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Jones left the band shortly before his death in 1969, having been replaced by guitarist Mick Taylor.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

Good Times
The Rolling Stones Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Whoa la la ta ta
Whoa la la ta ta
La la la, all night long
Want to tell you

Whoa la la ta ta
Whoa la la ta ta
La la la, all night long

C'mon let the good times roll
We're gonna stay here to soothe our soul
It could take all night long

The evening sun is sinking low
The clock on the wall says it's time to go
I've got my plans, I don't know about you
I tell you exactly what I'm gonna do

Get in the groove and let the good times roll
We're gonna stay here to soothe our soul
It could take all night long

It might be one o'clock it might be three
Time don't mean that much to me
Ain't felt this good since I don't know when
I might not feel this good again

So c'mon let the good times roll
We're gonna stay here to soothe our soul
It could take all night long

All night, all night
All night, all night long
Somebody said it might take all night long

All night, all night whoa

C'mon let the good times roll
We're gonna stay here to soothe our soul
It could take all night long

Overall Meaning

The Rolling Stones’ “Good Times Bad Times” is a reflective song about the ups and downs of life, acknowledging that life is not always good, and it’s not always easy. The lyrics “There’ve been good times, there’ve been bad times, I have my share of hard times, too” captures this sentiment perfectly. The singer recognizes that while they have experienced good times, they have also faced struggles, which have led to a loss of faith in the world. The line “But I lost my faith in the world, honey, when I lost you” suggests that losing someone important, possibly a romantic partner, has led the singer to feel disillusioned and less trusting of the world.

Despite the hardships they have faced, the singer longs for the return of the good times they once shared with their loved one. They plead with them to come back, asking “Don't you want them back again?”. The line “Though these hard times are bugging me now, honey, now it's a sin” suggests that dwelling on negative experiences is a hindrance to moving forward and enjoying life.

The song concludes with an important message about trust. It implies that trust is essential for a functional society and warns that a lack of trust can lead to conflicts, even wars. The lyrics “There's gotta be trust in this world or it won't get very far, well, trust in someone or there's gonna be war” serve as an important reminder that building trust is crucial for a peaceful and successful society.

Line by Line Meaning

There've been good times
I have experienced pleasurable moments in my life

There've been bad times
I have gone through difficult situations in my life

I have my share of hard times, too
I have had my fair amount of struggles as well

But I lost my faith in the world
I lost my confidence in humanity and society

Honey, when I lost you
It was in the moment that I lost you that my faith was shaken

Remember the good times we've had together
Let us cherish the moments of joy and happiness we shared

Don't you want them back again
Won't you desire to experience those times again?

Though these hard times are bugging me now
Even though I am currently struggling with hardships

Honey, now it's a sin
I see it as immoral to ignore the good times we once had

There's gotta be trust in this world
To progress as a society, trust must exist among individuals

Or it won't get very far
Otherwise, we won't achieve significant progress