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Rolling Stones songs: Tumbling Dice
This low down bitchin’ got my poor feet a itchin’/ Don’t you know you know the deuce is still wild…
Original title: Good Time Women Written by: Jagger/Richard Recorded: Rolling Stones Mobile, Nellcote, France, Jun.-Nov. 1971; Sunset Sound Studios, Los Angeles, USA, Dec. 1971-March 1972; RCA Studios, Los Angeles, USA, March 1972 Guest musicians: Nicky Hopkins (piano), Bobby Keys (sax), Jim Price (trumpet), Clydie King and Vanetta Fields (backing vocals) *Data taken from Martin Elliott’s book THE ROLLING STONES COMPLETE RECORDING SESSIONS 1962-2012
Tumbling Dice originally began as a Mick Jagger tune called Good Time Women. This early version had a more straightforward, bluesy feel and told the story of a man and a woman from the red-light district, with the woman eventually warning him, “And you know you gonna die with your wife“—almost like a sequel to Honky Tonk Women. While the groove was solid, the song wasn’t quite there yet.
That’s when Keith Richards stepped in, reworking the music and giving it a looser, more hypnotic feel. Mick then revamped the lyrics, turning it into the gambling-themed classic we know today.
Keith Richards: “Tumbling Dice may have had something to do with the gambling den that Nellcôte turned into—there were card games and roulette wheels. Monte Carlo was around the corner.”
More from Keith: “You might have all of the music, a great riff, but sometimes the subject matter is missing. It only takes one guy sitting around a room, saying, ‘throwing craps last night…’ for a song to be born.”
Inside the Basement Sessions at Nellcôte
The Stones laid down Tumbling Dicein the damp, dimly lit basement of Villa Nellcote, the French mansion Keith Richards rented as a tax exile hideout. It was a wild, anything-goes setup—days were for sleeping, nights were for recording, and whoever happened to be around joined in.
For this track, things got switched up: Mick Jagger and Keith Richards both handled guitar duties, while Mick Taylor, usually the lead guitarist, took over on bass. Jagger playing guitar was a rare sight, but it added to the song’s loose, rolling feel. The whole vibe? Pure Exile-era chaos—and it worked.
From Housekeeper Slang to Casino Swagger
Mick Jagger has mentioned that “tumbling dice” was a phrase commonly used by dice players—and even his own housekeeper, who was quite the gambler herself. Inspired by this, the song took on a whole new meaning compared to its earlier version, Good Time Women.
In this revised version of the song, the lyrics take on a new perspective, shifting to the character of a suave, casino-obsessed man who thrives on the rush of gambling and the attention he gets from women. His charm and allure seem to effortlessly draw them in, yet there’s more to the story than meets the eye. While he indulges in his playful interactions with the women around him, he’s not blinded by innocence or romantic ideals. Instead, he sees them as “low-down gamblers,” who, like him, are constantly looking to capitalize on the situation. They aren’t just passive participants—they too are always calculating, ready to take advantage of his good luck when the opportunity arises.
The Hit That Rolled the Highest
Tumbling Dicewas the only song from Exile on Main St. to break into the Top 20 on the singles chart. Mick Jagger later told The Sun: “It’s obviously the most accessible and commercial song on the record. After ‘Tumbling Dice,’ I remember there wasn’t really a follow-up single. People said, ‘So, what are you going to release now then?’”
More from Mick: “It’s like a good guitar-hook tune. It’s a bit like Honky Tonk Women in a way, in the way it’s set up. But it was done for Exile. It’s got a lot more background vocals on it. A very messy mix. But that was the fashion in those days.”
Studio Struggles and a Surprise Ending
As for Andy Johns, the engineer behind the Exile on Main St. sessions, he shared in a 2010 interview with Goldmine magazine that “Obviously it was going to be great but it was a big struggle. Eventually we get a take. Hooray! I thought, ‘Let’s kick this up a notch and double track Charlie.’ ‘Oh, we’ve never done that before.’ ‘Well, it doesn’t mean we can’t do it now.’ So we double-tracked Charlie but he couldn’t play the ending. For some reason he got a mental block about the ending. So Jimmy Miller plays from the breakdown on out—that was very easy to punch in. It was a little bit different than some of the others. That song we did more takes than anything else.”
‘Tumbling Dice’: A Preview of Exile’s Raw Vibes
Tumbling Dice hit the shelves as a single in the UK on April 21, 1972, just ahead of Exile on Main St., which would be released a month later. Backed by Sweet Black Angel as the B-side, the song gave fans an early taste of the raw, bluesy vibe that defined the album. With its laid-back groove, infectious guitar riffs, and Mick Jagger’s signature swagger, it quickly became a standout track. The single set the stage for what would become one of The Rolling Stones’ most celebrated albums, capturing their unmistakable mix of rock, blues, and pure attitude.
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