Today on the Sunday afternoon of the Purple One’s birthday, when you will undoubtedly see his whole sexy catalog shared, it seemed most fitting for me to start the day at church instead.
Prince recorded his improvised blues version of “Mary Don’t You Weep” in 1983, but it’d been sung by enslaved people since well before the Civil War. First published in 1915, the song is registered as an “African-American spiritual” in The Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry for its “cultural, artistic and/or historical significance to American society and the nation’s audio legacy.”
Released in 2018 after Prince’s death, the video visually honors the work he did for black lives. After Freddie Gray’s murder at the hands of Baltimore police in 2015, Prince more actively sought change on issues affecting the black community, including the topic of gun violence depicted here.
“Mary Don’t You Weep” is Prince stripped down raw to just a piano and his voice, but it’s clearly all he needs. He bounds from his signature, fluttering falsetto to his always unexpected baritone throughout the song, a vocal feat made even more impressive when if you listen closely, you can hear that he’s recording with a head cold. And what can I say about his instrumental ability that hasn’t already been said? His talent on piano, like everything else, is indescribable.
A moving tribute to the memories of The Artist, black lives, and the enslaved people who found the courage to sing even when all hope seemed lost, “Mary Don’t You Weep” weaves absolute heartbreak and empathy into a sense of purpose and resolve that’ll touch your soul and linger there.
𝗟𝗜𝗡𝗘𝗦 𝗧𝗢 𝗟𝗢𝗩𝗘:
“I got that bad, bad feeling
Your man ain’t coming home”