"You Can't Always Get What You Want" is a song by the English rock band

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

on their 1969 album ''

Let It Bleed ''Let It Bleed'' is the eighth British and tenth American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released 28 November 1969 on London Records in the United States and shortly thereafter by Decca Records in the United Kingdom. ...

''. Written by

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

and

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

, it was named as the 100th greatest song of all time by ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' magazine in its 2004 list of the "

500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 in ...

" before dropping a place the following year.

Composition and recording

Jagger commented on the song's beginnings: "You Can't Always Get What You Want" was composed in the key of C major and was the first song recorded for the album. It exists in two versions, a 4:51 single mix and a 7:28 album mix. "You Can't Always Get What You Want" was recorded on 16 and 17 November 1968 at

Olympic Sound Studios Olympic Studios was a renowned British independent commercial recording studio based in Barnes, London. It is best known for its recordings of many artists throughout the late 1960s to the first decade of the 21st century, including Jimi Hendr ...

in London. It features the London Bach Choir opening the song (the choir opening is only on the album version), highlighting throughout, and bringing it to its conclusion.

Al Kooper Al Kooper (born Alan Peter Kuperschmidt; February 5, 1944) is a retired American songwriter, record producer and musician, known for organizing Blood, Sweat & Tears, although he did not stay with the group long enough to share its popularity. ...

plays piano and organ, as well as the

French horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most ...

intro, while

Rocky Dijon Kwasi Dzidzornu (1935 – March 13, 1993), also known as Rocky Dijon, was a Ghanaian percussionist known for his playing on recordings by The Rolling Stones, Nick Drake, Ginger Baker, Stevie Wonder, Billy Preston and Joe Walsh. During the 1970s h ...

plays congas,

maraca A maraca (), sometimes called shaker or chac-chac, is a rattle which appears in many genres of Caribbean and Latin music. It is shaken by a handle and usually played as part of a pair. Maracas (from Guaraní ), also known as tamaracas, were ...

s and

tambourine The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though ...

. In his review of the song,

Richie Unterberger Richie Unterberger (born January 19, 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing. Life and writing Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' ...

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

said: "If you buy

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

's observation that the Rolling Stones were apt to copy

the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developmen ...

' innovations within a few months or so, 'You Can't Always Get What You Want' is the Rolling Stones' counterpart to ' Hey Jude'." Jagger said in 1969, "I liked the way the Beatles did that with 'Hey Jude'. The orchestra was not just to cover everything up—it was something extra. We may do something like that on the next album."

Lyrics

The three verses (and the varied theme of the fourth verse) address major topics of the 1960s: love, politics, and drugs. Each verse captures the essence of the initial optimism and eventual disillusion, followed by the resigned pragmatism of the chorus. Unterberger elaborated: Jimmy Hutmaker of

Excelsior, Minnesota Excelsior is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States. Excelsior's historic commercial district along Water Street is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the town has many Victorian-era houses. On Lake Minnetonka's ...

claimed to be the "Mr. Jimmy" cited in the song and that he said the phrase "you can't always get what you want" to Jagger during a chance encounter at an Excelsior drug store in 1964. However, David Dalton, a writer for ''

'' who witnessed the filming of ''

The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus ''The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus'' was a concert show organised by the Rolling Stones on 11–12 December 1968. The show was filmed on a makeshift circus stage with Jethro Tull (band), Jethro Tull, The Who, Taj Mahal (musician), Taj Mah ...

'', claims in his commentary for the DVD of the concert that "Mr. Jimmy" refers to Miller, the Stones producer from 1968 to 1973.

Marianne Faithfull Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (born 29 December 1946) is an English singer and actress. She achieved popularity in the 1960s with the release of her hit single " As Tears Go By" and became one of the lead female artists during the British I ...

has also claimed a role: "Obviously I also contributed to 'You Can't Always Get What You Want' and ' Dear Doctor' – junk songs... I know they used me as a muse for those tough drug songs. I knew I was being used but it was for a worthy cause."

Release and aftermath

The song was originally released on the B-side of " Honky Tonk Women" in July 1969. Although it did not chart at the time, London Records re-serviced the single in 1973 and "You Can't Always Get What You Want" reached number 42 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 34 on the '' Cashbox'' Top 100 Singles chart. One of the Stones' most popular recordings, it has since appeared on the compilations '' Hot Rocks'', ''

Singles Collection A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

'' (single version), ''

Forty Licks ''Forty Licks'' is a double compilation album by the Rolling Stones. A 40-year career-spanning retrospective, ''Forty Licks'' is notable for being the first retrospective to combine their formative Decca/London era of the 1960s, now licensed b ...

'', '' Rolled Gold+: The Very Best of the Rolling Stones (2007 edition)'', '' Singles 1968-1971'' (single version), '' Slow Rollers'' (single version) and ''

GRRR! ''GRRR!'' is a greatest hits album by the Rolling Stones. Released on 12 November 2012, it commemorates the band's 50th anniversary. The album features two new songs titled "Doom and Gloom" and "One More Shot", which were recorded in August 2 ...

'' (single version). Live recordings appear on the albums '' Love You Live'', '' Flashpoint'', ''

Live Licks ''Live Licks'' is a double live album by the Rolling Stones and was released in 2004. Coming six years after '' No Security'', this ninth official Rolling Stones full-length live release captures performances from the band's year-long 2002– ...

'', '' Brussels Affair'', ''

Hyde Park Live ''Hyde Park Live'' is a live album by the Rolling Stones, released in 2013. It was recorded at Hyde Park, London on 6 and 13 July 2013 during the band's 50 and Counting Tour. The album was released exclusively as a digital download through ...

'', and '' Havana Moon'', as well as on ''

'', filmed in 1968. Stones concert films that contain the song include: '' Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones'', '' ''From the Vault – L.A Forum - Live in 1975'', ''

Let's Spend the Night Together "Let's Spend the Night Together" is a song written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, and originally released by the Rolling Stones as a double A-sided single together with " Ruby Tuesday" in January 1967. It also appears as the opening track ...

'', ''

Stones at the Max ''Rolling Stones: Live at the Max'' (also known as ''Stones at the Max'') is a concert film by the Rolling Stones released in 1991. It was specially filmed in IMAX during the Urban Jungle Tour in Europe in 1990. It was the first concert movie sh ...

'', '' Bridges to Babylon Tour '97–98'', ''

Four Flicks ''Four Flicks'' is a concert DVD collection by British rock band the Rolling Stones, filmed during the band's Licks World Tour in 2002–2003. The collection was released exclusively through Best Buy on 11 November 2003, which caused other reta ...

'', '' The Biggest Bang'', '' Sweet Summer Sun: Hyde Park Live'', and ''Havana Moon''. The song was performed live with members of Voce Chamber Choir and London Youth Choir for the Stones' 2012 shows in London, November 25 and November 29. The same choir also performed on the track at Glastonbury and two performances at Hyde Park in 2013.

Trump campaign use

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

played the Rolling Stones' recording of the song at campaign appearances during the

2016 Republican primaries Presidential primaries and caucuses of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party took place within all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories between February 1 and June 7, 2016. These elections selected ...

and the presidential election, including his nationally televised acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in July. Although the campaign had attained a blanket licence from ASCAP, after the convention, the band said publicly that they do not endorse Trump and requested that he cease all use of their songs immediately. Despite the requests to stop, Trump continued using the song at campaign rallies before and after the 2016 election. According to Jagger, the band considers the use of the song as a play-out at rallies to be "odd," given that it is a "sort of doomy ballad about drugs in

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

." The Trump campaign continued to use the song during 2020, the most recent use being to close his political rally in

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

on June 20, 2020. Trump was again warned by the Stones not to use their music. They said they were working with the performing rights organisation, BMI to prevent unauthorised use. The Trump campaign stopped using the song soon after and began playing " Y.M.C.A." by

Village People Village People is an American disco group known for its on-stage costumes and suggestive lyrics in their music. The group was originally formed by French producers Jacques Morali, Henri Belolo and lead singer Victor Willis following the releas ...

to end his rallies instead.

Personnel

The Rolling Stones *

– vocals *

– acoustic and electric guitars, backing vocals * Bill Wyman – bass guitar Additional personnel * London Bach Choir – choral arrangements by

Jack Nitzsche Bernard Alfred "Jack" Nitzsche ( '; April 22, 1937 – August 25, 2000) was an American musician, arranger, songwriter, composer, and record producer. He first came to prominence in the early 1960s as the right-hand-man of producer Phil Spec ...

– piano, organ,

Jimmy Miller James Miller (March 23, 1942 – October 22, 1994) was an American record producer and musician. While he produced albums for dozens of different bands and artists, he is most closely associated for his work with several key musical acts of ...

– drums *

– congas,

s, tambourine *

Madeline Bell Madeline Bell (born July 23, 1942) is an American soul singer, who became famous as a performer in the UK during the 1960s and 1970s with pop group Blue Mink, having arrived from America in the gospel show ''Black Nativity'' in 1962, with the ...

– backing vocals * Nanette Workman – backing vocals (credited as 'Nanette Newman' on the LP) *

Doris Troy Doris Troy (born Doris Elaine Higginsen; January 6, 1937 – February 16, 2004) was an American R&B singer and songwriter, known to her many fans as "Mama Soul". Her biggest hit was " Just One Look", a top 10 hit in 1963. Life and career She ...

– backing vocals

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control The Rolling Stones songs 1969 songs 1969 singles Songs written by Jagger–Richards Rock ballads Song recordings produced by Jimmy Miller Decca Records singles London Records singles Chrysalis Records singles 1960s ballads Songs about drugs Donald Trump 2016 presidential campaign Songs about London