I saw her today at a reception
A glass of wine in her hand
I knew she would meet her connection
At her feet was her footloose man
No, you can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
And if you try sometimes you find
You get what you need
I saw her today at the reception
A glass of wine in her hand
I knew she was gonna meet her connection
At her feet was her footloose man
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes you might find
You get what you need
Oh yeah, hey hey hey, oh....
And I went down to the demonstration
To get my fair share of abuse
Singing, "We're gonna vent our frustration
If we don't we're gonna blow a 50-amp fuse"
Sing it to me now...
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes well you just might find
You get what you need
Oh baby, yeah, yeah!
I went down to the Chelsea drugstore
To get your prescription filled
I was standing in line with Mr. Jimmy
And man, did he look pretty ill
We decided that we would have a soda
My favorite flavor, cherry red
I sung my song to Mr. Jimmy
Yeah, and he said one word to me, and that was "dead"
I said to him
You can't always get what you want, no!
You can't always get what you want (tell ya baby)
You can't always get what you want (no)
But if you try sometimes you just might find
You get what you need
Oh yes! Woo!
You get what you need--yeah, oh baby!
Oh yeah!
I saw her today at the reception
In her glass was a bleeding man
She was practiced at the art of deception
Well I could tell by her blood-stained hands
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes you just might find
You just might find
You get what you need
You can't always get what you want (no, no baby)
You can't always get what you want
You can't always get what you want
But if you try sometimes you just might find
You just might find
You get what you need, ah yes...
- Released December 5, 1969
- The song begins with and features the London Bach Choir powerfully opening the song under the stewardship of Javier Sanchez Broto, highlighting throughout, and bringing it to an uproarious conclusion.
- Jimmy Miller, the Rolling Stones' producer at the time, plays drums on this song instead of Charlie Watts. Al Kooper plays piano, organ and horn while Rocky Dijon plays congas and maracas. Nanette Workman sings backup vocals, but she is credited as "Nanette Newman".
- The song was an answer to the Beatles "Hey Jude". Jagger said in 1969, "I liked the way the Beatles did that with 'Hey Jude'. The orchestra was not just to cover everything up - it was something extra. We may do something like that on the next album."
-The three verses (along with the varied theme in the 4th verse) address the major topics of the 1960s: love, politics, and drugs. Each verse captures the essence of the initial optimism and eventual disillusion, followed by the resigned pragmatism in the chorus.
- "I went down to the Chelsea drugstore to get your prescription filled" Opened in 1968, The Chelsea Drugstore was a sleek modern glass and aluminum fronted building on the northwest corner of Royal Avenue and the Kings Road, in West London. Modeled on Le Drugstore on Boulevard St Germain in Paris, the Chelsea Drugstore was arranged over three floors and on most days remained open for up to 16 hours. Inside customers would find bars, a chemist, newsstands, record stores and other concessions. A popular service was the 'flying squad' delivery option run by the store. Those who indulged would have their purchases delivered by hand by young ladies adorned in purple catsuits arriving on flashy motorcycles.
- "I was standing in line with Mr. Jimmy and man, did he look pretty ill" According to legend, it was in his capacity as town ambassador that Jimmy Hutmaker attended a concert by the Rolling Stones at the Danceland Ballroom at Excelsior Amusement Park in 1964 (Excelsior, Minnesota). The next day Mick Jagger was having a prescription filled at Bacon's Drugstore when he encountered Jimmy again. Jimmy complained to Jagger that he had ordered a Cherry Coke but received a regular Coca Cola instead, then dismissed his own complaint, saying "You can't always get what you want."
Mr. Jimmy (Jimmy Hutmaker)
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Gimme Shelter
Ooh, a storm is threatening my very life today
If I don't get some shelter, yeah, I'm gonna fade away.
War, children, its just a shot away, it's just a shot away
War, children, its just a shot away, it's just a shot away.
Ooh, see the fire is sweeping, our very streets today
Burns like a red coal carpet, mad bull lost its way.
War, children, its just a shot away, it's just a shot away
War, children, its just a shot away, it's just a shot away.
Rape, murder, it's just a shot away, it's just a shot away
Rape, murder, it's just a shot away, it's just a shot away
Rape, murder, it's just a shot away, it's just a shot away.
Mmmm, the flood is threatening, my very life today
Gimme, gimme shelter or I'm gonna fade away.
War, children, it's just a shot away, it's just a shot away.
It's just a shot, away, a shot away, a shot away.
I tell ya, love, sister, it's just a kiss away, it's just a kiss away
It's just a kiss away, it's just a kiss away, kiss away, kiss away.
- Released December 9, 1969
- The song first appeared as the opening track on the band's 1969 album Let It Bleed. Although the first word was spelt "Gimmie" on that album, subsequent recordings by the band and other musicians have made "Gimme" the customary spelling.
- On the recording of the album, Let it Bleed, Jagger said in a 1995 interview with Rolling Stone, "Well, it's a very rough, very violent era. The Vietnam War. Violence on the screens, pillage and burning. And Vietnam was not war as we knew it in the conventional sense..." On the song itself, he concluded, "That's a kind of end-of-the-world song, really. It's apocalypse; the whole record's like that."
- A much higher-pitched second vocal track is sung by guest vocalist Merry Clayton. Of her inclusion, Jagger said in the 2003 book According to... The Rolling Stones: "The use of the female voice was the producer's idea. It would be one of those moments along the lines of 'I hear a girl on this track - get one on the phone.' " Clayton gives her solo performance, and one of the song's most famous pieces, after a solo performed by Richards, repeatedly singing "Rape, murder; It's just a shot away, It's just a shot away," and finally screaming the final stanza. She and Jagger finish the song with the line, "Love, sister, it's just a kiss away." To date it remains one of the most prominent contributions to a Rolling Stones track by a female vocalist.
- Merry Clayton's name is misspelled on the album, appearing as 'Mary.'
- Merry Clayton's version of "Gimme Shelter"
- Although popular, "Gimme Shelter" was never released as a single. It placed #38 on the list of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004.
- Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese has used this song in 3 of his films: Goodfellas, Casino and The Departed.
If I don't get some shelter, yeah, I'm gonna fade away.
War, children, its just a shot away, it's just a shot away
War, children, its just a shot away, it's just a shot away.
Ooh, see the fire is sweeping, our very streets today
Burns like a red coal carpet, mad bull lost its way.
War, children, its just a shot away, it's just a shot away
War, children, its just a shot away, it's just a shot away.
Rape, murder, it's just a shot away, it's just a shot away
Rape, murder, it's just a shot away, it's just a shot away
Rape, murder, it's just a shot away, it's just a shot away.
Mmmm, the flood is threatening, my very life today
Gimme, gimme shelter or I'm gonna fade away.
War, children, it's just a shot away, it's just a shot away.
It's just a shot, away, a shot away, a shot away.
I tell ya, love, sister, it's just a kiss away, it's just a kiss away
It's just a kiss away, it's just a kiss away, kiss away, kiss away.
- Released December 9, 1969
- The song first appeared as the opening track on the band's 1969 album Let It Bleed. Although the first word was spelt "Gimmie" on that album, subsequent recordings by the band and other musicians have made "Gimme" the customary spelling.
- On the recording of the album, Let it Bleed, Jagger said in a 1995 interview with Rolling Stone, "Well, it's a very rough, very violent era. The Vietnam War. Violence on the screens, pillage and burning. And Vietnam was not war as we knew it in the conventional sense..." On the song itself, he concluded, "That's a kind of end-of-the-world song, really. It's apocalypse; the whole record's like that."
- A much higher-pitched second vocal track is sung by guest vocalist Merry Clayton. Of her inclusion, Jagger said in the 2003 book According to... The Rolling Stones: "The use of the female voice was the producer's idea. It would be one of those moments along the lines of 'I hear a girl on this track - get one on the phone.' " Clayton gives her solo performance, and one of the song's most famous pieces, after a solo performed by Richards, repeatedly singing "Rape, murder; It's just a shot away, It's just a shot away," and finally screaming the final stanza. She and Jagger finish the song with the line, "Love, sister, it's just a kiss away." To date it remains one of the most prominent contributions to a Rolling Stones track by a female vocalist.
- Merry Clayton's name is misspelled on the album, appearing as 'Mary.'
- Merry Clayton's version of "Gimme Shelter"
- Although popular, "Gimme Shelter" was never released as a single. It placed #38 on the list of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004.
- Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese has used this song in 3 of his films: Goodfellas, Casino and The Departed.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Honkey Tonk Women
I met a gin-soaked, barroom queen in Memphis,
She tried to take me upstairs for a ride.
She had to heave me right across her shoulder
'Cause I just can't seem to drink you off my mind.
It's the honky tonk women
Gimme, gimme, gimme the honky tonk blues.
I laid a divorcee in New York City,
I had to put up some kind of a fight.
The lady then she covered me with roses,
She blew my nose and then she blew my mind.
- Released July 11, 1969
- Two versions of the song were recorded by the band: the familiar hit which appeared on the 45 single and their collection of late 1960s singles, Through The Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2); and a honky-tonk version entitled "Country Honk" with slightly different lyrics, which appeared on Let it Bleed.
Country Honk version
- The song was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards while on vacation in Brazil from late December 1968 to early January 1969. Inspired by Brazilian gauchos at the ranch where Jagger and Richards were staying, the song was originally conceived as an acoustic country song.
- "It's the honky tonk women" refers to a dancing girl in a western bar who may work as a prostitute.
- The song was based on Hank Williams, Sr., "Honkey Tonk Blues"
- Keith Richards: "Honky Tonk Women" started in Brazil. Mick and I, Marianne Faithfull and Anita Pallenberg who was pregnant with my son at the time. Which didn't stop us going off to the Mato Grasso and living on this ranch. It's all cowboys. It's all horses and spurs. And Mick and I were sitting on the porch of this ranch house and I started to play, basically fooling around with an old Hank Williams idea. 'Cause we really thought we were like real cowboys. Honky tonk women. And we were sitting in the middle of nowhere with all these horses, in a place where if you flush the john all these black frogs would fly out. It was great. The chicks loved it. Anyway, it started out a real country honk put on, a hokey thing. And then couple of months later we were writing songs and recording. And somehow by some metamorphosis it suddenly went into this little swampy, black thing, a Blues thing. Really, I can't give you a credible reason of how it turned around from that to that. Except there's not really a lot of difference between white Country music and black Country music. It's just a matter of nuance and style. I think it has to do with the fact that we were playing a lot around with open tunings at the time. So we were trying songs out just to see if they could be played in open tuning. And that one just sunk in." Reference
- The song is distinctive as it opens not with a guitar riff, but with a beat played on a cowbell. The Rolling Stones' producer Jimmy Miller performed the cowbell for the recording.
- The back-up vocals were provided by Reparta & The Delrons, an all-girl group in the 60's.
- The single was released in the UK the day after the death of founding member Brian Jones.
She tried to take me upstairs for a ride.
She had to heave me right across her shoulder
'Cause I just can't seem to drink you off my mind.
It's the honky tonk women
Gimme, gimme, gimme the honky tonk blues.
I laid a divorcee in New York City,
I had to put up some kind of a fight.
The lady then she covered me with roses,
She blew my nose and then she blew my mind.
- Released July 11, 1969
- Two versions of the song were recorded by the band: the familiar hit which appeared on the 45 single and their collection of late 1960s singles, Through The Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2); and a honky-tonk version entitled "Country Honk" with slightly different lyrics, which appeared on Let it Bleed.
Country Honk version
- The song was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards while on vacation in Brazil from late December 1968 to early January 1969. Inspired by Brazilian gauchos at the ranch where Jagger and Richards were staying, the song was originally conceived as an acoustic country song.
- "It's the honky tonk women" refers to a dancing girl in a western bar who may work as a prostitute.
- The song was based on Hank Williams, Sr., "Honkey Tonk Blues"
- Keith Richards: "Honky Tonk Women" started in Brazil. Mick and I, Marianne Faithfull and Anita Pallenberg who was pregnant with my son at the time. Which didn't stop us going off to the Mato Grasso and living on this ranch. It's all cowboys. It's all horses and spurs. And Mick and I were sitting on the porch of this ranch house and I started to play, basically fooling around with an old Hank Williams idea. 'Cause we really thought we were like real cowboys. Honky tonk women. And we were sitting in the middle of nowhere with all these horses, in a place where if you flush the john all these black frogs would fly out. It was great. The chicks loved it. Anyway, it started out a real country honk put on, a hokey thing. And then couple of months later we were writing songs and recording. And somehow by some metamorphosis it suddenly went into this little swampy, black thing, a Blues thing. Really, I can't give you a credible reason of how it turned around from that to that. Except there's not really a lot of difference between white Country music and black Country music. It's just a matter of nuance and style. I think it has to do with the fact that we were playing a lot around with open tunings at the time. So we were trying songs out just to see if they could be played in open tuning. And that one just sunk in." Reference
- The song is distinctive as it opens not with a guitar riff, but with a beat played on a cowbell. The Rolling Stones' producer Jimmy Miller performed the cowbell for the recording.
- The back-up vocals were provided by Reparta & The Delrons, an all-girl group in the 60's.
- The single was released in the UK the day after the death of founding member Brian Jones.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Jumpin' Jack Flash
I was born in a cross-fire hurricane
And I howled at the moon in the driving rain,
But it's all right now, in fact, it's a gas!
But it's all right. I'm Jumpin' Jack Flash,
It's a gas! Gas! Gas!
I was raised by a toothless, bearded hag,
I was schooled with a strap right across my back,
But it's all right now, in fact, it's a gas!
But it's all right, I'm Jumpin' Jack Flash,
It's a gas! Gas! Gas!
I was drowned, I was washed up and left for dead.
I fell down to my feet and I saw they bled.
I frowned at the crumbs of a crust of bread.
Yeah, yeah, yeah
I was crowned with a spike right thru my head.
But it's all right now, in fact, it's a gas!
But it's all right, I'm Jumpin' Jack Flash,
It's a gas! Gas! Gas!
Jumping Jack Flash, its a gas
Jumping Jack Flash, its a gas
Jumping Jack Flash, its a gas
Jumping Jack Flash, its a gas
Jumping Jack Flash
- Released June 1, 1968
- Richards has stated that he and Jagger wrote the lyrics while staying at Richards' country house, where they were awoken one morning by the sound of gardener Jack Dyer walking past the window. When Jagger asked what the noise was, Richards responded: "Oh, that's Jack - that's jumpin' Jack."
- "I was born in a cross-fire hurricane." - refers to Keith Richards being born (in 1943) amidst the German bombings of World War II and V1 and V2 rocket attacks of the time around London.
- Jagger said in a 1995 interview with Rolling Stone that the song arose "...out of all the acid of Satanic Majesties... It's about having a hard time and getting out. Just a metaphor for getting out of all the acid things.
- The song was referenced in Don McLean's celebrated single, "American Pie"
Oh, and there we were all in one place
A generation Lost in Space
With no time left to start again
So come on, Jack be nimble, Jack be quick
Jack Flash sat on a candlestick
'Cause fire is the Devil's only friend
Don McLean's "American Pie"
And I howled at the moon in the driving rain,
But it's all right now, in fact, it's a gas!
But it's all right. I'm Jumpin' Jack Flash,
It's a gas! Gas! Gas!
I was raised by a toothless, bearded hag,
I was schooled with a strap right across my back,
But it's all right now, in fact, it's a gas!
But it's all right, I'm Jumpin' Jack Flash,
It's a gas! Gas! Gas!
I was drowned, I was washed up and left for dead.
I fell down to my feet and I saw they bled.
I frowned at the crumbs of a crust of bread.
Yeah, yeah, yeah
I was crowned with a spike right thru my head.
But it's all right now, in fact, it's a gas!
But it's all right, I'm Jumpin' Jack Flash,
It's a gas! Gas! Gas!
Jumping Jack Flash, its a gas
Jumping Jack Flash, its a gas
Jumping Jack Flash, its a gas
Jumping Jack Flash, its a gas
Jumping Jack Flash
- Released June 1, 1968
- Richards has stated that he and Jagger wrote the lyrics while staying at Richards' country house, where they were awoken one morning by the sound of gardener Jack Dyer walking past the window. When Jagger asked what the noise was, Richards responded: "Oh, that's Jack - that's jumpin' Jack."
- "I was born in a cross-fire hurricane." - refers to Keith Richards being born (in 1943) amidst the German bombings of World War II and V1 and V2 rocket attacks of the time around London.
- Jagger said in a 1995 interview with Rolling Stone that the song arose "...out of all the acid of Satanic Majesties... It's about having a hard time and getting out. Just a metaphor for getting out of all the acid things.
- The song was referenced in Don McLean's celebrated single, "American Pie"
Oh, and there we were all in one place
A generation Lost in Space
With no time left to start again
So come on, Jack be nimble, Jack be quick
Jack Flash sat on a candlestick
'Cause fire is the Devil's only friend
Don McLean's "American Pie"
Saturday, March 7, 2009
We Love You
We don't care
If you only love "we"
We don't care
If you only love "we"
We love you.
We love you
And we hope
That you will love "We" too
We love "they".
We love "they", and
We want you to love "they" too
Ah
We don't care
If you hound "we" and
Love is all around "we"
Love can't get our minds off
We love you
We love you
You will never win "we"
Your uniforms don't fit "we"
We forget the place we're in
Cause we love you
We love you.
Of course, we do
I love you.
I love you
And I hope that
You won't prove wrong too
We love you. We do.
We love you. We do.
Ah...
- Released September 2, 1967
- "We Love You" is a psychedelic collage of jail sounds, Nicky Hopkins' foreboding piano riff, and otherworldly tape delayed vocal effects, featuring a visiting John Lennon and Paul McCartney on high harmonies. It was written during the aftermath of the drugs arrests faced by Jagger and Richards at the Redlands country home of the latter in Sussex that year, the single opens with the sounds of entry into jail, and a cell door clanging shut.
- The song is a droning Moroccan influenced anthem of defiance. Outwardly, it was a message from the band to its fans, expressing appreciation for support in the wake of their recent drug busts. It was also an ironic, tongue in cheek slap in the faces of the police harassing them and the Stones' true feelings about it, putting on a cooperative and friendly face while inside they were seething with anger and indignation.
- The song was also a "Thank You" to their fans, The Beatles, The Who, and the editorial page of the London Times, who supported and spoke out in favor of the Stones after Jagger, Richards and Jones were all arrested on drug charges.
- The Who recorded and released a double A-side of the Stones' "The Last Time" and "Under My Thumb" to keep the Stones' music alive while they were going through their court and prison difficulties.
The Who's cover of "Under My Thumb"
- Allen Ginsberg was in London for a pro-marijuana rally in Hyde Park. He met Mick at Paul McCartney's house, and Mick invited the Beat poet to that night's session with Paul and John to record backing vocals for "We Love You". Ginsberg, waving his Shiva beads and a Tibetan oracle ring, conducted the singers from the other side of the studio glass to the tempo of the stuttering Mellotron track. "They looked like little angels," he wrote later of the Stones and the Beatles, "like Botticelli Graces singing together for the first time."
The official event poster at Hyde Park
If you only love "we"
We don't care
If you only love "we"
We love you.
We love you
And we hope
That you will love "We" too
We love "they".
We love "they", and
We want you to love "they" too
Ah
We don't care
If you hound "we" and
Love is all around "we"
Love can't get our minds off
We love you
We love you
You will never win "we"
Your uniforms don't fit "we"
We forget the place we're in
Cause we love you
We love you.
Of course, we do
I love you.
I love you
And I hope that
You won't prove wrong too
We love you. We do.
We love you. We do.
Ah...
- Released September 2, 1967
- "We Love You" is a psychedelic collage of jail sounds, Nicky Hopkins' foreboding piano riff, and otherworldly tape delayed vocal effects, featuring a visiting John Lennon and Paul McCartney on high harmonies. It was written during the aftermath of the drugs arrests faced by Jagger and Richards at the Redlands country home of the latter in Sussex that year, the single opens with the sounds of entry into jail, and a cell door clanging shut.
- The song is a droning Moroccan influenced anthem of defiance. Outwardly, it was a message from the band to its fans, expressing appreciation for support in the wake of their recent drug busts. It was also an ironic, tongue in cheek slap in the faces of the police harassing them and the Stones' true feelings about it, putting on a cooperative and friendly face while inside they were seething with anger and indignation.
- The song was also a "Thank You" to their fans, The Beatles, The Who, and the editorial page of the London Times, who supported and spoke out in favor of the Stones after Jagger, Richards and Jones were all arrested on drug charges.
- The Who recorded and released a double A-side of the Stones' "The Last Time" and "Under My Thumb" to keep the Stones' music alive while they were going through their court and prison difficulties.
The Who's cover of "Under My Thumb"
- Allen Ginsberg was in London for a pro-marijuana rally in Hyde Park. He met Mick at Paul McCartney's house, and Mick invited the Beat poet to that night's session with Paul and John to record backing vocals for "We Love You". Ginsberg, waving his Shiva beads and a Tibetan oracle ring, conducted the singers from the other side of the studio glass to the tempo of the stuttering Mellotron track. "They looked like little angels," he wrote later of the Stones and the Beatles, "like Botticelli Graces singing together for the first time."
The official event poster at Hyde Park
Thursday, March 5, 2009
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 stolen many a man's soul and faith
I was around 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
Stuck around St. Petersburg when I saw it was a time for a change
Killed the Tsar and his ministers; Anastasia screamed in vain
I rode a tank held a gen'rals rank when the blitzkrieg
raged and the bodies stank
Pleased to meet you hope your guess my name, oh yeah
Ah what's puzzling you is the nature of my game, oh yeah
I watched the glee while your kings and queens fought for
ten decades for the Gods they made
I shouted out "who killed the Kennedy's?" when after all it was you and me
Let me please introduce myself I'm a man of wealth and taste
And I lay traps for troubadors who get killed before they reach Bombay
Pleased to meet you hope you guess my name, oh yeah
But what's puzzling you is the nature of my game, oh yeah
Pleased to meet you hope you guess my name
But what's confusin you is just the nature of my game
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, um yeah
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, um yeah
But what's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game, um mean it, get down
Woo, who
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, who
woo, woo
Woo, who
Woo, woo
Woo, who, who
Woo, who, who
Oh, yeah
What's my name
Tell me, baby, what's my name
Tell me, sweetie, what's my name
Woo, who, who
Woo, who, who
Woo, who, who
Woo, who, who
Woo, who, who
Woo, who, who
Oh, yeah
Woo woo
Woo woo
The original live recording of the song on Rock and Roll Circus, a British TV special The Stones taped in 1968 but never aired.
- Released December 6, 1968
- The working title of the song was "The Devil Is My Name", and it is sung by Mick Jagger as a first-person narrative from the point of view of Lucifer.
- Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste These opening lines reflect Jagger's direct inspiration by The Master and Margarita, with the book opening with the similar "'Please excuse me,' he said, speaking correctly, but with a foreign accent, 'for presuming to speak to you without an introduction.'"
- Backed by an intensifying rock arrangement, the narrator, with chilling narcissistic relish, recounts his exploits over the course of human history and warns the listener: "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." Jagger stated in the Rolling Stone interview: "...it's a very long historical figure -- the figures of evil and figures of good -- so it is a tremendously long trail he's made as personified in this piece."
- Stuck around Saint Petersburg when I saw it was a time for a change, killed the tsar and his ministers; Anastasia screamed in vain - Refers to the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the 1918 massacre of the Romanov family.
- I rode a tank held a gen'rals rank when the blitzkrieg raged and the bodies stank - Refers to Hitler and World War II. "...the bodies stank" is in reference to the gas chambers.
- I watched the glee while your kings and queens fought for ten decades for the Gods they made - Refers to the Hundred Years' War.
- I shouted out "who killed the Kennedys'?" when after all it was you and me - This line originally referred to John F. Kennedy. However, the recording sessions for the track were in progress when the latter was killed, and the words were changed from "Who killed Kennedy?" to "who killed the Kennedys'?"
- And I lay traps for troubadors who get killed before they reach Bombay. - refers to the hippies who traveled the "Hippie Trail" by road. Many of them were killed and ripped off by drug peddlers in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Another link for the "Hippie Trail"
- The song was also inspired by Robert Johnson's "Me and the Devil Blues"
- Contrary to a widespread misconception, it was "Under My Thumb" and not "Sympathy for the Devil" that the Rolling Stones were performing when Meredith Hunter was killed at the Altamont Free Concert. Rolling Stone magazine's early articles on the incident misreported that the killing took place during "Sympathy for the Devil", but The Rolling Stones in fact played "Sympathy for the Devil" earlier in the concert; it was interrupted by a fight and re-started, and several other songs were performed before Hunter was killed.
- On the overall power of the song, Jagger continued in Rolling Stone: "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 slow down. It keeps this constant groove. Plus, the actual samba rhythm is a great one to sing on, but it is 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 (candomble). 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 is a very unpretentious groove. If it had been done as a ballad, it wouldn't have been as good."
I'm a man of wealth and taste
I've been around for a long long year stolen many a man's soul and faith
I was around 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
Stuck around St. Petersburg when I saw it was a time for a change
Killed the Tsar and his ministers; Anastasia screamed in vain
I rode a tank held a gen'rals rank when the blitzkrieg
raged and the bodies stank
Pleased to meet you hope your guess my name, oh yeah
Ah what's puzzling you is the nature of my game, oh yeah
I watched the glee while your kings and queens fought for
ten decades for the Gods they made
I shouted out "who killed the Kennedy's?" when after all it was you and me
Let me please introduce myself I'm a man of wealth and taste
And I lay traps for troubadors who get killed before they reach Bombay
Pleased to meet you hope you guess my name, oh yeah
But what's puzzling you is the nature of my game, oh yeah
Pleased to meet you hope you guess my name
But what's confusin you is just the nature of my game
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, um yeah
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, um yeah
But what's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game, um mean it, get down
Woo, who
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, who
woo, woo
Woo, who
Woo, woo
Woo, who, who
Woo, who, who
Oh, yeah
What's my name
Tell me, baby, what's my name
Tell me, sweetie, what's my name
Woo, who, who
Woo, who, who
Woo, who, who
Woo, who, who
Woo, who, who
Woo, who, who
Oh, yeah
Woo woo
Woo woo
The original live recording of the song on Rock and Roll Circus, a British TV special The Stones taped in 1968 but never aired.
- Released December 6, 1968
- The working title of the song was "The Devil Is My Name", and it is sung by Mick Jagger as a first-person narrative from the point of view of Lucifer.
- Please allow me to introduce myself, I'm a man of wealth and taste These opening lines reflect Jagger's direct inspiration by The Master and Margarita, with the book opening with the similar "'Please excuse me,' he said, speaking correctly, but with a foreign accent, 'for presuming to speak to you without an introduction.'"
- Backed by an intensifying rock arrangement, the narrator, with chilling narcissistic relish, recounts his exploits over the course of human history and warns the listener: "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." Jagger stated in the Rolling Stone interview: "...it's a very long historical figure -- the figures of evil and figures of good -- so it is a tremendously long trail he's made as personified in this piece."
- Stuck around Saint Petersburg when I saw it was a time for a change, killed the tsar and his ministers; Anastasia screamed in vain - Refers to the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the 1918 massacre of the Romanov family.
- I rode a tank held a gen'rals rank when the blitzkrieg raged and the bodies stank - Refers to Hitler and World War II. "...the bodies stank" is in reference to the gas chambers.
- I watched the glee while your kings and queens fought for ten decades for the Gods they made - Refers to the Hundred Years' War.
- I shouted out "who killed the Kennedys'?" when after all it was you and me - This line originally referred to John F. Kennedy. However, the recording sessions for the track were in progress when the latter was killed, and the words were changed from "Who killed Kennedy?" to "who killed the Kennedys'?"
- And I lay traps for troubadors who get killed before they reach Bombay. - refers to the hippies who traveled the "Hippie Trail" by road. Many of them were killed and ripped off by drug peddlers in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Another link for the "Hippie Trail"
- The song was also inspired by Robert Johnson's "Me and the Devil Blues"
- Contrary to a widespread misconception, it was "Under My Thumb" and not "Sympathy for the Devil" that the Rolling Stones were performing when Meredith Hunter was killed at the Altamont Free Concert. Rolling Stone magazine's early articles on the incident misreported that the killing took place during "Sympathy for the Devil", but The Rolling Stones in fact played "Sympathy for the Devil" earlier in the concert; it was interrupted by a fight and re-started, and several other songs were performed before Hunter was killed.
- On the overall power of the song, Jagger continued in Rolling Stone: "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 slow down. It keeps this constant groove. Plus, the actual samba rhythm is a great one to sing on, but it is 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 (candomble). 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 is a very unpretentious groove. If it had been done as a ballad, it wouldn't have been as good."
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