When Tattoo You came out I bought the single Start Me Up and couldn’t get enough of it…yea I have had about enough of it now. I bought the album played it non stop. 10 years later a friend and I took a trip to Pensacola after playing a gig and this album was on all of the way. This song stood out at the time because I skipped the hits. Mick sings it in a falsetto voice that works well.
The Stones dug down deep in their vaults for this album because they wanted to tour in 1980. They had released Some Girls in 78, Emotional Rescue in 80, and Tattoo You in 1981 and needed some songs. This song’s origins go back to 1976’s Black and Blue.
This song features a guitar solo by Wayne Perkins, who had once auditioned as a potential replacement for Mick Taylor, and Billy Preston on keyboards.
Tattoo You peaked at #1 in the Billboard Album Charts, #1 in Canada, and #2 in the UK in 1981.
Worried About You
Sometime I wonder why you do these things to me Sometime I worry girl that you ain’t in love with me
Sometime I stay out late, yeah I’m having fun Yes, I guess you know by now that you ain’t the only one
Yeah-hey, oh baby Ooh, sweet things that you promised me babe, yeah Seemed to go up in smoke Yeah, vanish like a dream Baby I wonder why you do these things to me
Cause I’m worried I just can’t seem to find my way, baby
Ooh, the nights I spent just waiting on the sun, yeah Just like your burned out cigarette You threw away my love Why did you do that baby
I wonder why, why you do these things to me well, oh
I’m worried Lord, I’ll find out anyway Sure gonna find myself a girl someday ‘Til then I’m worried Yeah, I just can’t seem to find my way Ooh
Yeah, I’m a hard working man When did I ever do you wrong? Yeah, I get all my money baby, yeah I bring it, I bring it all home Yeah, I’m telling the truth, yeah
Well, sweet things, sweet things that you promised me
Well I’m worried and I just can’t seem to find my way, baby
I’m worried about you, yeah I’m worried about you, yeah Tell you something now I’m worried ’bout you (oh, yeah) I’m worried ’bout you, child (oh, yeah) I’m worried ’bout you, woman (oh, yeah) That’s come on, tell you something now I’m worried ’bout you (oh, yeah) I’m worried about you (aw yeah), yeah
Yeah, I’m worried Lord, I’ll find out anyway Sure as Hell I’m gonna find that girl someday Lord, I’m worried Lord, I just can’t seem to find my way
This song is from my personal favorite Rolling Stones album, Beggars Banquet released in 1968. As great as Beggars Banquet is, it could have been considered even better had they included the song they recorded during the early sessions….they released it as a single instead…the song was Jumping Jack Flash.
Jigsaw Puzzle is a great album cut on an album full of them. The song seemed influenced by Bob Dylan. It has Nicky Hopkins on piano, Keith Richards on slide, and Brian Jones on Mellotron. This album was the first of 5 produced by Jimmy Miller.
Rolling Stone ranked it 69th in its countdown of the band’s top 100 songs, calling it “a country-rock blast of Highway 61 Revisited surrealism.”
Non guitar players may not see the significance in this but when Keith Richards found the 5-string open G tuning…some say from Ry Cooder… that changed the Stones future. Without that discovery I don’t think they have the songs or impact they ended up having.
Songs that were written around that tuning was Brown Sugar, Jumping Jack Flash, Start Me Up, Street Fighting Man, and the list goes on and on. If you are a Stones cover band…most songs after 1967 is in this open G tuning…you have no choice but to learn it.
Those songs would not have sounded the same without that tuning or maybe not written at all. Keith showed Mick that tuning and he wrote the music to Brown Sugar. For the guitar players out there….the tuning is G-D-G-B-D staring with the A string after you remove the low E.
Jigsaw Puzzle
There’s a tramp sittin’ on my doorstep Tryin’ to waste his time With his methylated sandwich He’s a walking clothesline And here comes the bishop’s daughter On the other side And she looks a trifle jealous She’s been an outcast all her life
Me, I’m waiting so patiently Lying on the floor I’m just trying to do my jig-saw puzzle Before it rains anymore
Oh the gangster looks so fright’ning With his Luger in his hand But when he gets home to his children He’s a family man But when it comes to the nitty-gritty He can shove in his knife Yes he really looks quite religious He’s been an outlaw all his life
Me, I’m waiting so patiently Lying on the floor I’m just trying to do this jig-saw puzzle Before it rains anymore
Yes, yes now Oh, all right
Me, I’m waiting so patiently Lying on the floor I’m just trying to do this jig-saw puzzle Before it rains anymore
Oh the singer, he looks angry At being thrown to the lions And the bass player, he looks nervous About the girls outside And the drummer, he’s so shattered Trying to keep up time And the guitar players look damaged They’ve been outcasts all their lives
Me, I’m waiting so patiently Lying on the floor I’m just trying to do this jig-saw puzzle Before it rains anymore
Oh, there’s twenty-thousand grandmas Wave their hankies in the air All burning up their pensions And shouting, “It’s not fair!” There’s a regiment of soldiers Standing looking on And the queen is bravely shouting, “What the hell is going on?”
With a blood-curdling “tally-ho” She charged into the ranks And blessed all those grandmas who With their dying breaths screamed, “Thanks!”
Me, I’m just waiting so patiently With my woman on the floor We’re just trying to do this jig-saw puzzle Before it rains anymore
Their Satanic Majesties Request…the more I listen to this album the more I like it. It wasn’t up to their normal standards but it is nice to know the St0nes stretched themselves and tried something different. They would later dip into reggae and disco but this was an album worth of change that never happened again.
This psychedelic period was coming off of one of their best stretches which I think they produced some of their best music with songs like Ruby Tuesday.
Mick Jagger got the idea for this while in jail on drug charges from the famous Redland’s bust.
On this track, their lead guitarist, Brian Jones, played a Mellotron, an early synthesizer. Jones played a number of unusual instruments in his time with the band, which lasted from their founding in 1962 until 1969, when he was fired after a number of clashes with the rest of the Stones.
Brian Jones has been over rated and underrated but his subtle touch on songs was missed.
Just weeks after leaving the band… Jones drowned in his swimming pool.
After Brian was gone it was noticeable in the Stones. He was a great utility guy who could play about any instrument. Mick Taylor replaced him and that lead to the Stones golden period. In my opinion, Taylor was the best guitar player the Stones ever had in the band. He was a huge part of their sound. When he left there was a hole in the sound that never came back.
From Songfacts
Space exploration was big at the time, and was probably an influence on this song. Pink Floyd was making music with a similar sound.
The psychedelic sound reflected the times. It was the summer of love (1967).
The Stones played this on their Steel Wheels tour in 1989. A show in Atlantic City was broadcast with this song shot in 3D, which viewers could see using those goofy glasses.
Various echo effects and drum sounds were added in overdubbing.
The ’90s psychedelic group The Brian Jonestown Massacre recorded a tribute to the Stones’ psychedelic period (and this song) called Their Satanic Majesties’ Second Request.
2000 Light Years From Home
Sun turnin’ ’round with graceful motion We’re setting off with soft explosion Bound for a star with fiery oceans It’s so very lonely You’re a hundred light years from home
Freezing red deserts turn to dark Energy here in every part It’s so very lonely You’re six hundred light years from home
It’s so very lonely You’re a thousand light years from home It’s so very lonely You’re a thousand light years from home
Bell flight fourteen you now can land See you on Aldebaran Safe on the green desert sand It’s so very lonely You’re 2000 light years from home It’s so very lonely You’re 2000 light years from home
I remember this one very well. I bought the single and then the album a little while later. It’s a great rock song with some punk in it. It’s on the album Some Girls that was released in 1978.
This was the last song on Some Girls. While they were recording this album, Keith Richards had drug charges hanging over his head from a bust in Toronto. Facing a maximum sentence of life in prison, Keith let Mick take control of the album, which is shown on songs like this. Richards ended up getting off easy… he was sentenced to probation and ordered to play a concert for the blind.
Richards came up with the guitar riff on this and the line “Sha-doobie.” Jagger wrote the rest.
They performed this on Saturday Night Live and to this viewer they were not as tight as normal. Turns out they drank a lot of alcohol, did some seventies substances and rehearsed a lot before show time… after watching the rehearsals it seems like they made the mistake of peaking too early during the rehearsals. By showtime they didn’t sound as strong as usual…but it still was a good show.
The song peaked at #31 in the Billboard 100 and #32 in Canada in 1978.
From Songfacts
The lyrics are a bleak picture of life in New York City. The Stones always had a love/hate relationship with the US, and Mick Jagger’s lyrics were often influenced by his thoughts on the country (see “Satisfaction”). New York in particular is a place where you could be wildly successful, but is also a city filled crime, drugs, and poverty. It should be noted that The Stones have taken shots at their home country of England as well, notably on “Hang Fire.”
Just after this was released, The Stones performed it on Saturday Night Live. It was memorable for Mick Jagger licking Ron Wood on the lips for about 5 seconds. This stuff just didn’t happen on TV back them.
When Jagger sings, “Shmatta, shmatta, shmatta, I can’t give it away on 7th Avenue, this town’s been wearing tatters,” he’s making reference to the fashion district of New York City, which is on 7th Avenue. The word “Shmatta” is slang for old, worn clothing.
Shattered
Uh huh shattered, uh huh shattered Love and hope and sex and dreams Are still surviving on the street Look at me, I’m in tatters! I’m a shattered Shattered
Friends are so alarming My lover’s never charming Life’s just a cocktail party on the street Big Apple People dressed in plastic bags Directing traffic Some kind of fashion Shattered
Laughter, joy, and loneliness and sex and sex and sex and sex Look at me, I’m in tatters I’m a shattered Shattered
All this chitter-chatter, chitter-chatter, chitter-chatter ’bout Shmatta, shmatta, shmatta, I can’t give it away on 7th Avenue This town’s been wearing tatters (shattered, sha ooobie shattered)
Work and work for love and sex Ain’t you hungry for success, success, success, success Does it matter? (shattered) Does it matter?
Ah look at me I’m shattered I’m shattered 0 Look at me, I’m a shattered, yeah (shattered)
Pride and joy and greed and sex That’s what makes our town the best Pride and joy and dirty dreams and still surviving on the street And look at me, I’m in tatters, yeah I’ve been battered, what does it matter Does it matter, uh-huh Does it matter, uh-huh, I’m a shattered
Don’t you know the crime rate is going up, up, up, up, up To live in this town you must be tough, tough, tough, tough, tough! You got rats on the West Side Bed bugs uptown What a mess this town’s in tatters, I’ve been shattered My brain’s been battered, splattered all over Manhattan
Sha oobie, shattered, shattered, what say Sha oobie, shattered Sha oobie, shattered Sha oobie, shattered
Uh-huh, this town’s full of money grabbers Go ahead, bite the Big Apple, don’t mind the maggots, huh Sha oobie, my brain’s been battered My friends they come around they Flatter, flatter, flatter, flatter, flatter, flatter, flatter Pile it up, pile it up, pile high on the platter
Out of all of the tracks on Steel Wheels…this one sounded like the old Stones. The open G chord that Keith Richards made famous is in full display on the intro. This is the first track from Steel Wheels, an album that brought The Stones back together.
With the album Dirty Work, the Stones did look like it could be over. Jagger and Richards were not getting along. They took shots at each other in the press. Jagger released two albums, She’s The Boss and Primitive Cool. Keith Richards also released a solo album…a very good album Talk Is Cheap.
Keith and Mick finally took time out to talk to each other and get the band back together. Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts, and Ron Wood joined them and this would be Bill’s last album and tour. Bill has had musical projects since then and he has rejoined the Stones onstage a few times.
The song peaked at #14 in the Mainstream Rock Tracks in 1989. Mixed Emotions was the big hit off of the album.
Charlie Watts helped write this, but as was custom for The Stones, it was credited only to Jagger/Richards.
From Songfacts
The horns were played by the Brass ensemble The Kick Horns.
Ron Wood played bass. Bill Wyman, The Stones bassist, had to deal with the press after announcing his engagement to 18-year-old Mandy Smith, and was not available. Wyman and Smith divorced soon after their marriage.
Sad Sad Sad
Fling you out into orbit No one’s gonna hear you shout And fools ain’t gonna follow You don’t need to sleaze about
Now you’re sad sad sad Sad sad sad Sad sad sad But you’re gonna be fine
The elephant’s in the bedroom Throwing all his weight about And I’m locked in the bathroom Your screams are gonna drown me out
Now you’re sad sad sad Sad sad sad Sad sad sad But you’re gonna be fine
Oh, yeah
I got a cold chill I get a cool thrill Are you ready for the gilded cage? Are you ready for the tears of rage? Come on baby, don’t let them drown you out
Sad sad sad Bad bad bad Sad sad sad But you’re gonna be fine
Sad sad sad Sad sad sad Sad sad sad But you’re gonna be fine
You’re gonna be fine You’re gonna be fine You’re gonna be fine fine fine fine You’re gonna be fine fine fine fine Fine fine fine fine
Ooh, yeah Ooh, yeah Ooh, yeah Gonna be fine fine fine fine Fine fine fine fine Fine fine fine fine
This song was recorded in 1966 but not released until the summer of 1967. The psychedelic sound fit in perfectly with the summer of love. The song was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.
Later on Keith named his first daughter Dandelion but she decided later to use her middle name “Angela” instead…Her mom was the late Anita Pallenberg.
The Stones had some nice psychedelic pop songs in the mid-sixties that you don’t hear as much now. Personally I wished this period would have gone on a little longer. This song made #49 in Rolling Stone magazine rating the top 100 Rolling Stones songs.
Because of their drug bust at Keith’s home Redlands the Stones were not as involved in the summer of love as other bands. The song peaked at #9 in Canada and #14 in the Billboard 100 in 1967.
Keith Richards:“We didn’t have a chance to go through too much flower power because of the bust. We’re outlaws.”
Dandelion
Prince or pauper, beggar man or thing Play the game with ev’ry flower you bring Dandelion don’t tell no lies Dandelion will make you wise Tell me if she laughs or cries Blow away dandelion
One o’clock, two o’clock, three o’clock, four o’clock chimes Dandelions don’t care about the time Dandelion don’t tell no lies Dandelion will make you wise Tell me if she laughs or cries Blow away dandelion, blow away dandelion
Tho’ you’re older now its just the same You can play this dandelion game When you’re finished with your childlike prayers Well, you know you should wear it
Tinker, tailor, soldier, sailors lives Rich man, poor man, beautiful, daughters wives Dandelion don’t tell no lies Dandelion will make you wise Tell me if she laughs or cries Blow away dandelion, blow away dandelion
Little girls, and boys come out to play Bring your dandelions to blow away Dandelion don’t tell no lies Dandelion will make you wise Tell me if she laughs or cries Blow away dandelion, blow away dandelion
You’re just a memory of a love That used to mean so much to me
When someone will ask me what my favorite Rolling Stone song is…this is the one I usually say. It rarely if ever changes. It probably wasn’t their best song but I’ve always liked it. Happy Friday to everyone.
The Memory Motel is in Montauk on Long Island. It’s near The Church Estate, which Andy Warhol bought in 1972. Arthur Schneider, who owns the Memory Motel, said that The Stones stayed at Warhol’s estate when they were on tour in 1975-’76.
Since the Memory Motel was the only place in the area with a pool table and a piano, The Stones would occasionally come by and hang out at the bar. The owners at the time were not impressed…they hated The Stones.
With Mick Taylor gone, The Stones were auditioning lead guitarists while recording Black And Blue. Harvey Mandel from Canned Heat played lead on this while session man Wayne Perkins played acoustic, but Ron Wood eventually got the job.
The album peaked at #1 in the Billboard Album Charts, #2 in Canada, #2 in the UK, and #4 in New Zealand in 1976.
It has a haunting melody and lyrics that stick with you. Some say the Hannah in the song is referring to Carly Simon and some say it’s Annie Leibovitz. Whoever the muse was, they inspired a beautiful song.
From Songfacts
It’s widely speculated that “Hannah Honey” with the curled nose is none other than Carly Simon. Jagger had been romantically linked to Carly around this time, and her physical traits are eerily similar to the song’s descriptions. One theory is that Simon wrote “You’re So Vain” after a one-night-stand with Jagger at The Memory Motel. Simon has never said who that song is about.
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards duet on vocals. Richards did not play guitar on the track – a rarity.
Jagger played the acoustic piano, Richards the electric piano, and Billy Preston the synthesizer.
On their live album No Security, Dave Matthews duets with Jagger in place of Richards. Matthews joined The Stones onstage from time to time and also sang this with Jagger on a televised St. Louis concert in 1997
Memory Motel
Hannah honey was a peachy kind of girl Her eyes were hazel And her nose were slightly curved We spent a lonely night at the Memory Motel It’s on the ocean, I guess you know it well It took a starry to steal my breath away Down on the water front Her hair all drenched in spray Hannah baby was a honey of a girl Her eyes were hazel And her teeth were slightly curved She took my guitar and she began to play She sang a song to me Stuck right in my brain You’re just a memory of a love That used to be You’re just a memory of a love That used to mean so much to me She got a mind of her own And she use it well Well she’s one of a kind She’s got a mind She got a mind of her own And she use it mighty fine She drove a pick-up truck Painted green and blue The tires were wearing thin She turned a mile or two When I asked her where she headed for “Back up to Boston I’m singing in a bar” I got to fly today on down to Baton Rouge My nerves are shot already The road ain’t all that smooth Across in Texas is the rose of San Antone I keep on a feeling that’s gnawing in my bones You’re just a memory of a love That used to mean so much to me You’re just a memory girl You’re just a sweet memory And it used to mean so much to me Sha la la la la She got a mind of her own And she use it well Mighty fine, she’s one of a kind On the seventh day my eyes were all a glaze We’ve been ten thousand miles Been in fifteen states Every woman seemed to fade out of my mind I hit the bottle and hit the sack and cried What’s all this laughter on the 22nd floor It’s just some friends of mine And they’re busting down the door Been a lonely night at the Memory Motel
Good morning everyone… hope you have a great Monday.
I bought the Emotional Rescue single when it was released. I also bought the album and it was a let down to me after the great Some Girls album. The title track is heavily leaning toward disco and I do like it. What attracted me to the song is the superb bass line in the intro.
Ronnie Wood played bass on the song and Bill Wyman played synthesizer. Ronnie is a great bass player. He played bass on Rod Stewart’s Maggie May. The song peaked at #3 in the Billboard 100, #9 in the UK, and #1 in Canada.
The Stones played this for the very first time in concert on May 3, 2013, 33 years after they recorded the song. Keith Richards was not a fan of the song and it never made a Stones setlist until the first show of their 50 and Counting tour at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
Mick Jagger: ‘We were just doing dance music, you know. It was just a dance music lick I was just playing on the keyboard. Charlie has a really nice groove for that.”
From Songfacts
This alienated many Stones fans who thought it was a sell out to disco, but it was still a Top 10 hit in the US and UK.
Mick Jagger sang much of this in a falsetto, which was the thing to do with disco songs. The Bee Gees did the same thing, but unlike The Stones, were never able to get back the fans they lost to disco.
Bobby Keys’ sax solo and Mick Jagger’s vocals were added almost a year after the rhythm track was recorded.
Jagger wrote this on an electric piano.
The video for this used the same thermal imagery effect as the album cover. It was cutting-edge visual stuff in 1980.
Emotional Rescue
Is there nothing I can say, nothing I can do to change your mind? I’m so in love with you, you’re too deep in, you can’t get out You’re just a poor girl in a rich man’s house Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh Yeah, baby, I’m crying over you
Don’t you know promises were never meant to keep? Just like the night, they dissolve off in sleep I’ll be your savior, steadfast and true I’ll come to your emotional rescue I’ll come to your emotional rescue Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh Ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh ooh Yeah, the other night, cryin’, cryin’ baby yeah I’m cryin Yeah I’m cryin, I’m your child baby, child, Yeah I’m a child, I’m a child, I’m a child
You think you’re one of a special breed You think that you’re his pet Pekinese I’ll be your savior, steadfast and true I’ll come to your emotional rescue I’ll come to your emotional rescue Ooh ah ah ah ah ah ah ah Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah Yeah, I was dreamin’ last night baby Last night I was dreamin’ that you’d be mine But I was cryin’ like a child Yeah I was cryin’, cryin’ like a child Could be mine, mine, mine, mine, mine all mine You could be mine, could be mine, could be mine all mine
I come to you, so silent in the night So stealthy, so animal quiet I’ll be your savior, steadfast and true I’ll come to your emotional rescue I’ll come to your emotional rescue Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah Yeah, you should be mine, mine, ooh!
Mmm yes, you could be mine, tonight and every night I will be your knight in shining armor Coming to your emotional rescue You will be mine, you will be mine, all mine You will be mine, you will be mine, all mine
I will be your knight in shining armor Riding across the desert on a fine Arab charger
This song will chill you out on this Sunday. No Expectations was on the 1968 album Beggars Banquet. The song is a favorite of mine on the album. This one and Prodigal Son is a throwback to some of their older blues influences. The feeling and the emotion of this song is fantastic.
Brian Jones was on the album and made one of his last contributions with slide on this song. The following year Brian would die in a swimming pool at his home.
This is one of the great Stones album tracks.
Mick Jagger: “That’s Brian playing steel guitar. We were sitting around in a circle on the floor, singing and playing, recording with open mikes. That was the last time I remember Brian really being totally involved in something that was really worth doing. He was there with everyone else. It’s funny how you remember – but that was the last moment I remember him doing that, because he had just lost interest in everything.”
From Songfacts
When Rolling Stones founder Brian Jones died in 1969, this song took on new meaning, as lyrics like “Our love is like our music, it’s here and then it’s gone” made it a fitting elegy. Jones’ slide guitar on the song was one of his last meaningful contributions to the group; after years of drug addiction and squabbles with the band, he was fired from the group in June 1969 and died less than a month later.
The Stones performed this on Rock and Roll Circus, a British TV special The Stones taped in 1968, but never aired. Brian Jones played this with a passion he was clearly losing as drugs took over his life. Rock and Roll Circus was released on video in 1995.
Nicky Hopkins, who also played with The Who and The Beatles, played piano on this.
Lenny Kravitz opened several shows for The Rolling Stones in 1994, and was invited onstage to jam with them at a Cleveland show. Kravitz helped out Mick Jagger in 2001, co-writing, performing on, and producing his song “God Gave Me Everything.”
This song was featured in the 1978 ant-war film Coming Home, with Jane Fonda and John Voight
No Expectations
Take me to the station And put me on a train I’ve got no expectations To pass through here again
Once I was a rich man and Now I am so poor But never in my sweet short life Have I felt like this before
You heart is like a diamond You throw your pearls at swine And as I watch you leaving me You pack my peace of mind
Our love was like the water That splashes on a stone Our love is like our music It’s here, and then it’s gone
So take me to the airport And put me on a plane I’ve got no expectations To pass through here again
This song is for Song Lyric Sunday for Jim Adams’s blog. This week’s prompt…Smart/Stupid. Hope everyone had a good safe Halloween.
Not a feel good song by the Rolling Stones. The song was on their album Afterman released in 1966. This was the B side to the great song Paint It Black. The Stones are known for a good amount of misogyny in their songs…this one and Under My Thumb are no exceptions.
Aftermath peaked at #2 in the Billboard Album Charts and #1 in the UK in 1966.
Stupid Girl was recorded at Los Angeles’ RCA Studios on 6–9 March 1966.
Mick Jagger: “It’s much nastier than Under My Thumb. Obviously, I was having a bit of trouble. I wasn’t in a good relationship. Or I was in too many bad relationships. I had so many girlfriends at that point. None of them seemed to care they weren’t pleasing me very much. I was obviously in with the wrong group”
Keith Richards: “Songs like “Under My Thumb” and “Stupid Girl” were all a spin-off from our environment – hotels, and too many dumb chicks. Not all dumb, not by any means, but that’s how one got.”
Stupid Girls
I’m not talking about the kind of clothes she wears Look at that stupid girl I’m not talking about the way she combs her hair Look at that stupid girl
The way she powders her nose Her vanity shows and it shows She’s the worst thing in this world Well, look at that stupid girl
I’m not talking about the way she digs for gold Look at that stupid girl Well, I’m talking about the way she grabs and holds Look at that stupid girl
The way she talks about someone else That she don’t even know herself She’s the sickest thing in this world Well, look at that stupid girl
Well, I’m sick and tired And I really have my doubts I’ve tried and tried But it never really works out
Like a lady in waiting to a virgin queen Look at that stupid girl She bitches ’bout things that she’s never seen Look at that stupid girl
It doesn’t matter if she dyes her hair Or the color of the shoes she wears She’s the worst thing in this world Well, look at that stupid girl
Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up Shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up, shut up Shut up, shut up, shut up
Like a lady in waiting to a virgin queen Look at that stupid girl She bitches ’bout things that she’s never seen Look at that stupid girl
She purrs like a pussycat Then she turns ’round and hisses back She’s the sickest thing in this world Look at that stupid girl
Don’t you think it’s sometimes wise not to grow up?
100 Years Ago has a good melody and it changes it’s focus in the last three-quarters of the way through…a good song with an interesting outro. It’s an album cut and you never hear much on the radio. It’s worth a listen. If you see them in concert and want to hear this song…don’t hold your breath.
It was only played on the first two performances of European Tour of 1973, and has not been performed live since. Come on guys! Play it again…it’s not like the world can’t do without another version of Satisfaction.
I took an instant liking to this song. It starts with a little country influence and then ends with a funky free for all. I have the new version of Goats Head Soup and this one cleaned up really well.
The album peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100, The UK, and Canada in 1973.
The Stones recorded this at Kingston’s Dynamic Sound Studios in November and December, 1972. Jagger performs lead vocals and is accompanied by Mick Taylor on backing. Taylor performs the song’s guitars while Keith Richards and Charlie Watts perform bass and drums, respectively. Nicky Hopkins provides piano while Billy Preston performs clavinet.
“100 Years Ago”
Went out walkin’ through the wood the other day And the world was a carpet laid before me The buds were bursting and the air smelled sweet and strange And it seemed about a hundred years ago Mary and I, we would sit upon a gate Just gazin’ at some dragon in the sky What tender days, we had no secrets hid away Well, it seemed about a hundred years ago Now all my friends are wearing worried smiles Living out a dream of what they was Don’t you think it’s sometimes wise not to grow up? Wend out walkin’ through the wood the other day Can’t you see the furrows in my forehead? What tender days, we had no secrets hid away Now it seems about a hundred years ago Now if you see me drinkin’ bad red wine Don’t worry ’bout this man that you love Don’t you think it’s sometimes wise not to grow up? You’re gonna kiss and say good-bye, yeah, I warn you You’re gonna kiss and say good-bye, yeah, I warn you You’re gonna kiss and say good-bye, oh Lord, I warn you And please excuse me while I hide away Call me lazy bones Ain’t got no time to waste away Lazy bones ain’t got no time to waste away Don’t you think it’s just about time to hide away? Yeah, yeah!
This was recorded during an all-night session at Keith Richards’ rented villa in the South of France. The band rented houses in the area and used Keith’s basement as a studio.
This song was on Exile On Main Street and it’s an incredibly driven song. It comes right at you and never slows down.
Understanding lyrics in Rolling Stones songs has always been a challenge but Mick’s voice is lower than usual in this one. The song contains some obscenities and sexual references, but they are very hard to understand.
But no worries… just sit back and enjoy the ride and this song takes you on one. It also contains references to President Nixon and his wife Pat, but they are almost impossible to understand.
Exile on Main street peaked at #1 in the Billboard 100, Canada, and the UK in 1972.
It’s Sunday…just turn this up to full blast and enjoy it.
From Songfacts
The “Butter Queen” is a reference to a famous groupie known as “Barbara the Butter Queen.” Her real name was Barbara Cope, and she would do her thing when bands came through Dallas. She was very proficient, and had a killer gimmick: she would use a stick of butter when servicing the rock stars and crew. The butter supposedly made her activity smell like movie theater popcorn.
This song was particularly inspirational to Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler. He told Rolling Stone magazine: “When I went to my first rehab, at a place called Hazelden, I brought Exile on Main St. on cassette. I remember waking up the first morning there and realizing I hadn’t been sober once for the past 12 or 15 years, from LSD to heroin and cocaine and acid. The only way I could get a buzz at that point was to listen to ‘Rip This Joint.'”
Rip This Joint
Mama says yes, Papa says no Make up your mind ’cause I gotta go We’re gonna raise hell at the Union Hall Drive myself right over the wall
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul Round and round and round we go Roll this joint, gonna get down low Start my starter, gonna stop the show (Yeah)
Whoa, yeah! Mister President, Mister Immigration Man Let me in, sweetie to your fair land I’m Tampa bound and Memphis too Short Fat Fanny is on the loose Dig that sound on the radio Then slip it right across into Buffalo Dick and Pat in ole DC Well they’re gonna hold some shit for me
Ying yang, you’re my thing Oh, now, baby, won’t you hear me sing Flip Flop, fit to drop Come on baby, won’t you let it rock?
Oh yeah! Oh yeah! From San Jose down to Santa Fe Kiss me quick, baby, won’tcha make my day New Orleans with the Dixie Dean To Dallas, Texas with the Butter Queen
Rip this joint, gonna rip yours too Some brand new steps and some weight to lose Gonna roll this joint, gonna get down low Round and round and round we’ll go Wham, Bham, Birmingham, Alabam’ don’t give a damn Little Rock and I’m fit to top Ah, let it rock
This song is why I first bought this album. I heard it and it’s country/blues/rock style stayed with me. The song sounds low down, dirty, and sleazy…that only the Stones can deliver.
Keith Richards’ fingers began to bleed as he played acoustic guitar for hours while Mick Jagger worked with an engineer on the drum track. The title came from Keith’s desire to record his track. At least that’s the story the Mick and Keith tells. The phrase “Let It Bleed” is an intravenous drug user slang for successfully finding a vein. The syringe plunger is pulled back and if blood appears, it is called letting it bleed.
This was recorded around the same time as The Beatles Let It Be, but the similar titles were just a supposed coincidence.
The Stones recorded this after the death of Brian Jones but before Mick Taylor joined the band as his replacement. As a result, Keith Richards played both acoustic and slide electric guitar, and Bill Wyman played bass and autoharp.
The song wasn’t a single but the album (also named Let It Bleed) peaked at #3 in the Billboard Album Chart in 1969.
From Songfacts
This was the first Stones song to also be the album title.
Ian Stewart, often considered “The sixth Stone,” played the piano. This was his only appearance on Let It Bleed.
There are many references to sex and drugs in the lyrics to this track – an example of the Stones writing about what they knew.
Autoharp is a string instrument with a series of chord bars attached to dampers which, when pressed, mute all but the desired chord. An autoharp is not really a harp – it’s a zither.
The English TV cook and author Delia Smith baked the cake on the album sleeve before she became famous. She got the gig through being a friend of the photographer, Don McAllester. In 1971, two years after the release of Let It Bleed, Delia Smith’s first cookery book, How To Cheat at Cooking, was launched and by the end of the decade she’d become the UK’s best known TV cook.
Let It Bleed
Well, we all need someone we can lean on And if you want it, you can lean on me Yeah, we all need someone we can lean on And if you want it, you can lean on me
She said, my breasts, they will always be open Baby, you can rest your weary head right on me And there will always be a space in my parking lot When you need a little coke and sympathy
Yeah we all need someone we can dream on And if you want it baby, you can dream on me Yeah, we all need someone we can cream on Yeah and if you want to, you can cream on me
I was dreaming of a steel guitar engagement When you drunk my health in scented jasmine tea But you knifed me in my dirty filthy basement With that jaded, faded, junky nurse oh what pleasant company, ha
Though, we all need someone we can feel on Yeah and if you want it, you can feel on me, hey Take my arm, take my leg Oh baby don’t you take my head Hoo
Yeah, we all need someone we can bleed on Yeah but if you want it, well you can bleed on me Yeah, we all need someone we can bleed on Yeah yeah and if you want it baby why don’t ya You can bleed on me All over, hoo
Ah, get it on rider, hoo Get it on rider Get it on rider You can bleed all over me, yeah Get it on rider, hoo Get it on rider, yeah You can cream all over, you can come all over me, ah Get it on rider ey Let it out rider Let it out rider You can come all over me
Since Halloween is coming upon us I thought I would feature a few songs referencing the normal culprits throughout the week.
When I was a teenager the song spooked me a bit…and still does. It’s powerful and dynamic with its samba beat. Mick Jagger has said this is about the dark side of man, not a celebration of Satanism. It does, in fact, show the dark side…the lines that stand out to me are: I shouted out, Who killed the Kennedys When after all It was you and me.
Mick Jagger: The satanic-imagery stuff was very overplayed [by journalists]. We didn’t want to really go down that road. And I felt that song was enough. You didn’t want to make a career out of it. But bands did that – Jimmy Page, for instance. I knew lots of people that were into Aleister Crowley. What I’m saying is, it wasn’t what I meant by the song “Sympathy for the Devil.” If you read it, it’s not about black magic, per se.
This song is infectious, it’s a great piece of writing by Mick. The lyrics were inspired by The Master and Margarita, a book by Mikhail Bulgakov. British singer Marianne Faithfull was Mick Jagger’s girlfriend at the time and she gave him the book. Faithfull came from an upper-class background and exposed Jagger to a lot of new ideas. In the book, the devil is a sophisticated socialite, a “man of wealth and taste.”
I usually keep my posts short and quick but songfacts for this song have a book of info on this one so read it if you want. A lot of interesting info.
From Songfacts
This perpetuated the image of the Stones as frightening bad boys, as opposed to the clean-cut Beatles. It was great marketing for the band, who got some press by implying an interest in the occult.
A documentary by French filmmaker Jean-Luc Godard called One Plus One captured the recording of this song, which took place over five days: June 5, 6, 8 – 10, 1968. At one point, a lamp for the documentary started a fire in the studio. The tapes were saved, but a lot of the Stones’ equipment was destroyed.
The original title was “The Devil Is My Name.” Said Jagger: “Songs can metamorphasize, and ‘Sympathy For The Devil’ is one of those songs that started off like one thing, I wrote it one way and then we started the change the rhythm. And then it became completely different. And then it got very exciting. It started off as a folk song and then became a samba. A good song can become anything. It’s got lots of historical references and lots of poetry.”
Keith Richards (2002): “‘Sympathy’ is quite an uplifting song. It’s just a matter of looking the Devil in the face. He’s there all the time. I’ve had very close contact with Lucifer – I’ve met him several times. Evil – people tend to bury it and hope it sorts itself out and doesn’t rear its ugly head. ‘Sympathy For The Devil’ is just as appropriate now, with 9/11. There it is again, big time. When that song was written, it was a time of turmoil. It was the first sort of international chaos since World War II. And confusion is not the ally of peace and love. You want to think the world is perfect. Everybody gets sucked into that. And as America has found out to its dismay, you can’t hide. You might as well accept the fact that evil is there and deal with it any way you can. Sympathy for the Devil is a song that says, Don’t forget him. If you confront him, then he’s out of a job.”
The song took on a darker meaning when The Stones played it at their Altamont Speedway concert on December 6, 1969, before a fan was fatally stabbed by Hells Angels gang members hired for security. As they played it, the crowd got more unruly; a few songs later, during “Under My Thumb,” the stabbing occurred. [This is all documented in the film Gimme Shelter]. The Stones kept “Sympathy” in the their setlists, playing it throughout 1970.
Some of the historical events mentioned in this song are the crucifixion of Christ, the Russian Revolution, World War II, and the Kennedy assassinations. Robert Kennedy was killed on June 5, 1968, after Mick Jagger started writing the song. His original lyric was “who killed Kennedy?” referring to the 1963 John F. Kennedy assassination, but he changed it to “who killed the Kennedys?”
Other historical events alluded to in the song include the Hundred Years’ War (“fought for ten decades”) and the Nazi Blitzkrieg (“the blitzkrieg raged, and the bodies stank”).
The “whoo-whoo” backing vocals were added when Richard’s girlfriend, Anita Pallenberg, did it during a take and the Stones liked how it sounded. Pallenberg sang it on the record along with Keith Richards, Brian Jones, Bill Wyman, Marianne Faithfull and Jimmy Miller.
Stones producer Jimmy Miller: “Anita (Pallenberg) was the epitome of what was happening at the time. She was very Chelsea. She’d arrive with the elite film crowd. During ‘Sympathy For The Devil’ when I started going whoo, whoo in the control room, so did they I had the engineer set up a mike so they could go out in the studio and whoo, whoo.”
On their 1989 Steel Wheels tour, The Stones performed this with Jagger standing high above the stage next to a fire. Mick wore a safety belt in case he fell.
The Stones performed this on Rock and Roll Circus, a British TV special The Stones taped in 1968 but never aired. It was released on video in 1995. During the performance, Jagger removes his shirt to reveal devil tattoos on his chest and arms.
Guns ‘N’ Roses covered this in 1994 for the move Interview With The Vampire (the song appears at the end of the movie, which stars Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt and a young Kirsten Dunst). Their version hit #9 in England, and marked the first appearance of their new guitarist Paul Huge (rhymes with “boogie” – he later went by “Tobias”), who replaced Gilby Clarke. Axl Rose brought in Huge, and it caused considerable conflict in the band, which broke apart over the next few years. At one point, Matt Sorum called Huge “the Yoko Ono of GNR.”
In our 2013 interview with Gilby Clarke, he recalls this recording as a signal that the band was over. “I knew that that was the ending because nobody told me about it,” he said. “Officially I was in the band at that time, and they did that song without me. That was one of the last straws for me, because nobody had said anything to me and they recorded a song by one of my favorite bands. It was pretty clear I’m a big Stones fan, and they recorded the song without me. So I knew that was it.”
The song ended up being the last one Axl Rose, Slash and Duff McKagan recorded together. “If you’ve ever wondered what the sound of a band breaking up sounds like, listen to Guns N’ Roses’ cover of ‘Sympathy for the Devil,'” Slash wrote in his memoir.
The beat is based on a Samba rhythm. Keith Richards said it “started as sort of a folk song with acoustics, and ended up as a kind of mad samba, with me playing bass and overdubbing the guitar later. That’s why I don’t like to go into the studio with all the songs worked out and planned beforehand.”
The opening lines of this song, “Please allow me to introduce myself I’m a man of wealth and taste,” were quoted by the Devil character (played by actor Rick Collins) in the 1989 film The Toxic Avenger Part III: The Last Temptation of Toxie.
Carlos Santana thought The Stones were playing with fire on this song. “I don’t have no sympathy for the devil,” he said in an NME interview. “I like the beat of the song but I never identify with the lyric. Jagger and Richards don’t really know the full extent of what they’re talking about. If they knew what they were getting into when they sing that song they would not be doing it. The devil is not Santa Claus. He’s for real.”
Santana was one of the performers at the ill-fated Altamont concert, and Carlos claimed he could feel a “demonic presence” during their set – a striking contrast to Woodstock, where the group conjured up peace and love. Santana didn’t allow any of their footage into the Gimme Shelter film.
In 2003, The Stones released this as a “maxi-single,” with four versions of the song. The original was on there, as well as remixes by The Neptunes, Fatboy Slim, and Full Phatt.
The line, “And I laid traps for troubadours who get killed before they reach Bombay” possibly refers to the notorious Thuggee cult, who worshiped Kali, the Hindu goddess of death. They would waylay travelers on the roads of India, then kill the entire group in order to make off with their valuables. This seems to be the closest well known historical incident to fit the lyrics. Also, the Thuggee would have been well known in England, since the British Army put a stop to the cult during the colonial period.
Another interpretation is that the line refers to the hippies who traveled the “Hippie trail,” a passage through Turkey, Afghanistan, India and a few other countries that was popular in the counterculture community. Many of these travelers were killed and ripped off by drug peddlers in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Those shady deals could be the “traps.”
Some other worthy covers: Sandra Bernhard, Blood, Sweat & Tears, Bryan Ferry, Jane’s Addiction, The London Symphony Orchestra, Natalie Merchant, U2.
One verse of lyrics was recited by Intel vice president Steve McGeady during his testimony in Microsoft’s antitrust trial in November 1998. McGeady had written a memo about Microsoft with the subject “Sympathy For The Devil,” and when asked whether he was calling Microsoft the Devil, McGeady recited the passage about using your well-learned politesse.
In his book Mystery Train, Greil Marcus states that this was influenced by Robert Johnson’s song “Me and the Devil Blues.” Keith Richards describes Johnson’s influence as “Like a comet or a meteor” in the liner notes to Robert Johnson – The Complete Recordings.
Fitting for a song about Satan, the song is heavy on the low end, with the bass, percussion and piano prominent throughout the track. The guitar doesn’t come in until 2:50, when the solo comes in. It doesn’t return until nearly two minutes later, when it returns for some licks. The Stones typically change the arrangement when they perform it live, bringing the guitar in for the first “pleased to meet you line,” sometimes punctuated with pyro or other visual elements.
Jagger (1995): “It has a very hypnotic groove, a samba, which has a tremendous hypnotic power, rather like good dance music. It doesn’t speed up or down. It keeps this constant groove. Plus, the actual samba rhythm is a great one to sing on, but it’s also got some other suggestions in it, an undercurrent of being primitive – because it is a primitive African, South American, Afro-whatever-you-call-that rhythm. So to white people, it has a very sinister thing about it. But forgetting the cultural colors, it is a very good vehicle for producing a powerful piece. It becomes less pretentious because it’s a very unpretentious groove. If it had been done as a ballad, it wouldn’t have been as good.”
Jagger (1995): “I knew it was a good song. You just have this feeling. It had its poetic beginning, and then it had historic references and then philosophical jottings and so on. It’s all very well to write that in verse, but to make it into a pop song is something different. Especially in England – you’re skewered on the altar of pop culture if you become pretentious.”
In 2006, this was included in The National Review magazine’s list of the 50 most conservative rock lyrics. They claimed that this is an anti-Communist, conservative song and that the devil being referred to is Communist Russia.
The opening line was used in Volume 2 of 10 of the graphic novel V For Vendetta. >>
This song was used for a title of a episode of the anime series Cowboy Bebop. “Honky Tonk Women” is also the title of an episode.
In the TV series Will and Grace, The character Karen states that she always wanted to walk down the aisle when she got married for the fourth time to “Sympathy For The Devil.” When her husband-to-be refuses, she fights with him.
The industrial band Laibach released an entire album containing different covers of this song. The character and tone of the Laibach covers are largely very different from the Stones original. In the opening track the lead singer sings/shouts in a very deep bass voice with a thick Slavic accent. One of their covers contains references to the violence at the Altamont raceway.
Sympathy For The Devil
Please allow me to introduce myself I’m a man of wealth and taste I’ve been around for a long, long year Stole many a man’s soul to waste
And I was ’round when Jesus Christ Had his moment of doubt and pain Made damn sure that Pilate Washed his hands and sealed his fate
Pleased to meet you Hope you guess my name But what’s puzzling you Is the nature of my game
I stuck around St. Petersburg When I saw it was a time for a change Killed the czar and his ministers Anastasia screamed in vain
I rode a tank Held a general’s rank When the blitzkrieg raged And the bodies stank
Pleased to meet you Hope you guess my name, oh yeah Ah, what’s puzzling you Is the nature of my game, oh yeah
I watched with glee While your kings and queens Fought for ten decades For the gods they made
I shouted out Who killed the Kennedys? When after all It was you and me
Let me please introduce myself I’m a man of wealth and taste And I laid traps for troubadours Who get killed before they reached Bombay
Pleased to meet you Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah But what’s puzzling you Is the nature of my game, oh yeah, get down, baby
Pleased to meet you Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah But what’s confusing you Is just the nature of my game, mm yeah
Just as every cop is a criminal And all the sinners saints As heads is tails Just call me Lucifer ‘Cause I’m in need of some restraint
So if you meet me Have some courtesy Have some sympathy, and some taste Use all your well-learned politesse Or I’ll lay your soul to waste, mm yeah
Pleased to meet you Hope you guessed my name, mm yeah
But what’s puzzling you Is the nature of my game, mm mean it, get down
Oh yeah, get on down Oh yeah
Oh yeah
Tell me baby, what’s my name Tell me honey, can ya guess my name Tell me baby, what’s my name I tell you one time, you’re to blame
Oh, right
What’s my name Tell me, baby, what’s my name Tell me, sweetie, what’s my name
Yeah when you call my name, I salivate like a Pavlov dog…One of the raunchiest riffs around. Combine that with the lyrics and you have a great little rock song. This is the Stones at the top of their game.
This song was the B side to Brown Sugar. Not a bad deal for your money. It’s another great song off of the Sticky Fingers LP. Here is a review of Sticky Fingers at Aphoristic’s site.
Below Andy Johns talks about the importance of Keith Richards…no matter if he was tardy a few times.
Andy Johns engineer: When we were doing “Bitch,” Keith was very late. Jagger and Mick Taylor had been playing the song without him and it didn’t sound very good. I walked out of the kitchen and he was sitting on the floor with no shoes, eating a bowl of cereal. Suddenly he said, Oi, Andy! Give me that guitar. I handed him his clear Dan Armstrong Plexiglass guitar, he put it on, kicked the song up in tempo, and just put the vibe right on it. Instantly, it went from being this laconic mess into a real groove. And I thought, Wow. THAT’S what he does
Bitch was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, “Bitch” was recorded during October 1970 at London’s Olympic Studios, and at Stargroves utilizing the Rolling Stones Mobile studio.
From Songfacts
Love is the “bitch,” not any specific woman. Mick Jagger had many relationships he could base this on, including his breakup with Marianne Faithfull. He broke up with her after she tried to commit suicide while they were in Australia in late 1969 (Mick was filming Ned Kelly). As soon as Marianne recovered, Mick dumped her.
The Stones recorded this song, and many others on the album, at the Stargroves estate in Hampshire, England, using their mobile recording unit manned by engineer Andy Johns.
Despite (or maybe because of) the rather provocative title, this became one of the more popular Rolling Stones songs, often appearing in their setlists. It wasn’t released as a single but got plenty of play on rock radio.
In 1974, Elton John broke the “bitch” barrier on pop radio with “The Bitch Is Back,” which went to #4 in the US.
Along with “Under My Thumb,” this didn’t help the Stones’ image with women’s groups.
The album cover was designed by Andy Warhol. It was a close-up photo of a man in a pair of jeans complete with an actual zipper. The zipper caused problems in shipment because it scratched the record. They figured out that if they opened the zipper before shipment, it did minimal damage.
Speaking with Rolling Stone, Keith Richards said: “It comes off pretty smooth, but it’s quite tricky. There’s an interesting bridge you have to watch out for. Otherwise, it’s a straightforward rock and soul that we love. It’s Charlie Watts’ meat and potatoes.”
This features Bobby Keys on sax and Jim Price on trumpet. They provided horns on albums and tours for The Stones in the early ’70s.
The Goo Goo Dolls covered this in 1997 on the compilation album No Alternative.
The album title Sticky Fingers refers to the aptitude of a person who is likely to steal. It went well with the lawless image The Stones put forward.
Bitch
Feeling so tired, can’t understand it Just had a fortnight’s sleep I’m feeling so tired, I’m so distracted Ain’t touched a thing all week
I’m feeling drunk, juiced up and sloppy Ain’t touched a drink all night I’m feeling hungry, can’t see the reason Just ate a horse meat pie
Yeah when you call my name I salivate like a Pavlov dog Yeah when you lay me out My heart is beating louder than a big bass drum, alright
Yeah, you got to mix it child You got to fix it must be love It’s a bitch, yeah You got to mix it child You got to fix it but love It’s a bitch, alright
Sometimes I’m sexy, move like a stud Like kicking the stall all night Sometimes I’m so shy, got to be worked on Don’t have no bark or bite, alright
Yeah when you call my name I salivate like a Pavlov dog Yeah when you lay me out My heart is bumpin’ louder than a big bass drum, alright
I said hey, yeah I feel alright now Got to be a Hey, I feel alright now Hey hey hey Hey hey yeah Hey hey hey Hey hey yeah Hey hey hey Hey hey yeah Hey hey hey Hey hey yeah Hey hey hey
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