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Jones left the band shortly before his death in 1969, having been replaced by guitarist Mick Taylor.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)
Street Fighting Man
The Rolling Stones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Of marching, charging feet, boy
'Cause summer's here and the time is right
For fighting in the street, boy
Well, now what can a poor boy do
Except to sing for a rock and roll band?
'Cause in sleepy London Town
Hey, think the time is right
For a palace revolution
'Cause where I live the game to play
Is compromise solution
Well, now what can a poor boy do
Except to sing for a rock and roll band?
'Cause in sleepy London Town
There's just no place for street fighting man, no
Get down
Hey, said my name is called Disturbance
I'll shout and scream, I'll kill the king
I'll rail at all his servants
Well, now what can a poor boy do
Except to sing for a rock and roll band?
'Cause in sleepy London Town
There's just no place for street fighting man, no
Get down
The Rolling Stones's song "Street Fighting Man" is a protest anthem that captures the mood of social unrest and political disillusionment that characterized the late 1960s. The lyrics describe the sound of marching feet charging through the streets, and the singer's frustration at the lack of options available to him as a poor boy living in London. He sings for a rock and roll band, criticizing the establishment and calling for a revolution to overthrow the existing order of things.
The song's opening stanza sets the scene for the volatile atmosphere of the times, as the warm weather and the approach of summer bring the potential for violence and unrest to the streets. The second stanza expresses the singer's sense of helplessness and frustration, as he laments the lack of opportunities for a poor boy stuck in a sleepy town like London. The third stanza takes a more proactive tone, as the singer calls for a palace revolution and rails against the system of compromise that he sees as perpetuating the status quo.
The closing lines of the song, which reference the singer's alter ego as "Disturbance," reflect the sense of anger and desperation that pervaded many young people's attitudes toward authority and power structures in the late 1960s. Overall, "Street Fighting Man" is a powerful and evocative expression of the social and political tensions of its era, and a testament to the role that music can play in giving voice to the voiceless and articulating the feelings of a generation.
Line by Line Meaning
Everywhere I hear the sound
Of marching, charging feet, boy
The singer is observing the commotion around him, where people are gearing up with energy and action for what's to come.
'Cause summer's here and the time is right
For fighting in the street, boy
The time seems right for a fight to break out on the streets, possibly due to the season and heightened emotions.
Well, now what can a poor boy do
Except to sing for a rock and roll band?
'Cause in sleepy London Town
There's just no place for street fighting man, no
The singer feels helpless and finds solace only in music as there's no space for a grassroots uprising in London.
Hey, think the time is right
For a palace revolution
'Cause where I live the game to play
Is compromise solution
The singer proposes that instead of street fighting, it's time for a systemic overhaul starting at the top of the establishment where they live, which normally pushes for non-violent settlements.
Get down
This is a call to action, a request to get started with the plan of change.
Hey, said my name is called Disturbance
I'll shout and scream, I'll kill the king
I'll rail at all his servants
The singer adopts a new identity, called Disturbance, and declares their intent to rise up against the monarchy and the people who serve them.
Well, now what can a poor boy do
Except to sing for a rock and roll band?
'Cause in sleepy London Town
There's just no place for street fighting man, no
The singer circles back to feeling powerless as an individual and can only express themselves through music amidst the sleepy London environment, where the working-class has little voice.
Get down
This final call to action urges people to move beyond singing and take action towards societal change.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Abkco Music Inc.
Written by: Keith Richards, Mick Jagger
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@gewishworm4724
"Hell yeah, Street fightin' man G7"
"You picked G8"
"If you like piña coladas"
@gregorylevine1850
Ha!!
@Gr33nbayfreak187
No it's G SEEEVVVVAAAAAANN!!! 😂😂😂
@handaman112
I was looking for this comment XD
@240devil1
“Hey, how come you get a pool cue?”
@hatman3636
"Note to self: Learn to fight."
@jonathankoerth9905
RIP Charlie Watts. Great drumming on this epic song.
@moongloomable
Playing on a practice drumset on this song I believe recorded on an early tape deck. R.I.P
@zackkotzev5475
R.I.P. Charly, you gave us so much, thank you!
@foto21
Apparently on a table top toy kit, though it sounds like there are real toms overdubbed also. It has such a unique sound, which makes this most political of Stones songs hit harder. Keith is a fricking genius on that guitar, even though it's so simple.