dearly beloved
We are gathered here today
To get through this thing called “life”
Electric word, life
It means forever and that’s a mighty long time
But I’m here to tell you there’s something else
The afterworld
A world of never ending happiness
You can always see the sun, day or night
Let’s go crazy (woo)
Let’s go crazy
Let’s go crazy
Let’s go crazy
If you don’t like
The world you’re living in
Take a look around
At least you got friends
You see I called my old lady
For a friendly word
She picked up the phone
Dropped it on the floor
Ah, ah is all I heard
Are we gonna let the elevator bring us down?
Oh no, lets go
Let’s go crazy
Let’s get nuts
Let’s look for the purple banana
Until they put us in the truck, let’s go
Oh yeah, yeah ,yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, there it is
Yeah, yeah, no, no (oh yeah)
All excited (all excited)
Don’t know why (I don’t know why)
Maybe it’s ’cause
We’re all gonna die
When we do
What’s it all for? (What’s it all for?)
Better live now
Before the Grim Reaper comes knocking on your door
Tell me, are we gonna let the elevator bring us down?
Oh no, let’s go
Let’s go crazy (let’s go crazy)
Let’s get nuts (let’s get nuts)
Let’s look for the purple banana
Until they put us in the truck, let’s go
C’mon, baby
Let’s get nuts
Yeah
Oh (Crazy)
Are we gonna let the elevator bring us down?
Oh no, let’s go
Let’s go crazy (let’s go crazy)
Let’s get nuts (let’s get nuts)
Let’s look for the purple banana (let’s look)
Until they put us in the truck, let’s go (’til they put us in the truck)
Let’s go
Dr. Everything’ll be alright
Make everything go wrong
Oh
Yeah yeah, let’s go