Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English musician and songwrite… Read Full Bio ↴Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English musician and songwriter, and a founding member of The Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards has created "rock's greatest single body of riffs," and has named him the 4th greatest guitarist of all time. Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting partner Mick Jagger, The Rolling Stones' lead vocalist, are listed among Rolling Stone magazine's "500 Greatest Songs of All Time."

Richards has released few solo recordings. His first solo single released in 1978 was versions of Chuck Berry's "Run Rudolph Run" and Jimmy Cliff's "The Harder They Come." In 1987, after Mick Jagger pursued a solo recording and touring career, Richards formed the X-pensive Winos with co-songwriter, and co-producer Steve Jordan whom Richards assembled for his Chuck Berry documentary, Hail! Hail! Rock 'n' Roll. Additional members of the X-pensive Winos included guitarist Waddy Wachtel, saxist Bobby Keys, keyboardist Ivan Neville and Charley Drayton on bass.

The first Winos' record,Talk Is Cheap also featured Bernie Worrell, Bootsy Collins and Maceo Parker. Since its release in 1988, Talk Is Cheap has gone gold and has sold consistently. Its release was followed by the first of the two U.S. tours Richards has done as a solo artist. Live at the Hollywood Palladium, 15 December 1988 (released 10 December 1991 on Virgin) documents the first of these tours. On 19 October 1992, the Winos' second studio record Main Offender was released, again on the Virgin label, and was also followed by a tour. The last of the Winos' record, Vintage Winos, is a compilation album released on 2 November 2010 on Mindless Records.

Locked Away
Keith Richards and the X-Pensive Winos Lyrics

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She swears, that I'm the only one
What about yesterday, yeah
Oh! I'd like to believe
Somehow I still suspect

Locked away
She ought to be locked away
She ought to be locked away

My mind is racing
Footsteps lead me to jealousy
I'm loosing my grip
I can't trust the way I feel

Locked away
I ought to be locked away
I ought to be locked away

My friends say that you're friends say, Ooh
That I ain't worth your time
I know what you must hear
Don't let it interfere

Locked away
They ought to be locked away
They ought to be locked away
Locked away

We can't do anything
Any trick in the book
We can't go anywhere
All long as we care

We ought to be locked away

We ought to be locked away
Locked away

Overall Meaning

The first stanza of Keith Richards's song, Locked Away, sets the tone for the rest of the song. The lyrics suggest that his partner has been unfaithful to him, and she is trying to deny it by insisting that he is the only one. However, Richards doesn't fully believe her, and even though he would like to trust her, he can't help but suspect that the worst has happened. The chorus, "She ought to be locked away," emphasizes the betrayal he feels and highlights his desire to punish her for her actions.

The second stanza of the song reveals Richards's struggle with jealousy and mistrust. He can't control his emotions, and he believes that he is on the verge of losing his grip on reality. The repetition of the chorus, "I ought to be locked away," suggests that he recognizes his irrational behavior and believes that he should be the one punished for his inability to control his emotions. The bridge reveals that his friends have expressed doubts about his partner's loyalty to him, and he acknowledges that he has heard the same things himself. However, he implores his partner not to let other people's opinions interfere with their relationship.

In summary, Keith Richards's song, Locked Away, explores the theme of betrayal and the resulting emotions of jealousy and mistrust that arise from it. Richards's struggle to trust his partner and his own inability to control his emotions are central to the song's narrative.

Line by Line Meaning

She swears, that I'm the only one
She tells me that she loves me and that I'm the only one in her life

What about yesterday, yeah
But I still remember what happened yesterday, and it makes me doubt her love for me

Oh! I'd like to believe
Though I want to trust her and believe in her loyalty towards me

Somehow I still suspect
I can't help feeling suspicious of her, despite her repeated claims of love

Locked away
I feel trapped in a relationship where I can't trust her and constantly doubt her intentions

She ought to be locked away
I feel like she should be held accountable for her actions and not be able to get away with betraying my trust

My mind is racing
I can't stop thinking and analyzing everything that she says and does

Footsteps lead me to jealousy
Her actions often make me feel jealous and insecure about our relationship

I'm losing my grip
I feel like I'm losing control over my emotions and my ability to trust her

I can't trust the way I feel
I don't trust my own feelings and emotions anymore, as I doubt whether they're based on reality or my own insecurities

My friends say that you're friends say, Ooh
My friends have heard rumors about her behavior from her own friends

That I ain't worth your time
They think that I'm not good enough for her and that she should not waste her time with me

I know what you must hear
I understand that she might have heard these rumors and that they might be affecting her perception of me

Don't let it interfere
But I ask her not to let these rumors affect our relationship and make her doubt my love for her

They ought to be locked away
I feel like her friends who spread rumors should be held accountable for their actions and not be able to hurt me or our relationship

We can't do anything
Our relationship has become so strained that we can't seem to enjoy each other's company or do anything together

Any trick in the book
We've tried every trick and every solution to fix our problems, but nothing seems to work

We can't go anywhere
We've become stuck in our relationship and can't seem to move forward or improve our situation

All long as we care
Despite all our problems, we still care for each other and don't want to give up on our relationship

We ought to be locked away
I feel like we're trapped in a toxic relationship that we can't escape from and that's slowly hurting us both

Locked away
Our relationship feels like a prison that we can't get out of

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: KEITH (GB) RICHARDS, STEPHEN K. JORDAN

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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