“You can’t always get what you want,” you must have heard these words. Perhaps you yourself said them, urging someone not to grumble at the vicissitudes of fate and be content with what life gives.
By making a common phrase the title and refrain of the song You Can’t Always Get What You Want, The Rolling Stones showed the world a magnificent composition that has become a real rock anthem.
History and meaning of the song You Can’t Always Get What You Want
The music and lyrics were composed by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. The idea for the song belonged to Mick.
Subsequently, he recalled:
You Can’t Always Get What You Want was something I just played on acoustic guitar, one of those songs you play in the bedroom.
According to the Rolling Stones, 2003
Dora Loewenstein, Philip Dodd
In the words You Can’t Always Get What You Want, questions of love, social and political life and drugs are touched upon. The authors of the composition understood that the era of the sixties with their atmosphere of an ongoing holiday was fading into the past. No matter how much you want to keep it, you can’t always get everything you want.
Keith Richards has said that the song You Can’t Always Get What You Want symbolizes his childhood years. In his autobiography, LIFE, he said that he was thrown out of the choir because his voice began to break. As it turned out later, fate gave him not what he wanted, but what he needed.
Mick Jagger had this to say about You Can’t Always Get What You Want:
It’s a good song, even if I say it myself. Its chorus is very sing-along and people can identify with it: no one gets what they always want. She has a very good tune. It has a very good orchestration, which Jack Nitzsche helped us with. [Jack Nitzsche]. So she has all the ingredients.
Marianne Faithful also claimed that she played an important role in the history of the song:
Of course, I also contributed to You Can’t Always Get What You Want and Dear Doctor – drugged songs … I know they constantly used me as a muse in these hard drugged songs.
Classic Rock, Max Bell, 2011
Who are you Mr Jimmy?
One Jimmy Hutmaker from Excelsior, Minnesota claimed that Mr. Jimmy from the song You Can’t Always Get What You Want is him. Allegedly, he once happened to meet Jagger in a pharmacy. Mick wanted a Cherry Cola, but it wasn’t available. Then Jimmy said, “You can’t always get what you want.” The phrase became the title of the composition.
However, this version was refuted by David Dalton (David Dalton) from Rolling Stone magazine. According to him, we are talking about Jimmy Miller (Jimmy Miller), who was the producer of the group in the late sixties and early seventies.
Recording
You Can’t Always Get What You Want was the first song the Rolling Stones recorded for their Let It Bleed album. The musicians worked on the song on the sixteenth and seventeenth of November 1968 at the London studio Olympic Sound.
Mick Jagger said:
It turned out that it is difficult to record it, because Charlie [барабанщика Charlie Watts] couldn’t keep the rhythm, so Jimmy Miller had to play drums.
I also had the idea to invite a choir, maybe a gospel choir, to record the track, but at the time there wasn’t one around. Jack Nitzsche [музыкант, продюсер Jack Nitzsche] said we could have the London Bach Choir and we said, “That would be fun.”
According to the Rolling Stones, 2003
Dora Loewenstein, Philip Dodd
Al Kooper was invited to perform the organ and horn parts. Brian Jones was supposed to play them, but due to drug problems, he could not help his colleagues.
The album version of the track is five minutes long. For the single, they recorded a version lasting almost seven and a half minutes.
Release and achievements
You Can’t Always Get What You Want was featured on the back of the single Honky Tonk Women. The record hit the music store shelves on July 4, 1969, the day after Brian Jones’ death. Then the song did not hit the charts.
In 1973, London Records released the track again as a single, after which it reached number 42 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Over the years, You Can’t Always Get What You Want has become one of the band’s most popular repertoires and has been featured on several The Rolling Stones greatest hits compilations.
The Rolling Stones perform it at most concerts, and the audience willingly picks up the chorus.
The song was included in Rolling Stone magazine’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
You Can’t Always Get What You Want – The Rolling Stones
A music video was not made specifically for the song. Let’s watch a recording of the group’s performance on television.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K0qnt5rTCoo
This live video is considered the official video for You Can’t Always Get What You Want by the Rolling Stones.
Interesting Facts
- Members of the London Bach Choir tried to have the name of the choir removed from the album. They didn’t want to be involved with a record called Let It Bleed. They were also confused by the Midnight Rambler song about a serial killer.
- Donald Trump has been using You Can’t Always Get What You Want on his campaign trail since 2016. Members of The Rolling Stones, like many other musicians, demanded an end to this practice, but Trump ignored their claims.
- When Donald Trump was elected President of the United States, Mick Jagger wrote a joke tweet in which he asked if he would be called to perform You Can’t Always Get What You Want at the inauguration ceremony.
You Can’t Always Get What You Want – The Rolling Stones
I saw her today at the 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
But if you try sometime you find
You get what you need
We went down to the demonstration
To get your fair share of abuse
Singing, “We’re gonna vent our frustration
If we don’t we’re gonna blow a fifty-amp fuse”
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
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
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 get what you need
You get what you need—yeah, oh baby
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
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
Writer/s: KEITH RICHARDS, MICK JAGGER
Publisher: Abkco Music, Inc.
You Can’t Always Get What You Want Lyrics
Today I saw her at the reception
With a glass of wine in hand.
I knew she would get into a relationship
At her feet was a free 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.
But if you try, one day you realize
That you get what you need.
We went to the demonstration
To get your share of insults
Singing, “We need to vent our displeasure,
Otherwise, our fuses will blow.”
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, one day you might understand
That you get what you need.
I went to the Chelsea Pharmacy
To have your prescription filled.
I was standing in line with Mr. Jimmy
And, you know, he looked quite sick.
We decided we should buy soda
With my favorite flavor, red cherry.
I sang my song to Mr. Jimmy.
Yes, he said one word to me, and it was “dead.”
And I told him…
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 can understand
That you get what you need.
You get what you need, yeah baby
I saw her today at the reception
A man was bleeding in her glass.
She was skilled in the art of deceit
Yeah, I figured it out from the bloodstains on her 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, one day you might understand
One day you may understand
That you get what you need.
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, one day you might understand
One day you may understand
That you get what you need.
- An establishment called the Chelsea Drugstore operated in Chelsea. The building contained a bar, a record store, and a pharmacy. Director Stanley Kubrick filmed several scenes for A Clockwork Oranges there. The building now houses a McDonald’s.
- Read about the real Mr. Jimmy above in the article.
Song Quotes
If John Lennon’s observation that The Rolling Stones tended to copy The Beatles’ innovations after a couple of months or so seems convincing, You Can’t Always Get What You Want is The Rolling Stones’ answer to Hey Jude.
Richie Unterberger, AllMusic
I loved what The Beatles did with Hey Jude. The orchestra was not just meant to hide everything. He acted as a complement. Maybe we’ll do something similar on the next album.
Mick Jagger, 1969, Time Is on Our Side
