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Rolling Stones quotes: Mick Jagger on Sympathy for the Devil
DANCING WITH THE DEVIL, STONES STYLE Sympathy for the Devil isn’t just a song—it’s a full-blown ritual. Mick Jagger slips into Lucifer’s skin, swaggering through history’s darkest moments with a grin. Bongos, chaos, and that hypnotic “woo woo” chant turn it into pure rock voodoo. It’s provocative, clever, and a little dangerous—classic Stones. They weren’t praising evil; they were holding up a mirror to humanity, and damn, it still gives you chills.
‘I wrote Sympathy for the Devil as sort of like a Bob Dylan song. I wrote that song by myself. I mean, Keith suggested that we do it in another rhythm, so that’s how bands help you… I knew it was something good, ’cause I would just keep banging away at it until the fucking band recorded it… But I knew it was a good song. You just have this feeling. It had its poetic beginning, and then it had historic references and then philosophical jottings and so on. It’s all very well to write that in verse, but to make it into a pop song is something different. Especially in England – you’re skewered on the altar of pop culture if you become pretentious…
…It has a very hypnotic groove, a samba, which has a tremendous hypnotic power, rather like good dance music. It doesn’t speed up or down. It keeps this constant groove. Plus, the actual samba rhythm is a great one to sing on, but it’s also got some other suggestions in it, an undercurrent of being primitive – because it is a primitive African, South American, Afro-whatever-you-call-that rhythm. So to white people, it has a very sinister thing about it. But forgetting the cultural colors, it is a very good vehicle for producing a powerful piece. It becomes less pretentious because it’s a very unpretentious groove. If it had been done as a ballad, it wouldn’t have been as good.”
Jagger on Sympathy for the Devil: A Bold Classic by The Rolling Stones
Sympathy for the Devil, the opening track of Beggars Banquet (1968), is one of The Rolling Stones’ most provocative and influential songs. Written primarily by Mick Jagger, the lyrics adopt the persona of Lucifer, who calmly recounts his presence at humanity’s darkest moments—from the crucifixion of Christ to the Russian Revolution and World War II. Far from glorifying evil, the song serves as a commentary on human nature, power, and responsibility.
Musically, Sympathy for the Devil is a bold fusion of rock and Afro-Latin rhythms, driven by congas, maracas, and Nicky Hopkins’ hypnotic piano lines. Keith Richards adds intensity with a searing guitar solo, while Jagger delivers one of his most theatrical and charismatic performances. The track’s rhythmic chant of “woo woos,” added spontaneously during recording, became a signature element. Upon its release, the song stirred controversy due to its subject matter but has since been recognized as a landmark in rock history. It remains a symbol of the Stones’ fearless creativity and willingness to confront uncomfortable truths through their music.
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