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Jones left the band shortly before his death in 1969, having been replaced by guitarist Mick Taylor.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)
HonkyTonkWoman
The Rolling Stones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She tried to take me upstairs for a ride
She had to heave me right across shoulder
'Cause I just can't seem to drink you off my mind
It's the honky tonk women
Gimme, gimme, gimme the honky tonk blues
I had to put up some kind of a fight
The lady then she covered me with roses
She blew my nose and then she blew my mind
It's the honky tonk women
Gimme, gimme, gimme the honky tonk blues
It's the honky tonk women
Gimme, gimme, gimme the honky tonk blues
It's the honky tonk women
Gimme, gimme, gimme the honky tonk blues
The Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Woman" is a classic rock anthem that captures the wild and hedonistic spirit of the 1960s counterculture. The lyrics follow the escapades of a narrator who encounters two different women in different cities, both of whom embody the free-spirited, adventurous lifestyle that the song celebrates. The first woman is a "gin-soaked, bar-room queen in Memphis" who tries to seduce the singer, but he finds that he can't shake the memory of her or the feelings he has for her. The second woman is a divorcée in New York City who challenges the singer to a kind of game or battle of wills, but ultimately leaves him in awe and under her spell.
The chorus of the song repeats the phrase "it's the honky tonk women, gimme, gimme, gimme the honky tonk blues," which can be interpreted in a few different ways. On one level, the phrase is simply a celebration of the kind of women and lifestyle the singer is drawn to - women who hang out in honky tonk bars and embody the spirit of reckless freedom that he admires. On another level, the phrase can be read as a kind of self-aware commentary on the singer's own addiction to the lifestyle he describes. He can't seem to get enough of these honky tonk women and the blues they represent, which suggests that he is both drawn to and trapped by this way of life.
Overall, "Honky Tonk Woman" is a raucous and infectious rock song that captures the energy and sensibility of its era. Its lyrics are a celebration of the kind of wild, free-spirited lifestyle that many young people were drawn to in the 1960s, and its chorus is a catchy and memorable mantra that encapsulates the song's themes of adventure, desire, and excess.
Line by Line Meaning
I met a gin-soaked, bar-room queen in Memphis
I encountered a woman in a bar who had been heavily drinking, probably depressed and unstable in Memphis.
She tried to take me upstairs for a ride
She offered me some kind of sexual pleasure in return for her own benefits, perhaps money or love, by trying to lure me upstairs.
She had to heave me right across her shoulder
She had to lift and carry me to her room because I was too drunk or hesitant to go by myself.
'Cause I just can't seem to drink you off my mind
Because I cannot stop thinking about the woman and trying to forget her, I keep drinking and getting more intoxicated.
I laid a divorcée in New York City
I had sex with a woman who had ended her marriage in New York City.
I had to put up some kind of a fight
She demanded or expected something from me in return, so I had to resist or bargain to negotiate the terms of our relationship.
The lady then she covered me with roses
As a way of expressing her love or appreciation, she showered me with roses.
She blew my nose and then she blew my mind
She did something unexpected, like cleaning my nose, and then did something completely astonishing, blew my mind.
It's the honky tonk women
The type of woman described in the song is a honky tonk woman, who is usually found in bars or nightclubs and is associated with a wild and reckless lifestyle.
Gimme, gimme, gimme the honky tonk blues
The artist is asking for more experiences with honky tonk women and the reckless lifestyle associated with them.
It's the honky tonk women
Reiterating that the song is about the honky tonk woman and her lifestyle.
Gimme, gimme, gimme the honky tonk blues
The artist is still craving more experiences with honky tonk women and the wild lifestyle they embody.
It's the honky tonk women
Again, reminding the audience that the song is about the honky tonk women.
Gimme, gimme, gimme the honky tonk blues
The singer's desire for more experiences with honky tonk women is still present and strong.
Lyrics © Abkco Music, Inc.
Written by: KEITH RICHARDS, MICK JAGGER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jeffwatts1126
"She blew my nose and then she blew my mind" Greatest Lyric ever written in rock & Roll history
@WedgePee
"On the radio? The FCC would shut down a station that played something like that!"
–Sadie Dunhill, 11/22/63
@bklyncowboy2925
Not really 😅
@jayjay66111
RIP Charlie Watts, seems appropriate to post this on here, on one of his greatest drum tracks.
@matthewrobinson9955
His drums make this song, no one played like him :(
@mrsdoyle2827
@chlore2004 Its meant to
@Nekrokaf
@chlore2004 Go and listen to the bugs then...
@ianhewitson2738
Yep, the song I thought of when I heard that he had gone.
@lapeillefr
@chlore2004 do better
@tommyt1971
The greatest intro to any song the band ever did. RIP Lord Charlie, you were fuckin’ good.