"I Would Die 4 U" is a song by Prince and the Revolution, the fourth single in the US from their 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.

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 has 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. Although during that period of his life Prince was socially very solitary, he insisted that "Another Lonely Christmas" was a fictional story.

  • Prince – lead and backing vocals, electric guitar, piano, synthesizers
  • Wendy Melvoin – electric guitar, backing vocals
  • Lisa Coleman – synthesizers, backing vocals
  • Matt Fink – synthesizers, Memorymoog, Linn LM-1
  • Brown Mark – bass guitar
  • Bobby Z. – Linn LM-1, Pearl SY-1 Syncussion, cymbals

Charts

Weekly charts

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

|+Weekly chart performance for "I Would Die 4 U"

! scope="col"| Chart (1984–1985)

! scope="col"| Peak<br />position

|-

|-

! scope="row"| Canadian Singles Chart

|align="center"|12

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|}

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"

|+2016 weekly chart performance for "I Would Die 4 U"

! scope="col"| Chart (2016)

! scope="col"| Peak<br />position

|-

|}

Year-end charts

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"

|+Year-end chart performance for "I Would Die 4 U"

! scope="col"| Chart (1985)

! scope="col"| Position

|-

! scope="row"| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)

| 55

|-

! scope="row"| Netherlands (Single Top 100)

| 85

|}

Cover versions

  • French-British musician Space Cowboy released his version in 2002; it peaked at number 55 on the UK Singles Chart. It was his first official single released under the name Space Cowboy.
  • English singer-songwriter Holly Humberstone covered the song in 2022.

References

  • Dedicated Prince site featuring "I Would Die 4 U" lyrics and B-side track "Another Lonely Christmas" lyrics