Album: 1999 (1983)

Charted: 2 12

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• I was dreamin' when I wrote this
  Forgive me if it goes astray
  But when I woke up this mornin'
  Could've sworn it was judgment day
  
  The sky was all purple
  There were people runnin' everywhere
  Tryin' to run from the destruction
  You know I didn't even care
  
  'Cause they say two thousand zero zero
  Party over, oops out of time
  So tonight I'm gonna party like it's 1999
  
  I was dreamin' when I wrote this
  So sue me if I go too fast
  But life is just a party
  And parties weren't meant to last
  
  War is all around us
  My mind says prepare to fight
  So if I gotta die
  I'm gonna listen to my body tonight
  
  Yeah, they say two thousand zero zero
  Party over, oops out of time
  So tonight I'm gonna party like it's 1999
  Yeah, yeah
  
  Lemme tell ya somethin'
  If you didn't come to party
  Don't bother knockin' on my door
  I got a lion in my pocket
  And baby he's ready to roar, yeah yeah
  
  Everybody's got a bomb
  We could all die here today, uhh
  But before I'll let that happen
  I'll dance my life away, oh
  
  They say two thousand zero zero
  Party over, oops out of time
  We're runnin' outta time
  So tonight we gonna, we gonna (tonight I'm gonna party like it's 1999)
  
  Say it one more time
  Two thousand zero zero
  Party over, oops out of time
  Yeah, yeah
  So tonight we gonna, we gonna (tonight I'm gonna party like it's 1999)
  
  1999 (1999)
  Don't ya want to go (1999)
  Don't ya want to go (1999)
  We could all die here today (1999)
  I don't want to die
  I'd rather dance my life away Writer/s: Prince Rogers Nelson
  Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 23

• Tom from OhioI always thought "Everybody's got a bomb, we could all die any day" referred to how we are always potentially just one heart attack away from an unexpected end, with the heart being a "bomb" that could explode anytime.
• Greg from AustraliaI believe the song is actually more related to a potential rapture. I believe Prince was exploring religions at this time and the crap tureen scared him. He believed that the rapture may occur at the beginning of the new millennium.
• Dildopunk46Call it a stretch but in an interview in 98 on BET Tonight the interviewer asks “where we are now on the verge of 1999, any quick thoughts that come to mind about your song“ prince simply replied “if the sky has blood in it, blue and red make purple”.
  
  It’s almost like he is talking about a certain even that happened in New York just 3 years later. It’s even more compelling when you read the lyrics in the first verse.
  
  “The sky was all purple
  There were people runnin' everywhere
  Tryin' to run from the destruction
  You know I didn't even care”
• Tony Clifton from NycActually, Prince was on tour with his band in 1981, they stopped at a motel along the way. The sign out front read, "Free HBO". They were all excited, they all went to their rooms and of course turned on the TV to HBO (HBO was the hottest and one of the most exciting to look at in those days). Featured on HBO that particular night was a documentary on Nostradamus, narrated by Orson Welles. The next morning on the bus ride the discourse was all about the documentary they'd seen and how scary it was. Prince, in his true fashion had also seen it and was enamored over it, so much so that the date they'd mentioned, about the world ending happened to be, "1999". The rest was history. I obtained this story from the official Prince podcast, they interviewed the band members, and the podcast itself is endorsed by the Paisley Park estate. It's in the 3rd episode of the series. The podcast is called, Prince Official Podcast, The Prince Estate.
• Gojirob from New Jersey"I was dreamin' when I wrote this; forgive me if it goes astray" may in fact be a reference to St. John Of Patmos, once a prisoner on a Greek island who is credited with writing the Book Of Revelation. In his passages, he calls the end-times a vision he had, and states that he may not be certain of all the imagery he took from it.
• John from Corvallis, OregonWasn't Manic Monday written by the Bangles?
• Jb from United StatesPrince was not a person who sat around worrying about the end of the world. He wanted to add something positive to the dialogue about the end of the world, and instead of worrying about it, we should party.
• Bill from Cheltenham, PaI have a funny story about this song. Back in 1990 when I was living in Philadelphia, a good friend who worked at a sports arena hidden in a suburban industrial park told me about a little "secret". His secret was that the PLCB (Philadelphia Liquor Control Board), which is a government-owned corporation that owns all wine/spirits stores in the state (that's right, private stores except those run by wineries themselves can't sell wine in PA) had a "wholesale" liquor store hidden deep in the industrial park, with no windows or signs on the outside to identify what was inside. I showed up one day andy to check it out, but I was turned away after going in the door. The liquor was in a room past another set of doors that I was forbidden to enter becaus
• Hans from Cambridge, MaOne weird lyrical inspiration it seems came from Steely Dan. In their song Deacon Blues, the lyrics are: "I cried when I wrote this song / Sue me if I play too long."
• Crazyc63312 from Pittsburgh, Pa"Weird Al" Yankovic mentions the line:
  'We're gonna party like it's 1899' in Amish Paradise, not exactly 1999, but close! Lol!
• John from Nashville, TnThe video for 1999 was one of the first videos to break the color barrier on MTV.
• Keithadv from Springfield, IlAlmost, Justin. He said he'd always loved that song, and so he based the horn intro of "1999" on the opening vocal harmony of "Monday Monday." But he wasn't done there. Next, he took the melody and chords from 1999 and rewrote that into "Manic Monday," completing the tribute to the original song. Yes, genius is the word for it.
• Mike from Hueytown , AlIve always heard that this song is about the End of the World , the Apocalypse. Prince was predicting it would end in 1999 or 2000.
• Marc from LondonPerhaps no other track showcases Prince's extraordinary talent to the same extent. It always sounds loud, punchy and fresh no matter how many times you hear it. Grayson is dead right.
• Grayson from Cleveland, Ohtruly amazing song. the man is a genious.
• Chelsea from Wichita, KsThe greatest line I think it 'But life is just a party and parties weren't meant 2 last' I love that line so much for some reason.
• Jake from Philadelphia, PaWow. All I can say about 1999 is that it is one of the best party songs. Whenever this song is played, people always dance to it. If you try to get the song, make sure you get the 6 minute album version because it is much better than the radio single. Prince is great!
• Fyodor from Denver, CoUnderground experimentalist the Evolution Control Committee parodied this with a compilation CD called "Party Like It's $19.99!"
• Rob from Vancouver, Canadaremixed by bif naked, dave matthews and somebody else(rob thomas?) in 1999 by a radio station in vancouver (c-fox)
• Nelson from MelbournePhil Collins was such a big fan of this song and Prince that 2 years later he wanted a similar sound when he wrote Sussudio.
• Ferdinand from Hilversum, NetherlandsThe other day I saw in a Dutch TV-show that 1999 was (albeit loosely) based on a melody of a Bach-etude. Unfortunately, I don't know which one...
• Justin from Austin, TxChord progression is that of Mamas & Papas'
  "Monday Monday". I think Prince said he based it
  on that. Anyone?
• Jam Kemal from Lindua, South AfricaHe performed it in 1999 for a special DVD. Amazing

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