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Rolling Stones songs: Always Suffering
Now the rain is falling slow/ And the nights grow long…
Always Suffering sits quietly within The Rolling Stones’ catalogue, yet it carries an emotional weight that rewards close listening. Released in 1997, the song strips away swagger and spectacle, revealing a band unafraid to linger in vulnerability. It’s not about dramatic heartbreak, but about endurance—the kind built over years of shared disappointments and stubborn loyalty.
Lyrically, Mick Jagger frames love as something fragile but persistent. Two people walk together, reflecting on hard times, lost friends, and nights that seem to stretch endlessly. The imagery of rain, long evenings, and wavering faith grounds the song in lived experience rather than romance. Hope appears not as certainty, but as possibility.
Musically, the restraint is deliberate. Acoustic textures, gentle guitars, and understated performances create space for reflection. Always Suffering may never have been played live, but its quiet honesty continues to resonate with listeners willing to slow down and listen closely.
More about Always Suffering by The Rolling Stones
*By Marcelo Sonaglioni
A walk through endurance and hope
At its heart Always Suffering unfolds like a quiet walk taken after a storm. A man and a woman move forward together, reflecting on the difficult years they have survived, aware of how fragile loyalty can be when time tests it. Mick Jagger frames their bond against uncertainty—”when all our friends were wavering, we kept on trying“—not as bravado, but as persistence. The rain falls slowly, nights grow long, and hardship is acknowledged rather than denied. Yet the song never collapses into despair. Instead, it leans toward acceptance and possibility, closing with an image that feels both resigned and tender: “for life is but a chance on a and the seeds of love are swirling above“. In that line, endurance becomes its own quiet victory, fragile yet meaningful.
A love song shaped by personal weight
Although framed as a shared memory between lovers, Always Suffering can also be read as an expression of Mick Jagger’s own torments. The song feels inward-looking, less concerned with drama than with emotional reckoning. There is no attempt to romanticize pain; suffering is presented as something endured rather than conquered. This restraint gives the lyric its strength. Jagger does not shout or provoke, as he once did in songs like Midnight Rambler. Instead, he observes, reflecting on how survival itself can be an act of commitment. The sense of time passing—long nights, slow rain—suggests a relationship that has matured through disappointment rather than excitement. Notably Always Suffering has never been performed live, reinforcing its status as a private moment within the Rolling Stones catalogue, one seemingly meant to remain intimate and unexposed.
Waddy Wachtel and the sound of restraint
The song’s emotional tone is established immediately by Waddy Wachtel, who opens this gentle ballad on acoustic guitar. His playing creates a soft, welcoming space that allows Jagger to adopt an unusually intimate vocal approach. Jagger’s voice is stripped of aggression, sounding settled and reflective, as though age has softened his edges without dulling his insight. Wachtel later shifts to electric guitar, playing arpeggios with a fairly strong tremolo that shimmer rather than dominate. Keith Richards complements this with the other clear-toned rhythm part, most probably played on a Telecaster. Richards also delivers two concise solos, with the sound slightly more distorted in the second one. These moments add subtle tension without breaking the song’s calm surface.
The rhythm section and an unexpected voice
Beneath the guitars, the rhythm section quietly reinforces the song’s reflective mood. Darryl Jones makes his second contribution to the album with a bass line that, in the refrains, recalls Bill Wyman. He seems to be playing his 1966 white Jazz Bass, anchoring the track with a familiar, understated pulse. Charlie Watts, meanwhile, is again supported by Jim Keltner on percussion, using shaker and maracas to add texture rather than force, continuing their highly successful collaboration. Something unprecedented occurs here involving the Stones drummer: Charlie steps out from behind his kit to add his voice to the backing vocals. He joins Keith, Darryl, Waddy, Jim, Blondie, Bernard, and Doug, creating a communal chorus that subtly reinforces the song’s theme of shared endurance.
Pedal steel, keys, and quiet lyricism
Adding another emotional layer, Ronnie Wood appears on pedal steel guitar, playing thoughtful phrases that are sadly undermixed at around 3:08. Even so, his lines contribute a sense of melancholy that suits the song’s reflective tone. The lyricism of Always Suffering is further enriched by Benmont Tench, whose very good work on both the Hammond B-3 and piano gives the arrangement warmth and depth. His keyboards never call attention to themselves, instead gently filling the spaces between voices and strings. Together, these elements create a soundscape that mirrors the song’s message: patience, vulnerability, and hope existing side by side. Nothing here is overstated. Like the lyrics themselves, the music understands that survival does not require noise—only presence, time, and the willingness to keep walking forward.
Keith Richards (1997): “As they say in Jamaica, ‘it is rough to be de king, mon’. It still hurts, even with a few mil. Certain things get through. Mind you, I didn’t write that song. Added some strings with Woody and Waddy, but didn’t write it… I still haven’t fully analyzed all(Mick’s lyrics – not that I often do. I don’t know, maybe he is always suffering! (laughs)”
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