“I’ve always felt it’s one of my best soul songs. It was another strict collaboration between Mick and me. I think I had the first verse—‘I’ll never be your beast of burden’—along with the hook, and we were still working very much in our traditional way: Here’s the idea, here’s the song, now run away and fill it in!”
Keith Richards, Harper’s Bazaar 2017
Welcome, to another edition of my Best in Songs. These are songs that I adore for various reasons and I want to give them a proper shout out. Today we’re going to wax poetic about one of my favorite songs from one The Rolling Stones, “Beast of Burden”
Beast of Burden is off the 1978 album “Some Girls” which ranks #468 on the Rolling Stones list of the 500 Best Albums. It was the second single off the album, and the song itself hit #8 on the Billboard Top 100, and is ranked #433 on the Top 500 Songs of All Time. The music and some of the lyrics were written by Keith Richards, with Mick Jagger improvising over top.
I’m going to straight up say it; this song is sexy as fuck. That INSANE groove just makes me feel all sorts of ways. This songs is just so in the pocket in terms of the groove, it makes the old jazz musician in me freaking giddy. The guitar interplay between Keith Richards & Ronnie Woods on lead/rhythm guitar is magical. They alternate playing high/low and pass the lead back and forth so effortlessly. And that guitar solo by Ronnie Wood? Muah, chef’s kiss. You know, I feel like everyone always talks about Keith, but I feel like people sometimes sleep on how great Ronnie is too.
And the lyrics; just light a match and set me aflame. They are simple, but forthright and sincere. I will heartily admit that Mick Jagger just oozes sex appeal and it absolutely bleeds through the speakers and into the lyrics.
I’ll never be your beast of burden
So let’s go home and draw the curtains
Music on the radio
Come on baby make sweet love to me
The Rolling Stones, Beast of Burden……hot damn
Richards has mostly confirmed that he wrote the song for Jagger, who had to carry the band through the 70’s while Richards was deep into heavy drug use. Jagger has said that “It’s a soul begging song, an attitude song. It was one of those where you get one melodic lick, break it down and work it up”. This is another in a string of amazing collaborations between these two men, that has solidified their place in rock music history.
So yeah, go and give this one a listen. Hell, listen to this whole album because it’s an underrated Stones classic. To close out, here’s a video of the Stones in 1981 performing at Sun Devil Stadium (Tempe, AZ). Later days!
Mixtape-Postcards 