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Rolling Stonessongs: Till the Next Goodbye
You give me a cure all from New Orleans/ Now that’s a recipe I sure do need…
Written by: Jagger/Richard Recorded: Musicland Studios, Munich, Germany, Jan. 14.28 1974; Rolling Stones Mobile, Stargroves, Newbury, England, Apr. 1974; Island Recording Studios, London, England, May 20-25 1974 *Data taken from Martin Elliott’s book THE ROLLING STONES COMPLETE RECORDING SESSIONS 1962-2012
Mick Jagger: vocals, acoustic guitar Keith Richards: guitar, backing vocals Mick Taylor: 12-string acoustic guitar Bill Wyman: bass Charlie Watts: drums Guest musicians: Nicky Hopkins (piano)
More about Till the Next Goodbye by The Rolling Stones
*By Marcelo Sonaglioni
A Tender Farewell
The unease of two lovers running out of excuses hangs over Till the Next Goodbye, a song built on whispered truths and places chosen more for secrecy than romance. The narrator looks back on their first encounter on Forty-Second Street—an unlikely setting where neon lights flickered over movie houses showing films no one admits to watching. Their connection somehow survived crises, reconciliations, and moments of fading hope, but now even her homemade miracle cures—mixed with cider apples and elderberry wine in a New Orleans kitchen—cannot revive what has slipped away. He knows their planned meeting in a coffee shop on Fifty-Second Street may be their last, and while he braces for her tears, he also acknowledges a reluctant truth: he no longer feels what he once did. His tenderness remains, but the passion that once pulled them together has thinned beyond repair.
Echoes of the Studio
Though the emotions inside the song are raw, its production is quietly elegant. The opening recalls the warm acoustic textures of Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main St., built around two guitars conversing gently. Mick Jagger likely strums a Gibson Hummingbird, while Mick Taylor adds shimmering harmonics on a twelve-string. Keith Richards’ electric slide guitar—confirmed in the 1974 promotional clip by Michael Lindsay-Hogg—threads through the arrangement with unmistakable phrasing. Nicky Hopkins’ lyrical piano makes its first entrance on the album here, soft but essential. Bill Wyman anchors the song with a restrained bass line, leaving emotional space for Charlie Watts’ subtle rhythmic choices: quiet tom flourishes, delicate cymbal touches, and an instinct for holding back until the precise moment matters. Jagger’s vocal hovers between confession and resignation, supported by Richards’ gentle harmonies. The result is a modest, heartfelt track—far from a masterpiece, yet sincere and deeply human.
Uncredited Words and Hidden Sessions
Years later Carly Simon revealed that she had quietly helped Jagger shape some of the lyrics and was surprised not to receive credit. The recording itself began in late 1973 at Musicland Studios in Munich before the band shifted to Jagger’s home in Newbury with the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio. Island Studios in London completed the journey. Jagger, Richards, and Taylor each contributed acoustic guitar, while Richards added slide. Hopkins handled piano, Wyman the bass, and Watts the drums. Despite its intimacy, the song remained an overlooked gem—never played live, absent from compilations until the Heartbreak EP in 2021, and only briefly revisited during rehearsals for the 2014 14 On Fire tour with Mick Taylor in attendance.
A Quiet Classic in Disguise
Calling the song minor does not diminish its craft. Built on a simple two-chord pattern and colored by country-tinged piano, it captures the melancholy of forbidden love with startling clarity. The 42nd Street reference sets a scene of secrecy; Jagger’s phrasing in the bridge—“I can’t go on like this / Can you? Can you?”—carries dual meanings that shift between guilt and resignation. Even Charlie Watts’ restrained entrance turns a single drum fill into a dramatic pivot. The interplay of Richards’ Tex-Mex acoustic accents and Taylor’s rich slide electric creates a texture that feels uniquely theirs. Till the Next Goodbye may not appear on greatest-hits lists, but like many Stones deep cuts, it carries a quiet mastery—proof that even their so-called toss-offs surpass what most bands could ever hope to achieve.
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