The legendary band The Rolling Stones by the mid-sixties was already quite famous and popular. He was only one step away from the status of a really cool rock band. They became the song (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction, recorded in May 1965.
A lot of great singles came out that summer: Help Me, Rhonda by The Beach Boys, Mr. Tambourine Man in The Byrds version and others. But all of them were lost against the backdrop of the Rolling Stones’ hit, which topped the charts on both sides of the ocean and became their first “gold” disc. Rolling Stone ranked the song number two on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and many music experts call it the best rock ‘n’ roll theme.
Song Story (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
The history of the creation of the composition is widely known. On May 6, 1965, while on their third US tour, The Rolling Stones played a concert in Clearwater, Florida. During the performance, several hundred young fans got into a fight with the police, so the event had to be canceled after only four songs.
That evening, a tired and sleepy Keith Richards, sitting in a hotel, languidly improvised on the guitar and casually composed a riff that formed the basis of the future song. He turned on the tape recorder, recorded it, singing the line “I can’t get no satisfaction”, and passed out. For the next forty minutes, the magnetic tape recorded his powerful snoring.
The author of the lyrics of the song, with the exception of the main phrase, was Mick Jagger. The band first recorded (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction in Chicago, and a short time later remade it at Hollywood’s RCA Studios, changing the drums and adding the famous fuzz.
Richards initially did not believe in the success of the song, and was also afraid that the intro would be considered borrowing from Martha & the Vandellas from Dancing in the Street. But his fears were unfounded.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZ8GZ3PFVGM
Meaning of the song (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
The composition is often referred to as a turning point in the history of modern music. The Beatles dominated the scene at the time with their light rock and roll, and the audience, longing for a more “heavy” sound, enthusiastically accepted the new hit. From that moment on, the Beatles had worthy competitors, and rock music lovers had a real choice.
The provocative lyrics of the song (especially the explicit allusions to sexual relations) caused a wave of indignation among the older generation, although some lines are still interpreted differently.
Achievements
In addition to the list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction is included in several other well-known rankings, including “Top 100 Greatest Rock Songs” (1st) and “Top 100 Singles of All Time” (7 -th place).
Newsweek magazine called the opening guitar riff “the five notes that shook the world”, one of the best characteristics of the song.
Videoclip of (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
Let’s watch the official music video of The Rolling Stones online.
Interesting Facts
- The phrase “I can’t get no satisfaction” uses a double negation, a typical colloquial English error often found in songs.
- Chuck Berry’s 30 Days has the line “I can’t get no satisfaction from the judge”. It’s entirely possible that Keith Richards, a big Chuck fan, consciously or not borrowed it.
- The hotel where Richards composed the song still exists today. Formerly known as the Jack Tar Harrison Hotel, it was later renamed the Fort Harrison Hotel.
- Keith Richards claims to play (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction differently at every gig.
(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction – The Rolling Stones Lyrics
I can’t get no satisfaction
I can’t get no satisfaction
‘Cause I try and I try and I try and I try
I can’t get no, I can’t get no
When I’m driving in my car
And that man comes on the radio
And he’s tellin’ me more and more
About some useless information
Supposed to fire my imagination
I can’t get no, oh no no no
Hey hey hey, that’s what I say
I can’t get no satisfaction
I can’t get no satisfaction
‘Cause I try and I try and I try and I try
I can’t get no, I can’t get no
When I’m watching my TV
And that man comes on to tell me
How white my shirts can be
But he can’t be a man ’cause he doesn’t smoke
The same cigarrettes as me
I can’t get no, oh no no no
Hey hey hey, that’s what I say
I can’t get no satisfaction
I can’t get no girl reaction
‘Cause I try and I try and I try and I try
I can’t get no, I can’t get no
When I’m ridin’ round the world
And I’m doin’ this and I’m signing that
And I’m tryin’ to make some girl
Who tells me baby better come back later next week
Cause you see I’m on losing streak
I can’t get no, oh no no no
Hey hey hey, that’s what I say
I can’t get no, I can’t get no
I can’t get no satisfaction
No satisfaction, no satisfaction, no satisfaction
(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction – The Rolling Stones Lyrics
I can’t get satisfaction
I can’t get satisfaction
Though I try and try and try and try
I can’t, I can’t
When I’m in the car
And the guy starts playing on the radio
And he keeps loading and loading me
Some useless information
And thinks she should fire my imagination
I can’t, oh no no no
Hey hey hey, that’s what I’m saying
I can’t get satisfaction
I can’t get satisfaction
Though I try and try and try and try
I can’t, I can’t
When I watch TV
And that guy shows up and tells me
How white can my shirts be
But he’s not even a man because he doesn’t smoke
Same cigarettes as me
I can’t, oh no no no
Hey hey hey, that’s what I’m saying
I can’t get satisfaction
And girls don’t fall for me
Though I try and try and try and try
I can’t, I can’t
When I travel the world
I do this and that
And I’m trying to seduce some girl
And she tells me, they say, honey, come back in a week
‘Cause now I’ve got things to do
I can’t, oh no no no
Hey hey hey, that’s what I’m saying
I can’t, I can’t
I can’t get satisfaction
Dissatisfied, dissatisfied, dissatisfied
Song quote
It was this song that really made The Rolling Stone, turned us from just another team into a cool and powerful group … It has a very catchy name. She has a very catchy guitar riff. The guitar sounds great in it, which was original then. And it reflects the spirit of the time, which is very important in such songs …
Mick Jagger
