Lisa Coleman also told Louder Sound that the song was a breakthrough success for their band.
"We had struggled for a couple of years, trying to write one song for a Black music station, and one for a rock station," she revealed. "But 'Purple Rain' the song was played on every kind of radio station, from country to Americana to rock ballad. And it's just so perfect that it came from Prince, who nobody knew what to make of. Are you serious? Who is this guy?"
The lyrics proved just as confusing as Prince's own presence as a musician. In the context of the movie Purple Rain, according to NME, each verse addresses a different group of people in his character The Kid's life. His pleas of "I never meant to cause you any sorrow / I never meant to cause you any pain" and the invitation "Let me guide you to the purple rain" (via Genius) are directed to his parents, Apollonia, and his bandmates.
