The song itself offers little insight into the meaning behind its lyrics: Prince simply wants to see an unnamed individual laugh, bathe and stand under purple rain. According to Australia's Sydney Morning Herald, the track may actually be dedicated to multiple muses as, although "Purple Rain" may not be Prince's lyrically most complex or musically dazzling song", it is "essentially written in the voice of the kid, who is the lead character in the film Purple Rain. Each verse is reputedly sung about someone close to the kid."
According to Smooth Radio, Prince has always tiptoed around pinpointing an exact meaning for the song. Instead, he has only provided fans with the abstract answer of: "When there's blood in the sky – red and blue = purple... purple rain pertains to the end of the world and being with the one you love and letting your faith/god guide you through the purple rain."
