Muse 2 The Pharaoh

From Prince Vault
Jump to: navigation, search
Murph Drag   < < < Non-Prince Songs All Prince Songs Unreleased Songs > > >   Musicology
Muse 2 The Pharaoh

Rainbowchildren album.jpg
from the album The Rainbow Children
Song details
Performer: Prince
First Released: 16 October 2001 - The Rainbow Children album
Album(s): The Rainbow Children

One Nite Alone... Live!
Anthology: 1995-2010

Writer(s): Prince
Producer(s): Prince
Live Appearances
First and last live appearance:
Performed regularly on tour:
Performed occasionally in shows:

Muse 2 The Pharaoh is the second track on Prince’s 24th album The Rainbow Children, his first album after reverting to the name Prince. In 2002 a live version from the One Nite Alone... Tour was released as the second track on the One Nite Alone... Live! album (along with Mellow, The Other Side Of The Pillow and Strange Relationship from the same show).

Specific recording dates are unknown, but it is likely that basic tracking took place in late 2000 or early 2001 at Paisley Park Studios in Chanhassen, Minnesota.

One lyric from the song has caused some controversy. In discussing slavery, Prince states "Holocaust aside, many lived and died", and goes on to ask "but when all truth is told, would you rather be dead, or be sold?" Another unrelated lyric has caused some confusion, when Prince states "the opposite of NATO is OTAN." While OTAN is the French acronym for NATO, it’s unclear if Prince is referring to this or something else. In live shows (including on the One Nite Alone... Live! album), he changes the lyric to "the opposite of NATO is monotheism". The lyric "Like a thief in the night, my Lord come and strike" is a reference to the Biblical New Testament passage 1 Thessalonians 5:2-4, the earliest of the apostle Paul’s letters to the early Christian churches.


Recording Information
Recording Sessions
Date Studio Additional info
Late 2000 - early 2001 Paisley Park Studios,
Chanhassen, MN, USA
Tracking
Recording Personnel

Studio version

  • Prince - all vocals and instruments, except where noted (credited as "All other instruments - digital or otherwise, lead and co-lead vox, percussion and sound FX per4med by Prince ...and U.")
  • John Blackwell - drums (credited as "John Blackwell, the Magnificent")


One Nite Alone... Live! version


Versions
Released Versions
Title Length Released Version Additional info
Muse 2 The Pharaoh 4:21 The Rainbow Children

Anthology: 1995-2010

Studio
Muse 2 The Pharaoh 4:49 One Nite Alone... Live!

One Nite Alone... Live EP promo

Live 11 March 2002, Murat Theatre, Indianapolis, IN, USA



 
Additional Information

See also Trivia


References
Murph Drag   < < < All Songs Unreleased Songs > > >   Musicology