The Rolling Stones - Sympathy for the Devil

When the album Beggar's Banquet was released in 1968, the Rolling Stones already had a bad-boy reputation. Their last album, "Their Satanic Majesties Request" was taking heat for promoting satanism, and what's more--they wore corduroys and cursed! Oh my!

I remember hearing an interview on the radio years ago talking about the origins of "Sympathy for the Devil," that at the time Mick Jagger was drawing inspiration from intellectuals in the London art scene. Mick said that the inspiration might have been the French poet Charles Baudeliere, but a friend of mine told me that Mick might have been confusing Baudeliere with Bulgakov, since the character of Lucifer bears a striking resemblance to the character of Mr. Woland from Mikhail Bulgakov's Soviet-banned novel, "The Master and Margarita." It begins with an introduction from a mysterious figure who appears in Moscow one day, telling a detailed story of being present as Pilate sentenced Jesus Christ to death. Beyond the literary inspiration, the song adds verses about more current events, such as WWII the recent assassination of Bobby Kennedy.

Originally written as a folk tune, Keith Richards added additional percussion that turned the song into more of a samba rhythm. The classic, "Woo-Woo!" heard throughout the second half of the song was actually Mick's girlfriend and her cadre of hangers-on in the studio, and was not invented by anyone in the band.

The guitar solo is one of the most scorching pieces of musical movement ever committed to tape. It was recorded on a 1957 Les Paul with three pickups, which runs a very strong signal, causing the tone to sound extremely overdriven and hot. It sounds almost thin at most parts, but every once in a while, Keith would hit two strings at once and it would break into a scream.

Sympathy for the Devil (lyric excerpts)
by The Rolling Stones

Please allow me to introduce myself
I'm a man of wealth and taste
I've been around for long, long years
Stole many man's soul and faith

And I was 'round when Jesus Christ
Had his moment of doubt and pain
Made damn sure that Pilate
Washed his hands and sealed his fate

I stuck around St. Petersburg
When I saw it was a time for a change
Killed the Czar and his ministers
Anastasia screamed in vain

I rode a tank
Held a general's rank
When the blitzkrieg raged
And the bodies stank

I watched with glee
While your kings and queens
Fought for ten decades
For the gods they made

I shouted out,
"Who killed the Kennedys?"
When after all
It was you and me

Let me please introduce myself
I'm a man of wealth and taste
And I laid traps for troubadours
Who get killed before they reached Bombay

Just as every cop is a criminal
And all the sinners saints
As heads is tails
Just call me Lucifer
'Cause I'm in need of some restraint

So if you meet me
Have some courtesy
Have some sympathy, and some taste
Use all your well-learned politesse
Or I'll lay your soul to waste