Prince, "Sometimes It Snows in April"

I'm cribbing from two of my friends today. First, Mike, who responded to my quest for 1987 songs to blog about with a thoughtful list that included a few singles from Prince's magnum opus Sign 'O' the Times; then Jorge, who reminded me of another of Prince's works via an all-too-fitting quote on Facebook today.

"Sometimes It Snows in April" arrived a year earlier than my 1987 target. But I'm showcasing it today because (1) it did, in fact, snow on this April day in New York City; (2) it's a rare example of a Prince clip existing online - guess his copyright-control minions haven't come across it yet; and (3) it's a hell of a song. "Sometimes" may be the slowest song Prince ever recorded: some words are hard to say, so he takes his time. As a result it's possible (and compulsory) to pay close attention to every word he sings about a friend who's passed away. (His "only friend," at that - far from the only time he's said this of someone, which I find interesting.)

Prince closes, though, with a barely choked out line I refuse to agree with: "And love, it isn't love until it's past." True, you often don't know what you've got until it's gone - but then again, sometimes you do.