| 14th September 2007 12:25 PM |
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| tumbled |
From Guardian 9-13-2007
Sympathy for the white devil
Joe Queenan on Brown Sugar, surely the catchiest song ever written about slave owners having their way with their human chattel
Thursday September 13, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
Brown Sugar falls into that spellbinding category: Jagger-Richards songs least likely to be covered by Paul McCartney. This is not merely because the Rolling Stones' 1971 single embodies rock at its most primordial, but because the lyrics are intensely controversial, and to many people, offensive. Yes, despite its throbbing, upbeat tempo and exuberant getaway chorus, Brown Sugar is a song about slave owners having their way with nubile young black women. This is not very nice. It is so not very nice that when the Stones scheduled their 2003 trip to China, the heirs of Mao Zedong, that paragon of cultural sensitivity, singled out Brown Sugar as one of four numbers they were forbidden to play. One can only wonder what the commissars would have made of David Bowie's China Girl or George and Ira Gershwin's flamboyantly condescending Porgy and Bess. Whatever the case, nobody in Chicago, Los Angeles or Leeds ever suggested banning Brown Sugar. Well, at least not any white people.
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The emotional apex of virtually every Stones concert, Brown Sugar is an unusual song, in that it is has horns and a bridge and is exquisitely crafted but doesn't end up sounding like Steely Dan schlock. It kicks off with a catchy intro that immediately modulates into a completely different riff, gathers steam with Mick Jagger's sassy vocal, careens off into Bobby Keyes' festive saxophone solo and concludes with one of the most beloved sing-along refrains in the history of rock. A hit single off Sticky Fingers, whose controversial cover was designed by Andy Warhol, Brown Sugar captured the Stones at their apogee, when Mick Taylor was driving the band away from Jones' psychedelia and mysticism and back into blues-based rock. After Taylor made the catastrophic decision to leave the band in 1974, and Ronnie Wood replaced him, the Stones never made another great album.
The genesis of Brown Sugar is shrouded in more mystery than the fate of the Mayans. Mick Jagger insists that he wrote the number in "the middle of a desert in Australia" while he was making the film Ned Kelly in 1969. That was the same summer Brian Jones died in circumstances more mysterious than the fate of the Mayans. Jagger asserts that the song, which dealt with "the dual combination of drugs and girls", simply came to him. But because the guitar lines are so complicated, many people have a hard time believing that this is possible, that Richard and Taylor had to be major factors in the gestation process. Rumours have long circulated that the song was originally entitled Brown Pussy, which would have made it even less likely to surface on Ebony, Ivory and Brown Pussy: Paul McCartney Sings the Jagger-Richards Songbook, and would have drawn even more attention to the offensive lyrics. But Jagger insists this was never the case.
Brown Sugar was recorded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, in 1969, while the band was touring behind Let It Bleed, the record that vaulted the Stones past the Beatles, now on life support, as the marquis act in rock'n'roll. It was the first time the Stones used a horn section; according to drummer Charlie Watts, the group feared that horns might make them sound like a "show band". Watts also cited the use of horns as a tribute to Otis Redding and James Brown, though a song about white slavers raping black women does seem like an unusual way to play tribute to African-Americans.
Brown Sugar was first performed at the fateful, December 6, 1969, concert chronicled in the film Gimme Shelter. This was the event at which a young black man died after a confrontation with several Hell's Angels, who were providing security. The tragedy is generally singled out as the moment the Sixties officially ended, the moment when the Apollonian promise of Woodstock devolved into the Dionysian horrors of Altamont. In light of the fact that the concert was held in the last month of the last year of the decade, the Sixties would officially have ended in a few weeks anyway. But cultural historians and rock critics love this sort of "seismic watershed" signposting.
Due to legal wrangles involving the band's departure to a new label, Brown Sugar was not released until May 1971. By this point, the Sixties were definitely over. The song was a huge hit and has remained one of the handful of numbers the Stones invariably perform during the hit parade that ends their shows; when the Stones traipse off the stage for that three-song set on their little island, the audience is definitely going to hear Brown Sugar.
The rise of the Internet has allowed all sorts of rumours about the song to flourish. One maintains that a bootleg version showcasing Eric Clapton constituted a sort of informal on-the-spot job interview the Stones held to see who was going to replace Brian Jones. Mercifully, Clapton did not pass the test, perhaps because his soulless virtuosity was a turn-off, perhaps because, unlike the scruffy Ronnie Wood, he simply never looked like a Stone. But then again, neither did the svelte, angelic Mick Taylor.
Many people, myself included, do not mind lyrics as long as they do not get in the way of the music. (This is the way many conductors approach opera, exhorting the orchestra to increase the volume to the point where the singers can no longer be heard.) Those of us who share this view sometimes don't even hear the lyrics. Thus, while I was long aware in a kind of general way that Brown Sugar was a song about a white man with an intense, perhaps unwholesome interest in black women, I wasn't aware of the white-slaver overtones until I went online to read the lyrics. No two ways about it: These lyrics are offensive to black women. These lyrics are deeply offensive to black women. Thank God we have rappers to defend their honour.
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| 14th September 2007 02:53 PM |
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| Steel Wheels |
Thanks for the article.
There are many people who never listen to the lyrics. Even when I was young I knew the song was dirty.
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| 14th September 2007 03:09 PM |
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| Saint Sway |
best thread ever? |
| 14th September 2007 03:13 PM |
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| Retrolove |
Okay---
I am a black woman on this forum, and a proud 24 year-old fan of the stones, etc. Well, I wouldn't say a die hard fan, but I do have their greatest hits, but I'm a lover of all music. AT FIRST when I did hear this song, I was offended, I'm not even gonna lie, I was taken a bit back by the song, the lyrics, etc. I dont know what Mick or Keith was thinking about when they wrote this song, because I wasn't their when they wrote it, and I'm not a mind reader. I'm a writer myself, and I write poetry as well as short stories, etc, I enjoy playing my guitar, and I also sing. I write about different situations that happened all throughout history, American history, world history, etc. I think that maybe when they wrote these lyrics, they were just talking about a situation that happened, thats all. I'm not even gonna lie, a lot of black people, black women, really dont too much care for the song, I'm not all that crazy about the song myself, but I think that they were just talking about a situation that happened. AND I think the main thing that they were trying to do was stir up controversy (famous people, especially musicians) do it all the time...and controversy and more airtime, exposure EQUALS big bucks $$$$$$$$...so I always keep that in mind when I think of songs like Brown Sugar...etc. I dont know what Mick, Keith, or any of the other band members, past or present, political beliefs are, but that is the beautiful thing about writing, you can't write about pretty much anything that you want to, good or bad....but I really cant say if the lyrics are right or wrong, the lyrics just seem to talk about a situation that happened, thats all.
[Edited by Retrolove]
[Edited by Retrolove] |
| 14th September 2007 03:22 PM |
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| Saint Sway |
worst thread ever? |
| 14th September 2007 03:22 PM |
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| Mel Belli |
"After Taylor made the catastrophic decision to leave the band in 1974, and Ronnie Wood replaced him, the Stones never made another great album."
What. Ever. |
| 14th September 2007 04:24 PM |
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| Throwaway |
quote:
Saint Sway wrote:
worst thread ever?
quote:
Mel Belli wrote:
"After Taylor made the catastrophic decision to leave the band in 1974, and Ronnie Wood replaced him, the Stones never made another great album."
What. Ever.
QFT |
| 14th September 2007 04:39 PM |
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| tumbled |
This article is hard to understand. Its hard to grasp what the author is trying to say here. I think maybe what he is driving at is that the song is trying verbalize the desire that humans have for that which they are not supposed to taste of because of the dictates of society and but also, that taboo and temptation will take over and imprison you and free you at the same time. its just trying to verbalize this tension between taboo and temptation
[Edited by tumbled] |
| 14th September 2007 05:21 PM |
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| aladdinstory |
I think what is truly disturbing is how Mick has changed the lyric to "...like a young man should."
I wonder if maybe the chorus was probably Keith's creation, at least the genesis of it, and more likely about heroin, with Mick then writing the verse lyrics around the chorus and created a story around it.
as for this being their first song with horns, that's not true because Something happened to me yesterday featured horns on it as well. |
| 14th September 2007 11:39 PM |
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| the good |
My God, what a poorly written article. I have college freshman in my classes who are capable of writing a more coherent essay.
I am so sick and tired of dipshits who think the Stones greatest period was a result of Mick Taylor joining the band. Its so dumb that you would think it doesn't require a serious rebuttle, but man, idiots just won't stop saying it.
[Edited by the good] |
| 15th September 2007 01:12 AM |
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| gypsy |
quote:
Retrolove wrote:
Okay---
I am a black woman on this forum, and a proud 24 year-old fan of the stones, etc. Well, I wouldn't say a die hard fan, but I do have their greatest hits, but I'm a lover of all music. AT FIRST when I did hear this song, I was offended, I'm not even gonna lie, I was taken a bit back by the song, the lyrics, etc. I dont know what Mick or Keith was thinking about when they wrote this song, because I wasn't their when they wrote it, and I'm not a mind reader. I'm a writer myself, and I write poetry as well as short stories, etc, I enjoy playing my guitar, and I also sing. I write about different situations that happened all throughout history, American history, world history, etc. I think that maybe when they wrote these lyrics, they were just talking about a situation that happened, thats all. I'm not even gonna lie, a lot of black people, black women, really dont too much care for the song, I'm not all that crazy about the song myself, but I think that they were just talking about a situation that happened. AND I think the main thing that they were trying to do was stir up controversy (famous people, especially musicians) do it all the time...and controversy and more airtime, exposure EQUALS big bucks $$$$$$$$...so I always keep that in mind when I think of songs like Brown Sugar...etc. I dont know what Mick, Keith, or any of the other band members, past or present, political beliefs are, but that is the beautiful thing about writing, you can't write about pretty much anything that you want to, good or bad....but I really cant say if the lyrics are right or wrong, the lyrics just seem to talk about a situation that happened, thats all.
[Edited by Retrolove]
[Edited by Retrolove]
I'm a black woman too, and I am not even going to lie - I love that song. I always thought it was about my vagina. |
| 15th September 2007 02:56 PM |
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| gimmekeef |
Brown Sugar was the first single done when Keith changed his style to open tuning.I think Mick wanted to make sure there was equal focus on the lyrics..and controversy sells as was pointed out above.I think when you look at the Stones many tunes could be seen as anti-women..again for the shock aspect.Pert of their nasty edge.Now we have cats being dragged in for no reason and other lame lyrics... |
| 15th September 2007 03:54 PM |
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| Water Dragon |
Anyone of you posting here, represented in these smokin' piccies?
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/years/2007/0914073mugs1.html |
| 15th September 2007 05:52 PM |
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| gypsy |
quote:
gimmekeef wrote:
Brown Sugar was the first single done when Keith changed his style to open tuning.I think Mick wanted to make sure there was equal focus on the lyrics..and controversy sells as was pointed out above.I think when you look at the Stones many tunes could be seen as anti-women..again for the shock aspect.Pert of their nasty edge.Now we have cats being dragged in for no reason and other lame lyrics...
We need more songs about black pussy. |
| 15th September 2007 06:19 PM |
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| jpenn11 |
quote:
tumbled wrote:
From Guardian 9-13-2007
Sympathy for the white devil
Joe Queenan on Brown Sugar, surely the catchiest song ever written about slave owners having their way with their human chattel
Thursday September 13, 2007
Guardian Unlimited
The emotional apex of virtually every Stones concert, Brown Sugar is an unusual song, in that it is has horns and a bridge and is exquisitely crafted but doesn't end up sounding like Steely Dan schlock. ...
Live it has horns--so do many other songs, so nothing unusual there.
On the record BS doesn't have horns.
And what bridge is there (besides the connection to the b-stage, where BS isn't played)?
quote:
Rumours have long circulated that the song was originally entitled Brown Pussy, which would have made it even less likely to surface on Ebony, Ivory and Brown Pussy: Paul McCartney Sings the Jagger-Richards Songbook, and would have drawn even more attention to the offensive lyrics. But Jagger insists this was never the case.
I've got a new one myself. No words yet, but a few words in my head - called Brown Sugar - about a woman who screws one of her black servants. I started to call it Black Pussy but I decided that was too direct, too nitty-gritty.
- Mick Jagger, December 2, 1969, on the way
to Muscle Shoals Studios (from Stanley Booth's
The True Adventures of the Rolling Stones)
quote:
aladdinstory wrote:
I think what is truly disturbing is how Mick has changed the lyric to "...like a young man should."
The second verse can be understood to be "about" the houseboy screwing the lady of the house.
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| 15th September 2007 06:20 PM |
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| steel driving hammer |
The Stones are now almost half black anyhoo...
Not that there's anything wrong w/ that...
[Edited by steel driving hammer] |
| 15th September 2007 06:42 PM |
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| Wide As The Clyde |
That is indeed a very poor article. The writer seems surprised to find that a song by Jagger & Richards is about something unpleasant. I hope he's not the Guardian's foremost authority on popular music.
I recall Keith, being interviewed in the mid 80's, being asked why The Rolling Stones' songs were so often about such 'dark' things. Keith's answer was (I'm paraphrasing): "We're just writers. We write about what we see around us. If there's too much blood, then there's too much blood."
In ten years or so, when our man from the Guardian discovers this quote, he can write us a nice article about it..... |
| 15th September 2007 09:48 PM |
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| tumbled |
quote:
Wide As The Clyde wrote:
That is indeed a very poor article. The writer seems surprised to find that a song by Jagger & Richards is about something unpleasant. I hope he's not the Guardian's foremost authority on popular music.
...
this song and others are so ambiguous in meaning, of course anyone who attempts to decipher it in print, seems confusing...
for me, this song is a beautiful attempt to describe, obsession, domination, and in the end being dominated , in other words, the brown sugar love becoming that heroin brown sugar, the need to dominate and becoming dominated, (the drug) what is there more to life, that is it in a nutshell,
and then we have the link to ass sex thread...
[Edited by tumbled] |
| 15th September 2007 10:32 PM |
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| andrews27 |
One of the important influences on BS was MJ's desire to trash American history with a sex-scandal song. See the lyrics to the earlier song "Did Everybody Pay their Dues" (early version of what later became, with different lyrics, "Street Fighting Man"). It's BS set in an Indian village. It's as creepy-weird as the William Faulkner short stories which transpose white-on-slave violence into Indian tribal settings.
There's more than one set of twinned desires in BS: Sex and drugs, smut and history. |
| 15th September 2007 10:41 PM |
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| tumbled |
nobody pays their dues.. must be we got neurosis cuz we feel guilty but I didn't fuck over anyone so why should I feel guilty?? I don't ...I never held any slave... I let everyone go free...so dont' hate me cuz I am white..
Chief to scorn his friends make love to his re-la-tions
He beats his wife and made her life a to-tal wet va-ca-tion
Now did everybody pay their dues?
Now did end up with tribal blues?
All the braves and squaws and the maids and the whores
Did, everybody pay their dues?
He's a tribal chief his name is called dis-order
His flesh and blood he tears it up when acting right is nor-mal
Now did everybody pay their dues?
Now did any of them try to refuse?
All the braves and squaws and the maids and the whores
Did, everybody pay their dues?
See all the children roses pi-lling
What's all with us to be grown up is to be good at ly-ing
Now did everybody pay their dues?
Now did any of them try to refuse?
All the braves and squaws and the maids and the whores
Did, everybody pay their dues?
[Edited by tumbled]
[Edited by tumbled] |
| 16th September 2007 12:32 AM |
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| oldkr |
they probably wrote Brown Sugar about their idol Ben Franklin.
OLDKR |
| 16th September 2007 12:34 AM |
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| gypsy |
quote:
oldkr wrote:
they probably wrote Brown Sugar about their idol Ben Franklin.
OLDKR
It's a nod to both Ben Franklin and black vagina. |
| 16th September 2007 08:14 AM |
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| andrews27 |
Being married to a Jamaican woman, I frequently do the nod. |
| 16th September 2007 01:27 PM |
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| BONOISLOVE |
If you're not thin, don't even think about calling yourself a "black woman". Then you're a big brown looking man with a hidden penis. |
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