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Jones left the band shortly before his death in 1969, having been replaced by guitarist Mick Taylor.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

Roadrunner
The Rolling Stones Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Well I'm a roadrunner, honey
Well I'm a roadrunner, honey
I bet you can't keep up with me
Well I'm a roadrunner, man
I bet you can't keep up with me
Ah, you'll never gonna catch me baby
Baby, baby, you will see

Well I'm a roadrunner man
And I'm gonna keep ahead of you
Well I'm a roadrunner man
And I'm gonna keep ahead of you
Ah, you'll never gonna catch me baby
Doing the things that you do

Ah, here it comes now
Watch me!

Take my hand baby
Gonna show you,
I'm a roadrunning man
I'm gonna show you something
I'm the fastest still alive
Now lean you back
Hear I come

Well I'm a roadrunner, honey
I bet you can't keep up with me
Well I'm a roadrunner, man
And I bet you can't keep up with me
Well you'll never gonna catch me baby
Baby, baby, you will see

Well I'm a roadrunner, honey
I'm gonna keep ahead of you
Yeah I'm a roadrunner, honey
I'm gonna keep ahead of you
You'll never gonna catch me baby
Doing the things that you do

Here, take my hand baby
Didn't think you fast, make it last.
I'm going to put you down

Yeah! I'll see you someday,
Someday baby hanging 'round

Overall Meaning

The Rolling Stones's song Roadrunner is about a confident and fast person who can't be caught by anyone. The lyrics are full of energy and reflect the carefree attitude of the singer. The use of the roadrunner bird as a metaphor for speed and agility is very apt. The singer is proud of being a roadrunner and challenges someone to keep up with him, but he knows they won't be able to. The repetition of the line "Baby, baby, you will see" and the use of "watch me" show the singer's confidence in his abilities.

The lyrics also have a sexual undertone. The singer asks someone to take his hand, indicating a desire for physical contact, and says "I'm gonna show you something" before leaning back and saying "Here I come." The line "Didn't think you fast, make it last" could be interpreted as a double entendre, hinting at the desire for the encounter to last longer.

Line by Line Meaning

Well I'm a roadrunner, honey
I am a fast driver and I love the thrill of speed

I bet you can't keep up with me
I am very confident in my driving speed and abilities

Well you're never gonna catch me baby
No one will ever be able to catch me while I'm driving

And I'm gonna keep ahead of you
I always plan to be ahead of everyone else on the road no matter what

Doing the things that you do
I know my driving skills are different from and superior to those of other people

Take my hand baby
Come on, let's go for a drive and see what I'm capable of

I'm the fastest still alive
I am the best driver there is and I have yet to face anyone who can match me

Well I'm a roadrunner, honey
I am a speed lover who can outrun anyone else on the road

You'll never gonna catch me baby
I am sure that I will never be caught by anyone else while I am driving

Here, take my hand baby
Let me take you on a ride and show you what I can do behind the wheel

I'm going to put you down
I am going to impress you so much that you won't be able to compete with me as a driver