Gimme Shelter - The Rolling Stones Song Meaning

This song has never been released as a single, but it is included in all the official and most “self-made” collections of the best tracks of The Rolling Stones. Critics called Gimme Shelter the best work of the rock band The Rolling Stones. Authoritative publications included her in the ratings of the greatest musical creations. She sounds in many famous films, and even one of the American presidents openly confessed his love for her. So there are more than enough reasons to talk about the work.

History of creation and meaning of the song Gimme Shelter

The authorship of the song belongs to the creative tandem of Richards and Jagger, although Keith’s contribution was probably more significant. It was he who came up with the main idea of the composition. He also composed the famous guitar riff while Mick was busy filming Performance.

The musicians have repeatedly talked about the history of Gimme Shelter and explained what they wanted to express in the composition, so it makes sense to quote from various interviews. First, let’s look at Keith’s memoirs, set out in his autobiography Life, published in 2010:

I wrote Gimme Shelter on a stormy day, sitting in Robert Fraser’s apartment on Mount Street. Anita [Палленберг] I was just filming Performance nearby… It was just a terrible fucking day and it was a real storm outside. I was sitting there in Mount Street, and the storm rumbled all over London. That’s why I got this mood just looking out the window of Robert’s house, looking at all these people under umbrellas, which vomited from their hands, and from above it poured like a bucket. And this idea came to my mind… I thought about the storms in the minds of other people – not mine. She just showed up at the right time.

And here is what Jagger said about the main idea of the Let It Bleed album in general and the meaning of the Gimme Shelter song in particular:

Well, it’s a very harsh, very violent era. Vietnam War. Screen violence, looting and fires. And Vietnam was not the war we used to know. The thing about Vietnam is that it wasn’t like World War II, and it wasn’t like Korea, and it wasn’t like the Gulf War. It was a really nasty war, and people didn’t like it. People were protesting and people didn’t want to fight in it… Actually, it’s kind of like a song about the end of the world. This is the apocalypse. The whole record is like that.

Rolling Stone 1995

It was a very sad song about the world coming at you in some way… When it was recorded, sometime in the early 69th, it was a time of war and tension, which is reflected in this melody. They still launch it when there’s a big storm, like it did last week. [тогда разразился ураган «Сэнди»].

NPR, 2012

Release and achievements

The song was recorded in February-March 1969 at London’s Olympic Studios. The singer Merry Clayton was involved in the work, who recorded her vocal part in the autumn of the same year in Los Angeles. Jagger later said:

It was the producer’s idea to use a female voice… It remains the most outstanding contribution to a Rolling Stones song by a female vocalist.

According to Rolling Stone, 2003

Gimme Shelter was included on Let It Bleed (1969) and was not released as a single. Later, it was included in various versions in various compilation albums of the group.

Rolling Stone included the song in their list of the 500 Greatest Tracks of All Time.

The song is featured in a huge number of well-known feature films and television series. Martin Scorsese alone included it on the soundtracks for three of his masterpieces: The Good Guys, Casino, and The Departed. Interestingly, he did not want to use it in the Shine the Light documentary, dedicated to the work of The Rolling Stones.

Clip Gimme Shelter – Rolling Stones

In 1998, the famous French director Michel Gondry, winner of an Oscar for the screenplay of the film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, shot a video clip for Gimme Shelter. The main role in it was played by the famous Hollywood actor Brad Renfro.

Interesting Facts

In the original version of the name, the first word was written as Gimmie, but it was changed to the more common Gimme.
The last line of the first verse contains a reference to The Rolling Stones single Fade Away.
To achieve a distinctive sound, the musicians used old Triumph amplifiers when recording.
In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Barack Obama, admiring the work of the group, called Gimme Shelter the favorite track of the Rolling Stones.
At about the end of the third minute, Clayton’s voice is heard breaking, followed by gasps of astonishment from those present in the studio.
When Merry was returning home after recording, she had a miscarriage. Doctors said that the tragedy occurred due to emotional overstrain during the performance of the song.
On the album cover, Merry’s name was misspelled as Mary.
Merry Clayton released her own version of Gimme Shelter.

Gimme Shelter – Rolling Stones lyrics

Yeah, a storm is threatening
my very life today
If I don’t get some shelter
Lord, I’m gonna fade away

War, children, yeah, it’s just a shot away
It’s just a shot away
War, children, yeah, it’s just a shot away
It’s just a shot away, hey, yeah

Oh see the fire is sweepin’
At our streets today
Burnin’ like a red coal carpet
A mad bull lost its way

War, children, yeah, it’s just a shot away
It’s just a shot away
War, children, yeah, it’s just a shot away
It’s just a shot away, hey, yeah

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

Yeah, a storm is threatening
my very life today
A gimme, a gimme shelter
Or I’m gonna fade away

War, children, yeah, it’s just a shot away
It’s just a shot away
War, children, yeah, it’s just a shot away
It’s just a shot away

It’s just a shot away, it’s just a shot away
It’s just a shot away, shot away, shot away
It’s just a shot away, it’s just a shot away
It’s just a shot away, shot away, shot away

I tell love, sister, yeah, it’s just a kiss away
I tell love, sister, yeah, it’s just a kiss away
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
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, kiss away, kiss away

Gimme shelter, yeah, gimme shelter, yeah
Gimme shelter, yeah, gimme shelter
Gimme shelter, gimme shelter

Gimme Shelter Lyrics

Yes, the storm is threatening
Of my very life now
If I don’t find shelter
God, I’m going to end

War, children, at gunpoint
She’s at gunpoint
War, children, at gunpoint
She’s at gunpoint

Oh look, the fire is engulfing
Our streets today
It burns like a layer of red coals,
Like a mad bull gone astray

War, children, at gunpoint
She’s at gunpoint
War, children, at gunpoint
She’s at gunpoint

Violence, murder – it’s all within a shot
It’s within shooting distance
Violence, murder – it’s all within a shot
It’s within shooting distance
Violence, murder – it’s all within a shot
It’s within shooting distance

Yes, the storm is threatening
Of my very life now
If I don’t find shelter
God, I’m going to end

War, children, at gunpoint
She’s at gunpoint
War, children, at gunpoint
She’s at gunpoint

She’s within a shot, she’s within a shot
She’s a shot away, shot away, shot away
She’s within a shot, she’s within a shot
She’s a shot away, shot away, shot away

I tell you sister, love is a kiss away
I tell you sister, love is a kiss away
Just a kiss away, just a kiss away
Just a kiss away, just a kiss away
Kiss distance, kiss distance
She’s a kiss away, she’s a kiss away
She’s a kiss away, she’s a kiss away
Kiss distance, kiss distance, kiss distance, kiss distance

Cover me, cover me
Cover me, cover me
Cover me, cover me