Handwritten draft of lyrics for 'I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man' entirely in Prince's hand, one page on the reverse of a sheet printed with "Prince" in four different fonts, 9 x 12, no date. The lyrics begin, in part: "It was only last June when her old man ran away / She couldn't stop crying cause she knew he was gone to stay / It was 10:35 on a lonely Friday Night. / That was when I first saw her, ooh, she was lookin' alright. / I asked if she wanted to dance and she said that all she / wanted was a good man and she wanted to know if I thought / I was qualified, and I said, / Baby don't waste your time. I know what's on your mind. / I may be qualified for a one-night stand but I could never / take the place of your man." These lyrics close with a slightly revised version of the chorus: "Baby stop wasting your time. I know what's / on your mind, I won't be satisfied with a one-night / stand and I could never take the place of your man, but I'll try, / but I'll sure as hell try." In fine condition, with a short tear to the right edge touching one word. From the collection of an early Prince insider.
While initial tracking for 'I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man' took place at Prince's Kiowa Trail Home Studio in the spring-summer of 1982, the song was not released until 1987 when it was featured on Prince's ninth album, Sign o' the Times. These lyrics boast a few substantive differences from the track as released: namely, the line "That was when I first saw her" in the first verse was replaced with 'She was standin' by the bar,' and the second version of the chorus—with "but I'll try, / but I'll sure as hell try"—went unused. Today, 'I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man' is considered one of Prince's classic tunes and it has been covered by numerous artists. An extraordinary handwritten piece for one of Prince's essential hits.
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