I Would Die 4 U

"I Would Die 4 U"
US 7" single
Single by Prince and the Revolution
from the album Purple Rain
B-side
  • "Another Lonely Christmas"
  • "Free" (UK 12")
ReleasedNovember 28, 1984
Recorded
Genre
Length2:51 (album version)
2:57 (single version)
10:15 (12-inch version)
LabelWarner Bros.
SongwriterPrince
ProducerPrince
Prince singles chronology
"Purple Rain"
(1984)		 "I Would Die 4 U"
(1984)		 "Take Me with U"
(1985)
Purple Rain singles chronology
Jungle Love
(1984)		 I Would Die 4 U
(1984)		 The Bird
(1984)

"I Would Die 4 U" is a song by Prince and the Revolution, the fourth single in the US from his 1984 album, Purple Rain. The up-tempo dance song was a top 10 hit—the final one from the album—in the US, reaching number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Reception

Cash Box called the song "a practice in restrained ecstasy" in which "Prince delivers one of his finest and most passionate...vocal performances." Billboard called it "electrifying", saying that "the nervous excitement zaps like a high-tension wire."

"I Would Die 4 U" is often played in sequence with "Baby I'm a Star", the track following it, on Purple Rain. As of April 30, 2016, it had sold 561,772 copies in the United States.

"Another Lonely Christmas"

The B-side, "Another Lonely Christmas", is a melancholy account of a man mourning his lover, who had died from pneumonia on a previous Christmas Day. Prince recorded "Another Lonely Christmas" in February 1984. Despite the fact that, during that period of his life, Prince was very solitary, he insisted that "Another Lonely Christmas" was a fictional story. The song has been compared to "Sometimes It Snows in April", from the 1986 album Parade. He performed "Another Lonely Christmas" live only one time, on the day after Christmas, December 26, 1984, at the St. Paul Civic Center in Minnesota.

Alternate versions

The extended version of "I Would Die 4 U" is actually a rehearsal jam on the song with the Revolution and musicians from Sheila E.'s band, Eddie M (on sax) and Miko Weaver (guitar), along with Sheila E. herself recorded some time before the Purple Rain Tour. The jam features some overdubbing and fades at the end; a longer version, nearly 31 minutes long, was never released officially, but has been bootlegged. The extended mix was also used as the B-side of the 1989 "Erotic City" single (the artwork of which features the same image of Prince that was used for this single's cover).

The B-side of the UK 12" single release includes "Another Lonely Christmas" as well as the 1999 track "Free".

Track listings

7": Paisley Park / 7-29121 (US)

  1. "I Would Die 4 U" (single version) – 2:57
  2. "Another Lonely Christmas" – 4:51

12": Paisley Park / 9 20291-0 (US)

  1. "I Would Die 4 U" (extended version) – 10:15
  2. "Another Lonely Christmas" (extended version) – 6:47

12": Warner Bros. / W9121T (UK)

  1. "I Would Die 4 U" (single version) – 2:57
  2. "Another Lonely Christmas" – 4:51
  3. "Free" – 5:00

Personnel

Credits adapted from Duane Tudahl, Benoît Clerc, and Guitarcloud.

Charts

Cover versions

References

  1. ↑ "Staff Picks: 50 Best Rock Love Songs". Billboard.com. Feb 11, 2025. Retrieved Aug 12, 2026.
  2. ↑ Treble Staff (May 11, 2020). "A History of Synth-Pop in 50 Essential Songs". Treble. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
  3. ↑ "Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. December 15, 1984. p. 7. Retrieved 2022-07-26.
  4. ↑ "Reviews". Billboard. December 15, 1984. p. 72. Retrieved 2023-02-10.
  5. ↑ "Hip Hop Single Sales: Prince, Desiigner & Drake". HipHopDX. April 30, 2016. Archived from the original on May 1, 2016. Retrieved April 30, 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Ross, Alex Robert. "Prince's Only Christmas Song Is Still Completely Devastating", Vice (Dec. 11, 2018).
  7. 1 2 Needham, Jack. "The story behind Prince's lost Christmas song", Red Bull (December 20, 2019).
  8. ↑ "I Would Die 4 U – Dance / Music / Sex / Romance". 2021-05-07. Retrieved 2026-07-11.
  9. ↑ Tudahl, Duane (2018). Prince and the Purple Rain Era Studio Sessions: 1983 and 1984 (Expanded ed.). Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 9781538116432.
  10. ↑ Clerc, Benoît (October 2022). Prince: All the Songs. Octopus. ISBN 9781784728816.
  11. ↑ "Purple Rain". guitarcloud.org. Retrieved 2023-05-02.
  12. ↑ "Moog Memorymoog". guitarcloud.org. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
  13. ↑ "Prince and the Revolution – I Would Die 4 U" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  14. ↑ Lwin, Nanda. Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide (2000).
  15. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 4, 1985" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
  16. ↑ "Prince and the Revolution – I Would Die 4 U" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Official Singles Chart on 30/12/1984 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  18. ↑ "Prince Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  19. ↑ "Prince Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  20. ↑ "Prince Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  21. ↑ "Prince and the Revolution – I Would Die 4 U" (in French). Le classement de singles. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
  22. ↑ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1985". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
  23. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1985". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved April 18, 2021.
  24. ↑ "I WOULD DIE 4 U – SPACE COWBOY". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 March 2026.
  25. ↑ "Wolf Alice, Holly Humberstone and more reimagine '80s songs on new Deezer InVersions album". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 19 March 2026.