The Ballad of Dorothy Parker

i adore this song. i could listen to it over and over again and never get bored. i understand the genral concept but does anyone know what inspired Prince to write this? and maybe who dorothy parker is? gorgeousness x

Dorothy Parker was an American wit in the 20s and 30s who wrote for the New Yorker. She was basically brilliant, and obviously, terribly witty. Ever heard that little saying, "men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses"? Well, she said that. She wrote poetry and short stories, mostly. Check out the Portable Dorothy Parker for a little taste of her. Which is a book. In case you had your doubts.

Dorothy was a waitress on the promenade She worked the night shift Dishwater blonde, tall and fine She got a lot of tips - She was hot.

Well, earlier I'd been talkin' stuff In a violent room Fighting with lovers past - Prince was fighting with the misses.

I needed someone with a quicker wit than mine Dorothy was fast - She was flirting.

Well, I ordered - "Yeah, let me get a fruit cocktail, I ain't 2 hungry" Dorothy laughed She said "Sounds like a real man 2 me" Kinda cute, U wanna take a bath? - Dorothy wants Prince to cheat on his wife.

I said "Cool, but I'm leaving my pants on" -she say- "Cuz I'm kind of going with someone" She said "Sounds like a real man 2 me" "Mind if I turn on the radio?" "Oh, my favorite song" she said And it was Joni singing "Help me I think I'm falling" -Ring- The phone rang and she said "Whoever's calling can't be as cute as U" Right then I knew I was through -Dorothy Parker was cool- - Dorothy is seducing him and he is falling for it.

My pants where wet, they came off But she didn't see the movie Cuz she hadn't read the book first - He prematurely ejaculated.

Instead she pretended she was blind An affliction brought on by a witch's curse - She was cool with it to make him comfortable.

Dorothy made me laugh -ha ha- I felt much better so I went back 2 the violent room -tell us what U did- Let me tell U what I did... - Prince goes back to his misses.

I took another bubble bath with my pants on All the fighting stopped Next time I'll do it sooner This is the ballad of Dorothy Parker - Prince took a bubble bath to stop the fighting, seduce his misses but all the while he thinks of Dorothy.

This is a great song!

Sonically, this song is very odd. There is an interesting reason: "The Ballad of Dorothy Parker" came to Prince in a dream and he was inspired to write a song about it. He wanted to work very quickly, waste no time, in order to capture the spirit of the dream. So he called his recording engineer, Susan Rogers, to the studio to record this new song. This studio had a console that Susan Rogers had never used before. As such, she began to test the audio wiring on the console to make sure everything was working properly. However, Prince began playing and told her "Let's record." So she stopped checking the wiring and simply began to record. Prince laid the entire track down - he played everything himself of course. Then he went upstairs and went to sleep. As she listened to the playback Susan realized something was wrong with the recording - it had no high-end whatsoever. Then she realized that the console had not been fully wired and so it was only recording at half power - not enough power to record the high-end. Susan was mortified and was worried that Prince would be angry. But he ended up loving how it sounded because it had a dreamy sound - like his actual dream.

To me it’s just a story. Prince generally isn’t a confessional songwriter, he’s more of a storyteller. So Dorothy Parker doesn’t exist. It’s a story about Prince’s idea for an ideal woman: beautiful and smart. But he appears to have found her while in a bad relationship with another woman because he mentions arguing with a lover and “kinda going with someone”. But he likes her so much he changes his mind and wants to be with her, yet she just flirts and plays hard to get. I think the “she didn’t see the movie because she hadn’t read the book” line is saying metaphorically she turned down his sex advances because she didn’t get to know him. But in the end he respects her for it. The “Violent Room” line is kind of confusing, I think maybe he’s talking about living in a bad relationship maybe?

Indeed a short,sweet song. The Violent room could just be a reference to her bedroom. I think at the end they did have sex.

It's a prince song what do you expect?! LOL, he's more predictable than ac/dc but i love him!

THis is one of my favorite songs by Prince. These lines are cool, and have gotten me out of this situation a few times:

Instead she pretended she was blind - meaning Dorthy ignored the premature ejeculation An affliction brought on by a witch's curse She didn't mpay attention to him, she couldn't have sex with him because seh was on her period.

this is one of if not my favorite prince songs. i think hes in a relationship with someone and their having relationship problems. you notice that when he says..

"Well, earlier I'd been talkin' stuff In a violent room Fighting with lovers past"

so he went to the diner to get things off his mind. while there he met this waitress named Dorthy, who he thought was very attractive. then he says..

"I needed someone with a quicker wit than mine Dorothy was fast". he wanted to find someone like him or someone he could relate too.

all the while Dorthy is flirting with him really hard. then she says "sounds like a real man to me, your kind of cute, wanna take a bath? hes starting to feel bad and thinks about his previous relationship. thats why he says.. "im kindof going with someone.

so then she says one thing that sends him over the edge, so then they have sex.

when their done he feels alot better so he went back to the violet room- which represents his previous relationship. and then takes a bubble bath with his lover like he did with Dorthy. then he says all the fighting stops and next time he would use that method sooner.

so basically that was his story with Dorthy Parker

this song may have a deeper meaning than this,because prince is such a deep person but this is just my take on the song

I loved this song the moment I heard it. I never heard anything like it before or since. Learning how it's sound was created from a happy accident just adds to its beauty. As I got older though the meaning behind the lyrics became apparent and clicked in my mind. And now I can't think of it any other way. Don't read if you have delicate sensibilities. I kind of feel like I'm revealing the secrets of a magic trick telling people this because it's much more profound if the meaning dawns on you.

In short, the song is about a prostitute named Dorothy Parker. He (not him personally, but the character in the song) had a fight with his girlfriend, the prostitute and him had sex with a condom on, but in the middle of the act he took it off, finished. Then he went home and had sex with his girlfriend with a condom on.

Just listen to the lyrics.

Dorothy was a waitress on the promenade She worked the night shift Dishwater blonde, tall and fine She got a lot of tips

This tells you she is a prostitute. Waitress on the promenade is a metaphor. She worked the night shift. "She got a lot of tips" is a reference to what you think it is.

Well, earlier I'd been talkin' stuff In a violent room Fighting with lovers past I needed someone with a quicker wit than mine Dorothy was fast

In this verse he had an argument with his girlfriend presumably about her ex-lovers. He feels jealous or insecure about them. The next line is a set up for the Dorothy was fast line. Fast as in willing or quick to have sex.

Well, I ordered, "Yeah, let me get a fruit cocktail, I ain't too hungry" Dorothy laughed She said "Sounds like a real man to me" "You're kinda cute, you want to take a bath? (Do you want to, do you want to, bath)

Now this fruit cocktail line is a reference to an old euphemism for a prostitute. When someone said a woman sells fruit cocktail on the corner that meant she was a prostitute So when he says he ordered a fruit cocktail it means he approached her for her services. The next line is in reference to how ladies of the night compliment and praise tricks to entice them into making a purchase. When she asks him if he wants to take a bath she'd really asking if he wants to have intercourse.

Awh I said "Cool, but I'm leaving my pants on" (what you say) "'Cause I'm kind of going with someone" She said "Sounds like a real man to me" "Mind if I turn on the radio?" "Oh, my favorite song" she said And it was Joni singing "Help me I think I'm falling"

The next line is him saying yes and that he will wear a condom because he has a girlfriend... maybe (because they had a fight.) Now this line is taken from an old joke/saying stating that having sex with a condom on is like taking a bath with your pants on. She then compliments his prudence. And she turns on some music.

Brrring the phone rang and she said "Whoever's calling can't be as cute as you" Right then I knew I was through (Dorothy Parker was cool)

She's getting calls from other tricks, and she ignores them, focusing on him, not rushing the encounter for other clients. By her doing this he knew he was in for one eventful night and confirms it by whispering for emphasis that she was cool. He got that Podrick treatment. GoT fans know what's up.

My pants where wet, they came off But she didn't see the movie 'Cause she hadn't read the book first

Due to the state of heightened lubrication he removed the condom. The line "she didn't see the movie because she hadn't read the book first" illustrates her willful ignorance to him removing the condom.

Instead she pretended she was blind An affliction brought on by a witch's curse Dorothy made me laugh (ha ha) I felt much better so I went back To the violent room (tell us what you did) Let me tell you what I did

She played like she didn't see him do it. They enjoyed each other and he felt better. So, he went home to his girlfriend.

I took another bubble bath with my pants on All the fighting stopped Next time I'll do it sooner This is the ballad of Dorothy Parker

He had sex with his girlfriend with a condom on and that calmed the situation and fighting down. Basically, his girl was tripping or he was tripping over her exes and he got some on the side to calm down enough to handle her.

Sorry to pull back the curtain on this song, but this is the Ballad of Dorothy Parker.

[Edit: Clarity]