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Rolling Stones songs: Dancing with Mr. D (instrumental version)
Written by: Jagger/Richard Recorded: Dynamic Sounds Studios Kingston Jamaica, Nov. 25-Dec. 21 1972; Village Recorders, Los Angeles, USA, Jan. 13-15 1973; Island Recording Studios, London, England, June 1973 Guest musicians: Nicky Hopkins (piano)
More about Dancing with Mr. D (instrumental version) by The Rolling Stones
*By Marcelo Sonaglioni
The Goats Head Soup album opens with a haunting, almost spectral atmosphere, setting the stage for a dark and eerie journey. Dancing with Mr. D immediately plunges the listener into a danse macabre, as Mick Jagger pleads, “Lord, keep your hand off me / I’m dancin’ with Mr. D“, The identity of “Mr. D.” remains ambiguous—does it stand for the devil, a frequent presence in the Stones’ lyrical universe, or is it a grim personification of death itself? The song’s brooding tone, combined with imagery of cemeteries and an enigmatic “lady in black“, suggests an inescapable fate looming over the narrator.
Throughout the song, Jagger lists various macabre scenarios that could lead to his demise—poison slipped into his drink, the venomous bite of a snake, a fatal sip of Belladonna on All Saints’ Night, a deadly confrontation on a New York street corner, or a .44-caliber gun in West Virginia. These cinematic vignettes contribute to the song’s unsettling, almost supernatural aura.
Dancing with Mr. D served as the B-side to Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker) when released as a single in December 1973. Though not as commercially successful as other tracks on Goats Head Soup, it remains a distinctive and eerie opening statement.
Now, forget about the lyrics for a minute. When the album had its extended deluxe edition reissue in 2020 it also featured an extra instrumental version of the song, reintroducing listeners to the album’s dark and mysterious world, this time only musically, and reaffirming Goats Head Soup as one of the Stones’ most atmospheric and enigmatic records.
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