Rooted in blues and early rock and roll, the Rolling Stones started out playing covers and were at the forefront of the British Invasion in 1964, becoming identified with the youthful and rebellious counterculture of the 1960s. They then found greater success with their own material, as "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (1965), "Get Off of My Cloud" (1965), and "Paint It Black" (1966) became international number-one hits. Aftermath (1966) – their first entirely original album – is considered by The Daily Telegraph to be the most important of their formative records. In 1967, they had the double-sided hit "Ruby Tuesday"/"Let's Spend the Night Together" and experimented with psychedelic rock on Their Satanic Majesties Request. They returned to their rhythm and blues roots with hit songs such as "Jumpin' Jack Flash" (1968) and "Honky Tonk Women" (1969), and albums such as Beggars Banquet (1968), featuring "Sympathy for the Devil", and Let It Bleed (1969), featuring "You Can't Always Get What You Want" and "Gimme Shelter". Let It Bleed was the first of five consecutive number-one albums in the UK.
Jones left the band shortly before his death in 1969, having been replaced by guitarist Mick Taylor. That year they were first introduced on stage as "The Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World". Sticky Fingers (1971), which yielded "Brown Sugar" and included the first usage of their tongue and lips logo, was their first of eight consecutive number-one studio albums in the US. Exile on Main St. (1972), featuring "Tumbling Dice", and Goats Head Soup (1973), yielding the hit ballad "Angie", were also best sellers. Taylor was replaced by Ron Wood in 1974. The band continued to release successful albums, including their two largest sellers: Some Girls (1978), featuring "Miss You", and Tattoo You (1981), featuring "Start Me Up". Steel Wheels (1989) was widely considered a comeback album and was followed by Voodoo Lounge (1994), a worldwide number-one album. Both releases were promoted by large stadium and arena tours, as the Stones continued to be a huge concert attraction; by 2007 they had recorded the all-time highest-grossing concert tour three times, and as recently as 2021 they were the highest-earning live act of the year. From Wyman's departure in 1993 to Watts' death in 2021, the band continued as a four-piece core, with Darryl Jones playing bass on tour and on most studio recordings, while Steve Jordan became their touring drummer following Watts' death. Their 2016 album, Blue & Lonesome, became their twelfth UK number-one album.
The Rolling Stones' estimated record sales of 200 million make them one of the best-selling music artists of all time. The band has won three Grammy Awards and a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2004. Billboard magazine and Rolling Stone have ranked the band as one of the greatest of all time.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rolling_Stones
Studio albums
The Rolling Stones / England's Newest Hit Makers (1964)
12 X 5 (1964)
The Rolling Stones No. 2 / The Rolling Stones, Now! (1965)
Out of Our Heads (1965)
December's Children (And Everybody's) (1965)
Aftermath (1966)
Between the Buttons (1967)
Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967)
Beggars Banquet (1968)
Let It Bleed (1969)
Sticky Fingers (1971)
Exile on Main St. (1972)
Goats Head Soup (1973)
It's Only Rock 'n Roll (1974)
Black and Blue (1976)
Some Girls (1978)
Emotional Rescue (1980)
Tattoo You (1981)
Undercover (1983)
Dirty Work (1986)
Steel Wheels (1989)
Voodoo Lounge (1994)
Bridges to Babylon (1997)
A Bigger Bang (2005)
Blue & Lonesome (2016)
Hackney Diamonds (2023)
Back To Zero
The Rolling Stones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
So you want to blow us all to pieces
Go meet your maker, head hung down
And give him all your explanations
Go ahead, throw down
Back to zero, back to nothing
Straight to meltdown, back to zero
That's where we're heading
It's a monkey living on my back
I can feel my spine begin to crack
I'm looking to the future
I keep on glancing back
I prefer to rot
I don't want to pop
I think I'll head back to the jungle, alright
Don't want to see no big bad rumble, too fright
Back to zero, that's where we're going
Back to nothing, right now, right now
No heroes? No more heroes
Back to meltdown
That's where I'm going, back to zero
My whole life is hanging on a thread
I'm the fly inside the spider's web
I'm looking to the future
I keep on glancing back
I prefer to rot
I don't want to pop
I worry about my great grandchildren
Living ten miles beneath the ground
I worry about their whole existence
The whole damn thing's in doubt
Back to zero, that's where we're going
Back to nothing, that's where we're heading
Straight to meltdown, that's where we're going
Back to zero, right now, right now
We're going nowhere
Right now, right now
Back to zero, that's where we're heading
Back to zero
The Rolling Stones’s song Back to Zero is a reflection on the destabilization of society and the potential for catastrophic self-destruction. The lyrics declare that the world is headed towards nothingness, emphasizing the futility of human existence if it continues on the trajectory of destruction. The lyricist urges those who aspire to detonate society to consider the consequences of their actions and meet with their maker. The lyrics also suggest that, rather than looking towards the future, humanity is relegated to a continually regressing cycle of destruction that is heading straight for a meltdown.
The song is testament to the frustration and disillusionment that comes with the lack of productive solutions towards fixing the patchwork society has become. The monkey on the singer's back represents the responsibility of carrying on with life despite its precariousness. The spider's web acts as a metaphor for the world, with the singer describing himself as a fly, with little to no control over his life.
Line by Line Meaning
Back to zero
Starting over from scratch; resetting everything to the beginning
So you want to blow us all to pieces
Referencing the threat of nuclear war, where someone wants to cause destruction and chaos for everyone
Go meet your maker, head hung down
Face the consequences of your actions with shame and regret
And give him all your explanations
Justify your actions to God or a higher power if there is one
Go ahead, throw down
Proceed with your plan to cause destruction, despite the consequences
Back to zero, back to nothing
Emphasizing that everything will be reset to nothing, that there is no lasting impact from the destruction
Straight to meltdown, back to zero
The destruction will lead to complete chaos, and everything will be reset to nothing
That's where we're heading
The future holds only destruction and a reset to nothing
It's a monkey living on my back
Referencing a feeling of burden or pressure in life
I can feel my spine begin to crack
Suggesting that the burden is becoming too much to handle and is causing physical pain
I'm looking to the future
Focusing on the future rather than dwelling on the past
I keep on glancing back
Despite trying to focus on the future, he is still haunted by the past
I prefer to rot
Choosing to give up rather than take action to change his situation
I don't want to pop
Choosing to avoid conflict or danger, even if it means not achieving success or growth
I think I'll head back to the jungle, alright
Wants to return to a simpler, more primal way of living
Don't want to see no big bad rumble, too fright
Choosing to avoid conflict or potentially dangerous situations
No heroes? No more heroes
Suggesting that there are no longer any real heroes or people to look up to
My whole life is hanging on a thread
Feeling as though his life is hanging by a thread and could fall apart at any moment
I'm the fly inside the spider's web
Feeling trapped and helpless in a dangerous situation
I prefer to rot
Choosing to give up rather than take action to change his situation
I don't want to pop
Choosing to avoid conflict or danger, even if it means not achieving success or growth
I worry about my great grandchildren
Concerned for the future of his family and future generations
Living ten miles beneath the ground
Imagining a future where people are forced to live underground due to environmental destruction or nuclear war
I worry about their whole existence
Worried that future generations will have a bleak and uncertain future
The whole damn thing's in doubt
Feeling as though there is no hope for the future
We're going nowhere
The future is bleak, and there is no progress or hope for improvement
Right now, right now
Emphasizing the urgency of the situation and the need to take action immediately
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: MICK JAGGER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Greg Halder
on 2000 Light Years From Home
Totally underrated track and album..