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Rolling Stones songs: Stupid Girl
It doesn’t matter if she dyes her hair/ Or the colour of the shoes she wears…
Stupid Girl: Mick Jagger’s Sharp-Tongued AssaultOn Women
Few Rolling Stones songs are as unapologetically harsh as Stupid Girl. With each verse, the attack becomes more vicious, reducing its subject to a caricature of vanity, cruelty, and insincerity. She’s depicted as someone who judges others without understanding, complains about things she’s never experienced, and despite her outward charm, is ultimately “the sickest thing in this world.” The track stands as one of the most explicit expressions of contempt in the band’s early catalog.
Was this scathing portrayal meant to condemn all women, or was it deeply personal? Some speculate that Jagger had a specific muse in mind—his then-girlfriend, Chrissie Shrimpton, the younger sister of ‘60s model Jean Shrimpton.
Mick met Chrissie in 1962 while studying at the London School of Economics. At the time, she worked as a secretary in Covent Garden, unaware that their romance would end abruptly in 1966. Soon after, Jagger’s attention turned to Marianne Faithfull. Whether a personal vendetta or a broader commentary, Stupid Girl remains one of the Stones’ most caustic tracks.
Keith Richards and Mick Jagger on the Inspiration Behind Stupid Girl
According to Keith Richards, Stupid Girl and Under My Thumb weren’t just random jabs at women—they were shaped by the band’s experiences on the road. In a 1971 promotional interview, he reflected on how their environment influenced their songwriting, citing endless hotel stays and encounters with women who, in their eyes, often came across as shallow.
Richards admitted that not all of them fit that description, but the constant exposure to certain types of behavior left a lasting impression. That perspective seeped into the Stones’ lyrics, resulting in biting, sometimes controversial portrayals. Whether justified or not, these songs captured the frustration and cynicism of a band navigating fame, excess, and relationships in the whirlwind of the ‘60s rock scene.
“Songs like Under My Thumb and Stupid Girl were all a spin-off from our environment”, he said. “Hotels, and too many dumb chicks. Not all dumb, not by any means, but that’s how one got.”
While Mick Jagger admitted that the song was even harsher than Under My Thumb. He acknowledged that it stemmed from personal frustration, revealing that he was caught in a cycle of bad relationships at the time. With multiple girlfriends who didn’t seem to care about keeping him happy, Jagger reflected that he was simply “in with the wrong group.”
His candid remarks shed light on the bitterness driving the song’s lyrics. Rather than a broad statement about women, Stupid Girl appears to be a raw, unfiltered expression of dissatisfaction—one that turned personal struggles into a scathing musical attack. “It’s much nastier than Under My Thumb”, Jagger pointed out. “Obviously, I was having a bit of trouble. I wasn’t in a good relationship. Or I was in too many bad relationships. I had so many girlfriends at that point. None of them seemed to care they weren’t pleasing me very much. I was obviously in with the wrong group.”
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