Rolling Stones songs: Can’t Be Seen
*Click for MORE ROLLING STONES SONGS 1962-PRESENT

They set us up so they can shoot us down/ Put us six feet underground/ It’s just too deep for me, baby…

Written by: Jagger/Richards
Recorded: Air Studios, Montserrat, March 29-Apr. 1989; Olympic Sound Studios, May 15-June 29 1989
Guest musicians: Chuck Leavell (organ and piano), Matt Clifford (clavinet), Bernard Fowler (backing vocals), Luis Jardim (percussion)
*Data taken from Martin Elliott’s book THE ROLLING STONES COMPLETE RECORDING SESSIONS 1962-2012

From the The Rolling Stones – All the Songs book:
“Can’t Be Seen” is a Keith Richards song performed by… Keith Richards. I
just can’t be seen with you… It’s too dangerous, baby… In Life,
he explains that this song describes the first stirrings of his relationship with
Anita Pallenberg, which were kept secret from the unfortunate Brian Jones.
Twenty years later, here he is returning to the subject of the famous trip to
Morocco, where it all started. Particularly revealing of the consequences of
this nascent love affair, “Can’t Be Seen” is transformed by Keith into a song
not merely about clandestine love, but about forbidden love: Yeah it was
just a dream with you/Yeah because you’re married anyway.
In this song, Keith Richards also almost certainly harks back to the
relationship between Bill Wyman and Mandy Smith. When the Stones
bassist met Mandy in 1983, she was only thirteen years old. Their liaison
remained secret until the tabloids found out about it in 1986 and accused
Bill Wyman of being a dangerous corruptor of youth. This new scandal
within the Stones universe would come to an end with the marriage of Bill
and Mandy (during the mixing of Steel Wheels!).