"When Doves Cry" is a song by American musician Prince, and the lead single from his sixth studio album Purple Rain.

According to the DVD commentary of the film Purple Rain (1984), Prince was asked by director Albert Magnoli to write a song to match the theme of a particular segment of the film that involved Prince's character The Kid's intermingled parental difficulties with his father Francis L. (Clarence Williams III) and mother (Olga Karlatos) and a love affair with Apollonia (Apollonia Kotero).

According to Prince's biographer Per Nilsen, the song was inspired by his relationship with Vanity 6 member Susan Moonsie.

Following Prince's death in 2016, the song re-charted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart at number eight, its first appearance in the top 10 since the week ending September 1, 1984.

It opens with white doves emerging from double doors to reveal Prince in a bathtub, then shows him performing the song in various scenes.

[10] The song features a guitar solo intro and a Linn LM-1 drum machine, followed by a looped guttural vocal.

Keyboardist Matt Fink revealed in 2014 that the baroque synthesizer solo was recorded by Prince at half speed and an octave lower against a half-speed backing track, then sped up to create the final version.

[13] In its contemporary review of the song, Cash Box said that "featuring ethereal lyrics, a pounding backbeat and a sometimes ominous musical atmosphere, this single again proves Prince to be one of the most provocative and sophisticated artists in the business.

1 in the US for five weeks, from July 7, 1984, to August 4, 1984, keeping Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" from reaching the top spot.

[15] The song was voted as the best single of the year in The Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics' poll.

The entire title of "17 Days (the rain will come down, then U will have 2 choose, if U believe, look 2 the dawn and U shall never lose)" is now the longest-titled flip side of a Hot 100 No.

It also includes scenes from the Purple Rain film interspersed with shots of The Revolution performing and dancing in a white room.

The final portion of the video incorporates a mirrored frame of the left half of the picture, creating a doubling effect.