Raspberry Beret

Raspberry Beret” is the psychedelic upbeat pop rock track from Prince’s 1985 album “Around the World in a Day”. The track was originally demoed in 1982, but was massively reworked by the time it was released due to the inspiration he had from his backing band (The Revolution) with sounds of a more psychedelic string sound and middle eastern finger cymbals.

“Raspberry Beret” is a very visual song, describing a girl in a raspberry coloured beret and the lust and attraction the narrator of the song feels towards her. The song also addresses a first sexual experience (“Listen, they say the first time ain’t the greatest”), which could then give the song the context of a first love situation., as well as all the different activites the narrator and the girl do together. The song is one of Prince’s more “pop-py” tracks and is also a concert staple.

The music video was uploaded on the official Prince YouTube channel on the 28th July 2017 and has almost 15 million views. However, there was no information provided on the director, producer or editor of the video. It features Prince and his backing band The Revolution on a stage with psychedelic and trippy style visuals, surrounded by people dancing, as well as a few animated hand drawings.

Release Date: 15th May 1984

Songwriter/s: Prince

Producer/s: Prince

Label: Warner Bros, Paisley Park

Chart Rankings: #33 Billboard Hot 100 following the week of Prince’s death.