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Jones left the band shortly before his death in 1969, having been replaced by guitarist Mick Taylor.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)
Pretty Beat Up
The Rolling Stones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Pretty beat up
Since you put me down
Pretty beat up, pretty beat up
Yeah, since you left me lying around
Pretty beat up, pretty beat up
Never restitched me, pretty beat up
My face is a mess, pretty beat up
Yeah, yeah, you ought to see my face
Pretty beat up, pretty beat up
It's a mess, pretty beat up, pretty beat up
You ought to see inside my heart
Pretty beat up, pretty beat up
I'm marked for life, pretty beat up
I'm marked for life, pretty beat up
Pretty beat up
Pretty beat up
Pretty beat up
Pretty beat up
Pretty beat up
Pretty beat up
Pretty beat up
Pretty beat up
Pretty beat up
Pretty beat up
Yeah, I'm just like a battered, baby
Just left on the street, pretty beat up
You ought to see the state, pretty beat up
I've been cut with a razor, pretty beat up
Don't you cut me up, don't you cut me up
I'm pretty beat up
Pretty beat up
Pretty beat up
Pretty beat up
Pretty beat up
Pretty beat up
The Rolling Stones’ “Pretty Beat Up” is a song that reflects the singer’s emotional state after experiencing a breakup. The lyrics contain different metaphors that try to express how the singer’s heart and face are pretty beat up since his lover left him. The chorus repeats “pretty beat up,” emphasizing that there is nothing left of him since the split. The line “since you put me down” highlights that the singer was not the one to initiate the breakup, and he has been left to feel the pain. The line “you ought to see inside my heart” adds another layer to the emotional depth that the singer has experienced; his heart has been marked forever.
Overall, the song paints a dark picture of the aftermath of a breakup – the singer feels pretty beat up, both physically and emotionally. Although the lyrics are quite straightforward, they offer insight into the emotional turmoil someone can feel after a relationship ends.
Line by Line Meaning
Pretty beat up
The singer is in a state of physical and emotional distress.
Pretty beat up
Repetition of the first line to emphasize distress.
Since you put me down
The singer's condition has deteriorated since their breakup.
Pretty beat up, pretty beat up
Repetition to emphasize the severity of the artist's state.
Yeah since you left me lying around
The artist feels neglected and abandoned.
Since you eight sixed me, pretty beat up
The singer has been cast aside, and their life has been worsened as a result.
Never restitched me, pretty beat up
The singer hasn't been helped or healed since their struggles began.
My face is a mess, pretty beat up
The artist's physical appearance has suffered greatly.
Yeah yeah you ought to see my face
An invitation for the listener to witness the damage done.
It's a mess, pretty beat up, pretty beat up
Repetition to emphasize the severity of the artist's injuries.
You ought to see inside my heart
The singer is also emotionally devastated by their situation.
I'm marked for life, pretty beat up
The artist will carry the scars of their experience for the rest of their life.
Pretty beat up
Repetition to emphasize the severity of the singer's state.
Yeah I'm just like a battered baby
The singer feels vulnerable and helpless, like a wounded child.
Just left on the street, pretty beat up
The singer feels abandoned and alone in their suffering.
You ought to see the state, pretty beat up
An invitation for the listener to witness the damage done.
I've been cut with a razor, pretty beat up
The artist has been hurt intentionally by someone else.
Don't you cut me up, don't you cut me up
A plea to avoid further injury and pain.
Pretty beat up
Repetition to emphasize the severity of the singer's state.
Pretty beat up
Repetition to emphasize the severity of the artist's state.
Pretty beat up
Repetition to emphasize the severity of the artist's state.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, Ron Wood
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
tagtom55
love this groove!
loudmusic67
This should have been a hit song off this album!
Sheva Loona
I never herd off his one rrrrr very sorry.
nomadtraveller100
@loudmusic67 Thanks it is a great tune. :)
Milan Filipov
This whole album is utterly underrated. Shame.
Charlton McMillen
Love pretty beat up!! love everything on the undercover of the night!!!!
THE STONES
me too
nomadtraveller100
+charlton mcmillen Yes Great tune. Thanks.
Richard Johnson
I totally agree! I didn't come across it until after albums like some girls, which got so much attention, deservedly, but after I listened to this one I was blown away.
Warren Wright
Strip this track down and it could easily fit onto Exile. Undercover suffers a bit with over production in my opinion but those were the times. Along with Black & Blue it deserves to be re-assessed as a classic.