A popular music genre is one The Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger “struggles to take seriously”.
While Jagger has become one of rock and roll’s most recognisable figures, he has also dabbled in blues and pop music. But one song from Sticky Fingers had the veteran performer tackle a genre he had not often utilised. The band would never release a country music album, but Jagger would try his hand at it on Dead Flowers and later Far Away Eyes. The “loopy” country voice, as Rolling Stone Magazine founder Jann Wenner called it, was a peculiar moment from Jagger. The legendary musician has since explained why he put on the voice, and why he can’t take the genre all that seriously.
He said: “I love country music, but I find it very hard to take it seriously. I also think a lot of country music is sung with the tongue in cheek, so I do it tongue in cheek. The harmonic thing is very different from the blues.
“It doesn’t bend notes in the same way, so I suppose it’s very English, really. Even though it’s been very Americanized, it feels very close to me, to my roots, so to speak.” Jagger would explain in other interviews that the song had been partly influenced by Gram Parsons, a friend of The Rolling Stones frontman at the time the song was written.
He shared: “The ‘country’ songs we recorded later, like Dead Flowers on Sticky Fingers or Far Away Eyes on Some Girls, are slightly different (than our earlier ones). The actual music is played completely straight, but it’s me who’s not going legit with the whole thing, because I think I’m a blues singer, not a country singer – I think it’s more suited to Keith’s voice than mine.”
The Rolling Stones would perform the song just three times during 2024, with the last appearance of the song during a show at Soldier Field in Chicago. The song was preceded by Shattered, a selection voted on by the crowd. A full setlist for the show can be found below.
- Start Me Up
- Let’s Spend the Night Together
- Rocks Off
- Angry
- Shattered
- Dead Flowers (with Lainey Wilson)
- Whole Wide World
- Tumbling Dice
- You Can’t Always Get What You Want
- Tell Me Straight
- Little T&A
- Before They Make Me Run
- Sympathy for the Devil
- Honky Tonk Women
- Miss You
- Gimme Shelter
- Paint It Black
- Jumpin’ Jack Flash
- Sweet Sounds of Heaven
- (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction
Dead Flowers was frequently covered by other acts including Willie Nelson, Hank Williams II, and Jerry Lee Lewis. Townes Van Zandt would feature a version on his live covers album, Roadsongs. This version featured in The Big Lebowski.
I agree with Mick. I saw the Stones at Shea stadium in the 1980’s & the light show added to the atmosphere & energy & of course the music 🥰 better than the Grateful Dead at the Meadowlands in Aug 1978 which I loved. I grew up in the horse business & married a dairy farmer in my late 30’s & I have never liked country music.
Southern rock ie Allman brothers, Skynnard & the outlaws great Country music is “sappy “
A fan from the Garden State Luv ya !!!
I have seen the rolling Stones five times live. And my humble opinion I believe they’re the greatest band of all space and time. I really like the song the girl with far away eyes it’s different and fun. Mick and the boys have been my favorite band since I was 7 years old, I’m almost 60 now. And the fact that he is in his 80s and they are still touring and putting on unbelievable shows is what blows my mind not to mention they have a huge range of music.