‘Thieves in the Temple’: The song Prince didn’t enjoy writing
1984’s Purple Rain might have painted a particularly harrowing picture of the life and career of Prince. Although not entirely biographical, the singer poured his heart and soul into a narrative that paralleled similar lines to his own rise to stardom, capturing everything from how his ego transitioned with fame to the struggles he endured at home. While he didn’t depict himself in the most flattering light, he left little room to speculate regarding the significant setbacks he endured.
Many of these trials and tribulations underscore his music, offering a glimpse into the hardships he faced not only in achieving fame alongside more privileged white counterparts but also with a family life that didn’t always exercise nurture. However, much of his work also sought some escape from these realities, appearing rhythmic and lighthearted enough to show that, despite all of this, Prince was an extraordinary performer who loved every moment he shared with a crowd.
Because much of his music seemed joyous rather than downbeat, he was able to exchange energy with the audience unlike any other. He often drew out songs or sets to elongate his showmanship and keep the crowd geared up no matter where he was headed. A true prodigy, when it came to understanding how to create great music that almost everybody could enjoy, Prince excelled because he came with an unspoken “fun” label without feeling too gravitated towards commercialism.
This was also the kind of music he genuinely wanted to make, proving he always upheld the kind of authenticity that’s easy to lose in the face of reinvention. But Prince rarely listened to others and enjoyed existing outside of the commodity wheel, knowing that he trusted himself and that anything he would do would land. As he once said, “I was just being who I was. Being the true Gemini that I am. And there’s um, there’s many sides in that as well.”
While this forms the basis of his entire legacy, there were rare moments when Prince felt uncomfortable in his own craft. He knew how to create hits that didn’t feel lacking in substance, mainly because they rode his own inner joy and happiness. However, he didn’t feel completely at home with the songs that tapped into something deeper and more intimate on an emotional level.
This challenge occurred when he was tasked with writing the Graffiti Bridge soundtrack with the last addition, ‘Thieves In The Temple’. An anger-driven song about accusing a lover of being deceitful, the song saw Prince accessing a rawer emotional territory, coming through in how he darted his voice from gentler crooning to a more biting register. Reflecting on the song to Rolling Stone in 1990, Prince admitted he felt a certain level of trepidation with the song, knowing that it wasn’t his usual game.
“I feel good most of the time, and I like to express that by writing from joy,” he explained, discussing what usually inspired him to write. He added: “I still do write from anger sometimes, like ‘Thieves in the Temple.’ But I don’t like to. It’s not a place to live.” Given the difficulties Prince faced during his life, it’s likely that this avoidance stemmed from a place of not wanting to entertain life’s darkness, knowing that he had endured enough of it growing up.
While it would never truly parish, his artistry celebrated the joyous aspects of life while remaining anchored in something real—darker, even. Perhaps this is why he continues to resonate today; instead of having a discography filled with radio-friendly hits, Prince made pop from the heart and didn’t filter anything he wanted to speak up about, whether that concerned love, loss, or deeper desires.
