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Jones left the band shortly before his death in 1969, having been replaced by guitarist Mick Taylor.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

I've Been Loving You Too Long
The Rolling Stones Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I've been loving you too long to stop now
There were time and you want to be free
My love is growing stronger, as you become a haven to me
Oh I've been loving you a little too long
I don't want to stop now, oh
With you my life,
Has been so wonderful
I can't stop now

There were times and your love is growing cold
My love is growing stronger as our affair grows old
I've been loving you a little too long, long,
I don't want to stop now
Oh, oh, oh
I've been loving you a little bit too long
I don't want to stop now
No, no, no

Don't make me stop now
No baby
I'm down on my knees
Please, don't make me stop now
I love you, I love you,
I love you with all of my heart
And I can't stop now
Don't make me stop now

Please, please don't make me stop now
Good god of mine]I love you
I love you, I love you, I love you
I love you, I love you

I love you in so many different ways...
I love you in so many different ways...

Overall Meaning

The Rolling Stones' "I’ve Been Loving You Too Long" is a classic soulful love song with the lyrics expressing the singer's profound love for their partner and the fear of losing them. The chorus of the song, “I’ve been loving you too long to stop now,” emphasizes the strength of the singer’s love and their unwillingness to let go of the relationship. The lyrics also reveal the complexities of love, with the singer acknowledging that their partner may want to leave, but their love continues to grow stronger.

The line “My love is growing stronger, as you become a haven to me” portrays the idea of finding a kind of sanctuary and solace in a relationship. The singer also acknowledges that there have been tough times in the relationship when their love may have faltered temporarily, but ultimately, their partner's presence in their life has enriched it.

The final lines of the song, “I love you in so many different ways…,” depict the depth, multilayered nature and complexity of love. The song, although a love song, is also a lament, as the singer is afraid of losing their beloved, recognizing that they have been together for too long to simply walk away.

Line by Line Meaning

I've been loving you too long to stop now
My love for you has been going on for too long, and I can't just stop it now.

There were time and you want to be free
There were moments when you wanted to be free from this relationship.

My love is growing stronger, as you become a haven to me
My love for you is growing stronger every day because being with you makes me feel safe and comfortable.

Oh I've been loving you a little too long
I've been loving you for a little too long, and it's becoming difficult to continue this way.

I don't want to stop now, oh
I have a strong desire to still continue loving you even though it's been for too long.

With you my life, Has been so wonderful I can't stop now
My life with you has been amazing, and I can't bring myself to stop loving you despite the challenges.

There were times and your love is growing cold My love is growing stronger as our affair grows old
There were times when your love seemed to be fading away, but my love for you keeps getting stronger as our relationship grows old.

Don't make me stop now No baby I'm down on my knees Please, don't make me stop now
I'm pleading with you not to make me stop loving you, and I'm willing to humble myself and beg for your love.

I love you, I love you, I love you with all of my heart And I can't stop now Don't make me stop now
I love you so much, and I can't imagine stopping now. Please don't make me stop.

Please, please don't make me stop now Good god of mine]I love you I love you, I love you, I love you I love you, I love you I love you in so many different ways...
I'm still pleading with you not to make me stop loving you, and I want you to know that I love you in so many different ways, and I can't bear the thought of losing you.

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Royalty Network
Written by: Jerry Butler, Otis Redding

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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