The Cross
~ Song
Annotation
As Prince became a Jehovah’s Witness, he began to change the lyrics when performing the song live, reflecting his newer beliefs that Jesus died on "stauros" (a single stake, rather than a two-beamed cross), and the song became known as The Christ, causing some controversy among Prince’s online fanbase. The song was performed this way, with contributions from Larry Graham and Chaka Khan, on the 11th annual Essence Awards in 1998.
Annotation last modified on 2024-05-18 04:25 UTC.
Relationships
| lyricist and composer: | Prince (“The Artist Formerly Known as…”) |
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| publisher: | Warner Chappell Music Ltd. (no slash; used 1988–1996) |
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| SecondHandSongs: | https://secondhandsongs.com/work/11288 [info] |
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Recordings
| Date | Title | Attributes | Artist | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| recordings | ||||
| 1987-02-21 | The Cross (rehearsal, 1987-02-21: Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA) | Prince | 5:50 | |
| 1987-02-21 | The Cross (rehearsal, 1987‐02‐21: Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA) | Prince | 5:36 | |
| 1987-04-02 | The Cross (rehearsal, 1987-04-02: Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA) | Prince | 5:15 | |
| 1987-04-02 | The Cross (rehearsal, 1987‐04‐02: Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA) | Prince | 5:26 | |
| 1987-04 | The Cross (rehearsal, 1987‐04: National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham, UK) | Prince | 5:59 | |
| 1987-05-29 | The Cross (live, 1987‐05‐29: Wiener Stadthalle, Halle D, Wien, Austria) | live | Prince | 6:07 |
| 1987-06-17 | The Cross (live, 1987‐06‐17: Palais Omnisports de Paris‐Bercy, Paris, France) | live | Prince | 7:24 |
| 1987-06-17 | The Cross (live, 1987‐06‐17: Palais Omnisports de Paris‐Bercy, Paris, France) | live | Prince | 6:52 |
| 1987-06-17 | The Cross (live, 1987-06-17: Palais Omnisports, Paris, France) | Prince | 7:44 | |
| 1987-06-20 | The Cross (live, 1987‐06‐20: Stadion Galgenwaard, Utrecht, Netherlands) | live | Prince | 7:44 |
| 1987-06-27 | Sign “☮︎” the Times (concert film) | live | Prince | 1:21:17 |
| 1987-06-27 | The Cross (live, 1987‐06‐27: Ahoy Arena, Rotterdam, Netherlands) | live | Prince | 6:24 |
| 1987-06-27 | The Cross (live, 1987‐06‐27: Ahoy Arena, Rotterdam, Netherlands) | live | Prince | 6:39 |
| 1987-06 | The Cross (live, 1987‐06: Paris, France) | Prince | 7:25 | |
| 1987 | The Cross (live, 1987) | live | Prince | 6:39 |
| 1988-01 – 1988-05 | The Cross (rehearsal, 1988: Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA) | partial | Prince feat. Sheila E. | 0:31 |
| 1988-01 – 1988-05 | The Cross (rehearsal, 1988: Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA) | partial | Prince feat. Sheila E. | 1:46 |
| 1988-04 | The Cross (rehearsal, 1988-04: Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA) | partial | Prince | 1:34 |
| 1988-06 | The Cross (rehearsal, 1988-06: Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA) | partial | Prince | 5:32 |
| 1988-07-08 | The Cross (live, 1988‐07‐08: Palais Omnisports de Paris‐Bercy, Paris, France) | live | Prince | 5:18 |
| 1988-07-19 | The Cross (live, 1988‐07‐19: PalaTrussardi, Milano, Italy) | live | Prince | 6:02 |
| 1988-09-09 | The Cross (live, 1988‐09‐09: Westfalenhalle 1, Dortmund, Germany) | live | Prince | 4:30 |
| 1988-09-09 | The Cross (live, 1988‐09‐09: Westfalenhalle 1, Dortmund, Germany) | live | Prince | 7:19 |
| 1988-09-09 | The Cross (live, 1988‐09‐09: Westfalenhalle 1, Dortmund, Germany) | live | Prince | 4:29 |
| 1988-10 – 1988-11 | The Cross / Hole / Yellow Hedgerow Dreamscape | cover, live and medley | Porcupine Tree | 20:40 |
| 1989-02-01 | The Cross (live, 1989‐02‐01: Sendai Gymnasium, Sendai, Japan) | live | Prince | 5:35 |
| 1989-02-07 | The Cross (live, 1989‐02‐07: Rainbow Hall, Nagoya, Japan) | live | Prince | 5:46 |
| 1989-02-12 | The Cross (live, soundcheck, 1989‐02‐12: Osaka-jō Hall, Osaka, Japan) | live | Prince | 5:20 |
| 1989-02-12 | The Cross (live, 1989‐02‐12: Osaka-jō Hall, Osaka, Japan) | live | Prince | 5:13 |
| 1993-08-02 | The Cross (live, 1993‐08‐02: Sheffield Arena, Sheffield, UK) | live | Prince | 4:38 |
| 1993-09-03 | The Cross (live, 1993‐09‐03: Flugplatz Lüneburg, Lüneburg, Germany) | live | Prince and The New Power Generation | 4:18 |
| 1995-03-31 | The Cross (live, 1995‐03‐31: The Pod, Dublin, Ireland) | live | Prince feat. Bono | 5:53 |
| 1995-03-31 | The Cross (live, 1995‐03‐31: The Pod, Dublin, Ireland) | live | Prince & Bono | 5:41 |
| 1995-08-05 | The Cross (live, 1995‐08‐05: Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA) | live | Prince | 5:13 |
| 1995-09-03 | The Cross (live, 1995‐09‐03: Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA) | live | Prince | 3:24 |
| 1995-09-18 | The Cross (live, 1995‐09‐18: Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA) | live | Prince | 3:30 |
| 1996-01-09 | The Cross (live, 1996‐01‐09: Nippon Budokan, Chiyoda, Japan) | live | Prince | 3:42 |
| 1996-01-17 | The Cross (live, 1996‐01‐17: Nippon Budokan, Chiyoda, Japan) | live | Prince | 3:47 |
| 1996-01-20 | The Cross (live, 1996‐01‐20: Yokohama Arena, Yokohama, Japan) | live | Prince | 4:25 |
| 1996-04-24 | The Cross (live, 1996-04-24: Tacoma, WA, USA) | cover and live | Bush | ?:?? |
| 1996-12-02 | The Cross (live, 1996-12-02: Batschkapp, Frankfurt, Germany) | cover and live | Laibach | 5:18 |
| 1997-01-08 | The Cross (live, 1997‐01‐08: The Roxy, Boston, MA, USA) | live | Prince | 4:46 |
| 1997-01-11 | The Cross (live, 1997‐01‐11: Roseland Ballroom, New York, NY, USA) | live | Prince | 6:52 |
| 1997-01-19 | The Cross (live, 1997‐01‐19: Atlanta Live, Atlanta, GA, USA) | live | The Artist & The NPG | 5:22 |
| 1997-02-16 | The Cross (live, 1997‐02‐16: Neal S. Blaisdell Center Arena, Honolulu, HI, USA) | live | Prince | 5:43 |
| 1997-02-16 | The Cross (live, 1997‐02‐16: Neal S. Blaisdell Center Arena, Honolulu, HI, USA) | live | Prince | 4:12 |
| 1997-06-05 | The Cross (live, 1997‐06‐05: The Warehouse, Toronto, ON, Canada) | live | Prince | 4:39 |
| 1997-09-10 | The Cross (live, 1997-09-10: Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA) | live | Prince | 5:02 |
| 1997-10-10 | The Cross (live, 1997‐10‐10: Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA, USA) | live | Prince | 3:56 |
| 1997-10-10 | The Cross (live, 1997‐10‐10: Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA, USA) | live | Prince | 3:56 |
| 1997-10-31 | The Cross (live, 1997-10-31: Civic Center, Mobile, AL, USA) | live | Prince | 4:14 |
| 1998-04-10 | The Christ (live, 1998‐04‐10: “11th Annual Essence Awards”, Madison Square Garden Theater, New York, NY, USA) | live | Prince | 5:03 |
| 1998-04-10 | The Christ (live, 1998‐04‐10: “11th Annual Essence Awards”, Madison Square Garden Theater, New York, NY, USA) | live | Prince | 5:02 |
| 1998-04-10 | The Christ (live, 1998‐04‐10: “11th Annual Essence Awards”, The Theater at Madison Square Garden, New York, NY, USA) | live | Prince | 4:50 |
| 1998-04-10 | The Christ (live, 1998‐04‐10: “11th Annual Essence Awards”, Madison Square Garden Theater, New York, NY, USA) | live | Prince | 5:03 |
| 1998-08-11 | The Christ (live, 1998‐08‐11: Ahoy Arena, Rotterdam, Netherlands) | live | Prince | 8:01 |
| 1998-08-16 | The Christ (live, 1998‐08‐16: Hovet, Stockholm, Sweden) | live | Prince | 5:08 |
| 1998-08-21 | The Christ (live, 1998‐08‐21: Le Zénith, Paris, France) | live | Prince | 1:28 |
| 1998-08-23 | The Christ (live, 1998‐08‐23: Hallenstadion, Zurich, Switzerland) | live | Prince | 3:55 |
| 1998-12-17 | The Christ (live, 1998‐12‐17: Sala Multiusos, Zaragoza, Spain) | live | Prince & The New Power Generation | 4:17 |
| 1998-12-18 | The Christ (live, 1998‐12‐18: Palau Sant Jordi, Barcelona, Spain) | live | Prince | 4:37 |
| 1998-12-22 | The Christ (live, 1998‐12‐22: Festhalle Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany) | live | Prince | 4:23 |
| 1998-12-26 | The Christ (live, 1998‐12‐26: Hanns‐Martin‐Schleyer‐Halle, Stuttgart, Germany) | live | Prince | 4:36 |
| 1998-12-27 | The Christ (live, 1998‐12‐27: Kölnarena, Köln, Germany) | live | Prince | 4:19 |
| 1998-12-28 | The Christ (live, 1998‐12‐28: Flanders Expo, Ghent, Belgium) | live | Prince & New Power Generation | 4:43 |
| 1999-12-18 | The Christ (live, 1999‐12‐18: Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA) | live | Prince | 5:06 |
| 1999-12-18 | The Christ (live, 1999‐12‐18: Paisley Park Studios, Chanhassen, MN, USA) | live | Prince | 5:15 |
| 2002-03-09 | The Christ (live, 2002‐03‐09: The Louisville Palace, Louisville, KY, USA) | live | Prince | 2:10 |
| 2007-07-07 | The Cross (live, 2007‐07‐07: Target Center, Minneapolis, MN, USA) | live and partial | Prince | 0:35 |
| 2020-01-28 | The Cross (live, 2020‐01‐28: Los Angeles Convention Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA) | cover and live | Gary Clark Jr. | 4:01 |
| The Cross | cover | Simon Joyner & Refrigerator | 4:58 | |
| The Cross | cover | Jonah Matranga | 2:39 | |
| The Cross | cover | Audrey Horne | 4:57 | |
| The Cross | cover | Heroina | 9:07 | |
| The Cross | cover | Jubilettes | 4:23 | |
| The Cross | cover | Laibach | 4:55 | |
| The Cross | cover | Tellusalie | 4:58 | |
| The Cross | Prince & The Revolution | 4:42 | ||
| The Cross | Prince | 4:42 | ||
| The Cross | cover | Laibach | 4:52 | |
| The Cross (live) | cover and live | Simple Minds | 5:13 | |
| The Cross | Prince | 4:48 | ||
| The Cross / Hole / Yellow Hedgerow Dreamscape | cover | Porcupine Tree | 20:40 | |