The Rolling Stones is an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active… Read Full Bio ↴The Rolling Stones is an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically driven sound that came to define hard rock. Their first stable line-up consisted of vocalist Mick Jagger, multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones, guitarist Keith Richards, bassist Bill Wyman, and drummer Charlie Watts. During their formative years, Jones was the primary leader: he assembled the band, named it, got them gigs, and drove their sound and image. After Andrew Loog Oldham became the group's manager in 1963, he encouraged them to write their own songs. Jagger and Richards became the primary creative force behind the band, alienating Jones, who had developed a drug addiction that interfered with his ability to contribute meaningfully.

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Jones left the band shortly before his death in 1969, having been replaced by guitarist Mick Taylor.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)

Black Limousine
The Rolling Stones Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

We used to ride, baby
Ride around in limousines
We looked so fine, baby
You in white and me in green
Drinking and dancing
All inside a crazy dream
Well now, look at your face now, baby
Look at you and look at me

I get so scared
Just to see you on the street
They're living dead
You're all the same, you never speak
You're wrecked out now
Washed-up high up on the beach
Well now, look at your face now, baby
Look at you and look at me

Work to it

We used to shine, shine, shine, shine
Say what a pair, say what a team
We used to ride, ride, ride, ride
In a long black limousine
Those dreams are gone, baby
They're locked away and never seen
Well now, look at your face now, baby
Look at you and look at me

Look out, yeah

Overall Meaning

The Rolling Stones’ song Black Limousine is a commentary on the decline of fame and fortune, and the slow erosion of glamour and status that comes with it. The song chronicles a time when the singer and his lover rode around in luxurious limousines, dressed to kill and living a ‘crazy dream’. However, time has taken its toll and the once-glamorous couple now find themselves living shattered lives. The singer is afraid to see his lover on the street, now ‘living dead’ and ‘never speaking’. Meanwhile, the singer is still trying to cling to the vestiges of his former self, still ‘working it’ to try and maintain his status. But ultimately, the song speaks to the sad realization that once-great dreams are gone and locked away, and there is no going back to the way things were.

Line by Line Meaning

We used to ride, baby
We used to travel, my love.

Ride around in limousines
We used to chauffeured around in luxurious cars.

We looked so fine, baby
We looked exceptionally good, my dear.

You in white and me in green
You dressed in white and me in green clothing.

Drinking and dancing
Drinking and dancing with each other.

All inside a crazy dream
We did it all as if in a surreal dream.

Well now, look at your face now, baby
Now, see your face, sweetheart.

Look at you and look at me
Compare and observe both of us.

I get so scared
I get terrified.

Just to see you on the street
To see you walking on the street.

They're living dead
They are dead from the inside.