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Rolling Stones songs: Summer Romance
I need money so much, I need money so bad/ And I can’t be your mum, don’t want to be your dad…
Written by: Jagger/Richards Recorded: EMI Pathé Marconi Studios, Boulogne-Billancourt, France, Jan. 5-March 2 1978; RCA Studios, Hollywood, USA, Aug-Sept. 1978; EMI Pathé Marconi Studios, Boulogne-Billancourt, France, June 19-Oct. 19 1979 *Data taken from Martin Elliott’s book THE ROLLING STONES COMPLETE RECORDING SESSIONS 1962-2012
Mick Jagger: vocals, rhythm guitar Keith Richards: lead guitar, backing vocals Charlie Watts: drums Ron Wood: bass, rhythm guitar, backing vocals Guest musicians: Ian Stewart (piano)
Summer Romance might tell a familiar story, but it crackles with the kind of restless energy that only The Glimmer Twins could deliver. On the surface, it’s a fleeting affair between an adult and a high school student, fading as summer slips away. Underneath, though, it’s a sharp snapshot of late-’70s Rolling Stones attitude—fast, guitar-driven, and emotionally detached in all the right ways.
Recorded across the Some Girls sessions, Wally Heider (formerly RCA) Studios, and finally shaped at Pathé Marconi Studios, the track evolved from a raw, punk-leaning rocker into a more polished album cut. Early versions reveal a fiercer edge, with three interlocking guitars pushing the song forward at full throttle.
Never performed live, Summer Romance remains a hidden gem in the Stones’ catalog—proof that even their lesser-known tracks carry grit, groove, and undeniable character.
*By Marcelo Sonaglioni
Summer Romance: A fleeting affair with a punk heartbeat
A casual love affair between an adult and a high school student drifts toward its inevitable end as summer fades, and with it the illusion that heat can last forever. In Summer Romance the unhappy lover already sees the split-screen future: he’ll be heading to the pub to drink and play pool, while she’ll be studying, moving on, growing up. The premise may not be the most original ever, but the song pulses with a restless energy that redeems its storyline. This is another Glimmer Twins number the Stones have never performed live, which only deepens its cult aura. Even in absence from the stage, Summer Romance lingers as a sharp snapshot of desire colliding with reality, where youth and experience meet briefly—and part without ceremony.
A Story Older Than Rock ’n’ Roll
At its core Summer Romance leans into a familiar narrative: a seasonal relationship that burns bright and burns out fast. There’s no grand tragedy here, just the quiet sting of separation when routines reclaim their place. He retreats to the pub, chalk in hand, pint on the table; she returns to textbooks and timetables. The emotional contrast is simple but effective—arrested adolescence versus actual adolescence.
Yet what keeps the song from feeling predictable is its tone. Rather than wallowing, it pushes forward with urgency. The narrator bemoans his situation, yes, but the music refuses to sulk. It charges ahead, as if speed itself could outrun regret. That tension—between lyrical resignation and musical propulsion—gives Summer Romance its bite. It’s less about heartbreak and more about the awkward aftertaste of something that was never meant to last.
Three Guitars and A Glimmer Twins Signature
Like many songs written by Mick Jagger around this time Summer Romance gives prominence to three guitars, and that layered attack defines its character. Mick plays an initial rhythm part with a distorted sound (stereo right), laying down a gritty foundation. Ron answers with a second rhythm guitar on the left, played using the palm mute technique, tightening the groove with clipped precision. At the center, Keith takes the lead and sets the song on fire with phrases still very much influenced by the spirit of Chuck Berry.
Keith shapes his tone with his MXR Analog Delay pedal, achieving a vintage sound enriched with a short, very pronounced reverb. The result is bright, urgent, and slightly abrasive—perfect for a track that thrives on momentum. Whether boast or banter, the comment underscores how crucial the guitar interplay is to the track’s identity.
From Some Girls To Pathé Marconi
The recording history of Summer Romance mirrors its restless energy. The Stones cut an initial version during the Some Girls sessions in January 1978. They revisited it at the Wally Heider (formerly RCA) Studios during the summer, continuing to reshape its direction. The song finally reached its definitive form at the Pathé Marconi Studios between the end of June and the beginning of October 1979.
Early versions reveal a far faster rock track with a distinctly punk feel. The sound is raw—arguably more effective than the album version. There’s an immediacy in those takes, a looseness that captures the friction between impulse and control. By the time the final mix was completed, some of that volatility had been polished away. The evolution from scrappy punk edge to refined album cut tells its own story: a band balancing instinct with craft at the end of the seventies.
Buried Piano and Polished Edges
Ian Stewart is on piano, although unfortunately inaudible and buried in the mix except in the coda, where he emerges for a few seconds. On some working mixes, by contrast, he can be heard throughout the track, adding texture that subtly thickens the arrangement. That near-invisibility in the final version contributes to the sense that something essential was softened in the polishing process.
Charlie delivers a solid drum part, steady and supportive, while Ronnie’s bass—described as excessively guitaristic—leans toward a style that doesn’t anchor the track as firmly as it might. The interplay works, but it hints at what could have been with a heavier low-end presence.
Summer Romance stands as a well-made rock track that ultimately suffers from overly conventional, overly smooth mixing that eradicates some of its original spirit. The rawness of the early takes suggests a fiercer contender, one that might have rivaled the sharper edges of its era. Instead, the album version captures a band refining its sound—trading a measure of danger for clarity. And perhaps that trade mirrors the song’s theme: a fleeting blaze, remembered more vividly for how it felt than how it finally settled.
Ronnie Wood (1980): “Mick! Before I gave him guitar lessons, we wouldn’t have had songs like Summer Romance because of all that rhythm guitar.”
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