Mick Jagger and his bandmates have decided to retire their 1971 hit single because of the controversial lyrics that depict slavery but Richards still hopes to bring the song back someday.
- Oct 14, 2021
AceShowbiz - The Rolling Stones have cut their 1971 hit "Brown Sugar" from their live set.
The rockers haven't played the tune during their current tour due to lyrics that depict the horrors of slavery, with Keith Richards confirming the omission was intentional.
"You picked up on that, huh?," he responded when asked by the Los Angeles Times if the track was lifted from the band's performances due to its content.
"I don't know. I'm trying to figure out with the sisters quite where the beef is. Didn't they understand this was a song about the horrors of slavery? But they're trying to bury it."
The first verse of the hit song depicts slaves being sold and beaten in Louisiana, with its chorus portraying a non-consensual sexual encounter between the violent master and a young female slave.
It ends with Mick Jagger singing, "How come you taste so good… just like a black girl should," but, despite the controversial subject matter, Richards insists the song might resurface one day.
"We've played Brown Sugar every night since 1970," he reflected. "So sometimes you think, 'We'll take that one out for now and see how it goes.' We might put it back in."
"At the moment I don't want to get into conflicts with all of this s**t... But I'm hoping that we'll be able to resurrect the babe in her glory somewhere along the track."
The band are currently traveling across North America for their latest jaunt. It marked their first tour without Charlie Watts following his passing.
