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Jones left the band shortly before his death in 1969, having been replaced by guitarist Mick Taylor.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

Down In The Hole
The Rolling Stones Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Will all your money
Buy you forgiveness
Keep you from sickness
Or keep you from cold?

Will all your money
Keep you from madness
Keep you from sadness

When you're down in the hole?

'Cause you'll be down in the gutter
You'll be bummin' for cigarettes
Bummin' for nylons
In the American zone

You'll be down in the hole
Yeah, down in the hole
No escape from trouble
Nowhere to go

Down in the gutter
Beggin' for cigarettes
Beggin' forgiveness
All that you know

Down in the hole
After diggin' the trenches
Looking for cover and findin' out there ain't nowhere
Nowhere to go, nowhere, nowhere, nowhere to go

None of your money
Will buy you forgiveness
None of your jewelry
None of your gold

Your black market cigarettes
Your American nightclubs
Ah, they've got nowhere left

Something for nothing
All of your friends gone
Something for nothing
That's all that you know

There's something down in the hole
Down, down, down in the hole

There's something down
Down, down, down in the hole

Overall Meaning

The Rolling Stones's song Down In The Hole talks about the limitations of money when it comes to one's well-being. The song is a reminder that no matter how much money one has, it cannot buy forgiveness, keep one from sickness, or save them from mental health issues such as madness and sadness. The song suggests that even the rich and wealthy can end up in the gutter, bumming for cigarettes and nylons, and begging for forgiveness.

The lyrics paint a bleak picture of a person who has exhausted all their resources, including their money and network of friends. They find themselves digging trenches, looking for cover and realizing that there is nowhere to go. The person's expensive possessions such as jewelry and gold cannot save them, and even black-market cigarettes and American nightclubs will not be of any help.

The song reminds us that despite our economic status, we all have the potential to end up in the hole. It is a reminder that something far greater than wealth is needed to sustain us. Therefore, it encourages us to be empathetic and understanding towards one another, especially those who might find themselves in a difficult situation.

Line by Line Meaning

Will all your money
Money cannot guarantee everything

Buy you forgiveness
Forgiveness cannot be bought with money

Keep you from sickness
Money cannot shield you from getting sick

Or keep you from cold?
Money cannot keep you warm

'Cause you'll be down in the gutter
You will end up in a difficult situation

You'll be bummin' for cigarettes
You will be begging for cigarettes

Bummin' for nylons
You will be begging for basic necessities

In the American zone
In the land of the free

You'll be down in the hole
You will be in a deep pit

Yeah, down in the hole
Trapped in a difficult situation

No escape from trouble
No way out of the pit