When You Were Mine (Prince song)
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| "When You Were Mine" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| B-side | "I'll Kiss You" |
"When You Were Mine" is a song written and released by Prince on his 1980 album, Dirty Mind.[1] Though not released as a single, the song received a promotional 12" release (which included "Gotta Broken Heart Again" and "Uptown"). "When You Were Mine" was later the B-side for Prince's "Controversy" single in 1981.
Prince has performed the song many times in concert, and a live version was included on his 2002 live album, One Nite Alone... Live!. The original studio version was also included on The Hits/The B-Sides in 1993. Prince said he was inspired to write the rock song while listening to John Lennon. The track includes a Farfisa-inspired organ sound played on an Oberheim OB-X.
Cyndi Lauper version
Cyndi Lauper's mid-tempo ballad cover version of "When You Were Mine" is also synthesizer-based for her 1983 debut album, She's So Unusual.[1] Lauper recorded the song with the original lyrics, casually indicating and accepting the bisexuality of the ex-partner being sung about. She performed the single at the 1985 American Music Awards. It was released exclusively as a promotional single in the United States and received a commercial release in Canada and Japan.
Charts
| Chart (1985) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Singles Chart | 62 |
Cover versions
Iain Matthews and David Surkamp's Seattle-based band Hi-Fi were the first to record a cover version of the song, for their 1981 album Moods for Mallards. The version features Matthews on lead vocals. It was released on cd in 2006 by Blue Rose Records on the compilation, Hi-Fi: Complete Works.
In 1983, Mitch Ryder released his cover of "When You Were Mine" as a single. It was also a track on his album Never Kick a Sleeping Dog. The single featured production work by John Mellencamp and was released on his record label, Riva Records. The track received some airplay in the United States and charted on the Billboard Hot 100. The video starred Kitten Natividad. Ryder's version also appeared in the 1984 film Hot Dog... The Movie.
Other cover versions
- Bette Bright and The Illuminations released a 7" single on the Korova label in 1981, and on the 1981 album Rhythm Breaks the Ice.
- New York No Wave singer Cristina for her 1984 album, Sleep It Off.
- The Blue Rubies (Susan Maunu and Mitzi Johnson) performed a version accompanied only by a lute. It can be heard on the 1989 compilation, Legacy: A Collection of New Folk Music.
- Swiss band Züri West released a Swiss German version, "I ha di gärn gha", on their 1994 album Züri West.
- Stop (Spice Girls song) uses the verse melody with slightly altered phrasing.
- Australian singer Penny Flanagan released an acoustic version on her 1996 album, Seven Flights Up.
- Japanese rock band The Pillows on the B-side of their 1996 single, "Swanky Street".
- Japanese rock band Coaltar of the Deepers on the White ep. & Sinking slowly.
- Ani DiFranco performed the song with Maceo Parker as an encore live performance in Minnesota in 1999. DiFranco and Parker often collaborated with Prince.
- Crooked Fingers on their 2002 EP, Reservoir Songs.
- Casiotone for the Painfully Alone on their 2005 single, "Young Shields".
- Boyracer on their 2007 release, Jukebox Volume One.
- Australian alternative rock band Grinspoon recorded a cover for radio station Triple J's popular Like a Version segment, and it appears on the 2010 album, Like a Version: Volume Six.
- Tegan and Sara
- Dent May & His Magnificent Ukulele
- Heidi Mortenson from the free double album Run For Covers (2010)
- Mitch Ryder on his 1983 album "Never Kick A Sleeping Dog"
- Good Luck cover the song on their "Demonstration 2010" EP.[2]
- Roxy Music song "Avalon" from 1982, the saxophone part is a slower version of the original Prince song.
- Lake Street Dive performed their cover on the October 15, 2016 episode of Prairie Home Companion.