Music / Around the World in a Day

A wonderful trip through our time
And laughter is all U pay

I was working part time in a five-and-dime
My boss was Mr. McGee
He told me several times that he didn't like my kind
'Cause I was a bit 2 leisurely

Seems that I was busy doing something close 2 nothing
But different than the day before
That's when I saw her, Ooh, I saw her
She walked in through the out door, out door.

— "Raspberry Beret"

Around the World in a Day is the seventh studio album recorded by American funk/rock musician Prince, and his third album with The Revolution as his backing band. It was released through Warner Bros. Records—through Prince's new Paisley Park Records label—on April 22, 1985.

For the follow-up to the immensely popular and iconic Purple Rain, Prince decided to explore a little psychedelia. The Title Track, and the inspiration for the rest of the album, started as a demo recorded by Lisa Coleman's brother, David. The cover for the album was compared to The Beatles' own trip into Psychedelic Rock, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

But Prince himself disavowed any sound comparisons between this album and that one.

Immediate critical response was somewhat mixed. It was given a C by Entertainment Weekly, and was rated 2.5 out of 5 stars by Rolling Stone's Album Guide. Retrospective looks, however, have been far more kind. Simon Price of British newspaper The Guardian said that the album "always sounds better than you think it will, when you revisit."

Commercially, it did well. It topped the Billboard 200 album chart, and went double-Platinum in the United States. It also hit #5 on the Official Charts Company album chart, and went Gold in the United Kingdom.

Four singles supported the album: "Raspberry Beret" and "Pop Life" were both global, while "Paisley Park" was Commonwealth-only, and "America" was US-only. The two global releases were both Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, with "Raspberry Beret" hitting #2 (though it did reach #1 on the Cash Box Top 100).

"Raspberry Beret" would be one of the Prince singles that would return to the charts following his death in 2016, hitting #33 on the Billboard Hot 100, and #9 on the Nielsen Music R&B Digital Song chart.

Tracklist

Side One

1. "Around the World in a Day" (3:28)
2. "Paisley Park" (4:42)
3. "Condition of the Heart" (6:48)
4. "Raspberry Beret" (3:33)
5. "Tamborine" (2:47)

Side Two

6. "America" (3:42)
7. "Pop Life" (3:43)
8. "The Ladder" (5:29)
9. "Temptation" (8:18)

"Tell me, what's the matter with your tropes?"

• Alternate Album Cover: The original CD release was in a longbox-sized gatefold package, with the CD held in a card sleeve tucked in a slot inside the gatefold. Later pressings would do away with this in favor of a conventional jewel case.
• An Aesop: "Temptation"'s Aesop is "Love is better than sex".
• Big Beautiful Woman: As the second verse of "Raspberry Beret" begins, remember that Prince is not—and never was—a big man in either dimension:
  Built like she was, she had the nerve to ask me
  If I planned to do her any harm
• Brainless Beauty: The girl in "Raspberry Beret":
  She wasn't too bright, but I could tell when she kissed me
  She knew how to get her kicks
• Crapsack World: "America" takes a dim look at some of the conditions that poor Americans face.
• Design Student's Orgasm: The album art is a painting of an elaborate, psychedelic landscape, tying in with the shift to Psychedelic Rock.
• Drugs Are Bad: The fourth verse in "Pop Life" admonishes the prevalence of cocaine in the '80s, describing it as an easy path to addiction and stating that "you think it's hot, but there won't be no water when the fire blows."
• Epic Rocking: Played straight with "Temptation" (8:18). Averted with "Condition of the Heart", which is, while epic in length (6:48), a soft ballad.
• Forgiveness: The second verse of "Paisley Park" is about a woman whose husband was "naughty" and died "without knowing forgiveness". The narrator then suggests that she come to Paisley Park and forgive him.
• Halfway Plot Switch: "Raspberry Beret" starts off with the narrator telling how he used to work in a 5 and Dime and how his Bad Boss, Mr. McGee, didn't like him and his race for being "too leisurely". However, when the girl walks into the store, it quickly shifts to a story about the narrator's first time.
• Longest Song Goes Last: "Temptation" (8:18) closes the album.
• Lust: "Temptation" is about sexual lust.
• Spoken Word in Music: Prince has a monologue at the end of "Temptation", which turns into a conversation with God (played by Prince, with his vocals pitch-shifted down).
• Their First Time: The singer in "Raspberry Beret" is talking about how he lost his virginity in a barn.
• Utopia: The titular park in "Paisley Park" is an example, serving as a place for others to find peace.

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