As the world marks the 10th anniversary of Prince’s death, the star’s estate has leant into the emotion of the moment by releasing a song from the Paisley Park vault called With This Tear.
Although we’ve heard leaked audio of Prince’s version of the song in the past, this is the first time that there’s been an official release. Newly mixed and mastered by Chris James, it was recorded in November 1991, with Prince producing, arranging, composing, and performing everything himself.
Prince never released the song under his own name, though; instead, it was offered to Celine Dion, who was happy to accept it and included it on her eponymous 1992 album.
Article continues below“With This Tear is one of the most beautiful songs I’ve ever heard or felt,” said Dion in the album’s liner notes. “Thank you for the honour”.
According to Dion’s website, it’s rumoured that Prince decided he wanted to write a song for her after hearing her duet with Peabo Bryson on Beauty and the Beast, the title track of the animated Disney film from 1991.
The Prince Vault website, meanwhile, reports that when Prince sent the demo of the song to Dion’s husband and manager, René Angélil, he accompanied it with a note that said: "If I could choose the producer for this song, it would be Walter Afanasieff."
As luck would have it, Dion had just started working with Afanasieff at the time, so Prince got his wish and Dion’s version was indeed produced by him.
As you might expect, With This tear doesn’t scrimp on the sentimentality. The video includes a spoken word intro from Prince, reflecting on the musical dreams he had in his youth – dreams that, as we now know, he would go on to fulfil.
The song itself is a sweeping ballad – not a classic, by any means, but when combined with the archive footage and photos that provide a timeline of Prince’s career, can’t fail to at least slightly stir the emotions.
Reacting to the release of Prince’s version, Dion said on Instagram: “With This Tear was a gift from Prince that I will always treasure. I have carried this song with me for so many years. To now hear his version, shared for the very first time, feels truly special.”
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