The Rolling Stones have been accused of ‘virtue signaling’ after retiring one of their most popular rock songs following controversy over its lyrics about the ‘horrors of slavery‘ and ‘sexual violence‘.
After it has emerged that the Rolling Stones had not performed the 1971 hit “Brown Sugar” during their ongoing US tour, Keith Richards and Mick Jagger confirmed that the classic had been dropped from their concert setlist.
RT reports: The song has been a staple of their live shows since its release, with Rolling Stone magazine counting some 1,136 known performances – reportedly making it the second most played song in the band’s catalog after ‘Jumpin’ Jack Flash’.
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Earlier this week, Jagger and Richards told the LA Times that the band had decided to “take [the song] out for now” after concerns about lyrical references to the slave trade, rape and black women.
“We’ve played ‘Brown Sugar’ every night since 1970, so sometimes you think, ‘We’ll take that one out for now and see how it goes,’” Jagger told the paper, adding that the group “might put it back in” at some point.
Meanwhile, Richards – who co-wrote the song with Jagger during a 1969 recording session in Alabama – said he was hoping to “resurrect the babe in her glory somewhere along the track.” The 77-year-old guitarist expressed surprise at reports criticizing the lyrics.
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. At the moment I don’t want to get into conflicts with all of this s***.
The last live performance of the track was on August 30, 2019, at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida, according to Rolling Stone magazine. Earlier that year, music producer Ian Brennan criticized the song in the Chicago Tribune for “glorifying slavery, rape, torture and pedophilia” and wondered if the band was being “given a pass” in the “#MeToo and #TimesUp era.”
Jagger himself expressed discomfort with the lyrics in a 1995 interview with Rolling Stone, calling it a “mishmash” with “all the nasty subjects in one go.” The song was reportedly written in 45 minutes – with Jagger describing it as “a very instant thing.”
“I never would write that song now. I would probably censor myself. I’d think, ‘Oh God, I can’t. I’ve got to stop. I can’t just write raw like that,’” the 78-year-old frontman said at the time.
But the majority of social media users called the Stones out for their “wokeness and virtue signaling” with several people noting that most of their songs “aren’t woke” and urging the band to “take a stand and open [and] close with ‘Brown Sugar.’”
Some users took to renaming the band “Rollover Stones” for their “farcical and pathetic” decision and for conforming to current norms. One person reminisced about how rock stars once “spoke out against the mainstream narrative” whereas “now they are often mouthpieces for the establishment.”
Others like TV personality Piers Morgan tweeted that the song had an “anti-slavery message,” but this viewpoint was challenged by users who noted that the song “seems to revel in it” instead.
Niamh Harris
Who cares. No one’s heard that song since 1978 a yway. If they weren’t English we never would have heard of them either.
they you also drop those free bees lifted from american artist state side by CBS slave camper`SS^^^$$$ and move on? just like ALL the other studio`SS pupperty they can`t write a hit STILL to the day hour and min GHOST writters from america wrote about 99% of hollywoods HITS for free enslaved by sound scan and earth mic ake sound gardening.The americam art movement anti-war anti-nuke and free speech was killed way way back in the 1960`s
the britty invasion was just CBS records POP bands commie wealther`SS covering up and killing off the real american artist movement and the grand daddyof all hippys howard hughes and myself dead dead and partly dead working on it
the who the hay ya and dumb and dumber way way abck to lov lov me was all ricahrd harrold and myself still ongoing slaves to tech encampments and mobster`ss
does ANYONE have a sine WAVE?
I don`t THINK they can DROP IT from their tassys anymore