Originally recorded over a three day period at Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Alabama during December 2-4, 1969, the song was not released until over a year later due to legal wranglings with the band's former label.
Prior to its release on "Sticky Fingers", Gram Parsons convinced Jagger and Richards to allow him to record "Wild Horses" with his band, The Flying Burrito Brothers. While the Rolling Stones had already laid the track to tape, the Burrito Brothers' version was actually the first to be released, appearing on their second album, Burrito Deluxe, in April 1970- one year before "Sticky Fingers."
Released as the second (U.S.-only) single in June 1971, "Wild Horses" reached #28 on the singles chart. Although popular at the Stones' live shows, "Wild Horses" has only been released in a reworked version on the 1995 acoustic/live album Stripped.
It has proven to be a popular cover song for other artists, eventually leading the Rolling Stones to re-release it as a single in 1996. It has been covered by Leon Russell, The Cranberries, Elvis Costello, Neil Young, Old and in the Way, The Sundays, Guns N' Roses, Bush, Labelle, The Lovemongers with Chris Cornell, Jewel, Dave Matthews, Garbage, Charlotte Martin, Chantal Kreviazuk, Alicia Keys ft. Adam Levine, Tre Lux, Iron & Wine, Stone Sour, Honeytribe, Sheryl Crow, Deacon Blue, Summerhill, Elisa and Natasha Bedingfield. Melanie Shafika & Otis Clay.
The Sundays' version was used in a long-running Budweiser beer commercial in the early 1990s, featuring slow-motion footage of galloping Clydesdale horses. The version was also featured in the 1996 thriller Fear and a Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode The Prom.
Wild Horses
The Rolling Stones Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Is easy to do
The things you wanted
I bought them for you
Graceless lady
You know who I am
You know I can't let you
Wild horses
Couldn't drag me away
Wild, wild horses
Couldn't drag me away
I watched you suffer
A dull aching pain
Now you've decided
To show me the same
No sweeping exit
Or offstage lines
Could make me feel bitter
Or treat you unkind
Wild horses
Couldn't drag me away
Wild, wild horses
Couldn't drag me away
I know I've dreamed you
A sin and a lie
I have my freedom
But I don't have much time
Faith has been broken
Tears must be cried
Let's do some living
After we die
Wild horses
Couldn't drag me away
Wild, wild horses
We'll ride them some day
Wild horses
Couldn't drag me away
Wild, wild horses
We'll ride them some day
The lyrics of The Rolling Stones' "Wild Horses" discuss a complex relationship between the singer and a woman - a woman who is described as "graceless". The song’s narrator is reflecting on the attractiveness of the woman, perhaps as a reference to her wild spirit that he once found alluring, but he knows deep down that they are destined to be apart. Despite her faults, she has captivated him, and he is fascinated by her, even though he knows that he is unable to truly possess her. Through the course of the song, the singer watches as the woman he loves suffers, and he cannot help but feel melancholy as he reflects on his own life. The theme of time is present throughout the song, and it is perhaps through the lens of time that the singer realizes that he could have chosen a different path. In the end, however, he acknowledges that, no matter how much he would like to keep this woman in his world, he cannot.
Overall, "Wild Horses" has a nostalgic, wistful feel to it. The singer is examining their past and trying to reconcile it with their current reality, as though they are too old to change the course of their lives. The song creates an evocative image of two people that are in love but cannot be together, which ultimately makes it a bittersweet story of unrequited love.
Line by Line Meaning
Childhood living
Life was simple when we were young
Is easy to do
We didn't have as many responsibilities back then
The things you wanted
I provided for you and got you anything you desired
I bought them for you
I gave you everything you ever wanted
Graceless lady
You may not always be elegant, but I accept you for who you are
You know who I am
You are familiar with my personality and we have a deep understanding of each other
You know I can't let you
I can't let you out of my life because you mean too much to me
Slide through my hands
I can't let go of you or lose you
Wild horses
Nothing could ever force me to leave you
Couldn't drag me away
I will always be by your side, no matter what the cost
I watched you suffer
I saw you endure pain and heartache
A dull aching pain
You experienced a constant, but not acute, kind of pain
Now you've decided
After all you've been through, you have made a choice
To show me the same
To inflict pain on me in return
No sweeping exit
Even if one of us were to leave the other, it wouldn't be dramatic or grand
Or offstage lines
We wouldn't say anything scripted or rehearsed
Could make me feel bitter
I wouldn't hold a grudge or feel resentful
Or treat you unkind
I would never intentionally harm you
I know I've dreamed you
My vision of you has been idealized and romanticized
A sin and a lie
It's wrong that my perception of you isn't entirely truthful
I have my freedom
I am not tied down or constrained by anything
But I don't have much time
However, I am aware that life is fleeting and precious
Faith has been broken
Our trust and loyalty has been damaged
Tears must be cried
We need to face the pain and sadness of the situation
Let's do some living
We should make the most of our time left together
After we die
And even in death, our legacy will live on
We'll ride them some day
Someday, we will overcome our troubles and be happy again
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Abkco Music Inc.
Written by: Keith Richards, Mick Jagger
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@marynorth1933
Played this at my husbands funeral.. a life long Stones fan.. he died so unexpectedly at 71 years old… we’d been married for 51 years…my hero my life long love ..
@mickjagger8439
Sorry, believe as I do, you'll be together again.
Pain free and Happy
@americaninfidel9001
Sorry for your lost
@KittyGrizGriz
I’m so sorry bless you. My oldest brother just passed unexpectedly @ 71 too 😿
@mickjagger8439
@@KittyGrizGriz Sorry for that. My older sister passed way too young. We were very close, always got along great.
@lesdn4445
@@mickjagger8439 lmao
@johnworthington8360
my beautiful mom died today but a week ago she whispered " I wanna ride horse ". so I played loud Wild Horses in her earshot so she could gr😢oove. and she did as always ma knew the Stones
@mctavish23
May she RIP
@elizabethtrujillo6849
My brother use to love the rolling stones. He passed away at 67. almost 2 weeks ago.
@KittyGrizGriz
I’m so very sorry, know your pain all too well as my oldest brother died unexpectedly @ 71 (1st sib of 4 kids to die). I’m numb & a sister in arms 😿, stay strong & bless you ❤