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{{short description|1971 Rolling Stones song}}
{{Infobox Song
{{Infobox song
| Name = Moonlight Mile
| name = Moonlight Mile
| Artist = [[The Rolling Stones]]
| Album = [[Sticky Fingers]]
| artist = [[the Rolling Stones]]
| Released= [[April 23]], [[1971]]
| album = [[Sticky Fingers]]
| released = {{Start date|1971|04|23|df=y}}
| Cover = Stickyfingersstones.jpg
| recorded = October 1970
| track_no = 10
| genre = {{hlist|[[Rock music|Rock]]|[[Soul music|soul]]<ref>{{cite web|date=12 July 2012|title=Top 100 Rolling Stones Songs|url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/top-100-rolling-stones-songs/|access-date=25 September 2021|website=Ultimate Classic Rock}}</ref>}}
| Recorded = March & May, [[1970 in music|1970]]
| length = {{Duration|m=5|s=56}}
| Genre = [[Rock music|Rock]]
⚫
| writer = [[Jagger/Richards]]
| Length = 5m:56s
⚫
| label = [[Rolling Stones Records|Rolling Stones]]/[[Virgin Records|Virgin]]
⚫
| Writer = [[Jagger/Richards]]
⚫
| producer = [[Jimmy Miller (producer)|Jimmy Miller]]
⚫
| Label = [[Rolling Stones Records|Rolling Stones]]/[[Virgin Records|Virgin]]
⚫
| Producer = [[Jimmy Miller (producer)|Jimmy Miller]]
| [ Chart position = ]
|
| prev = "[[Dead Flowers]]"
| prev_no = 9
}}
}}
"'''Moonlight Mile'''" is a song recorded by [[the Rolling Stones]]. Credited to [[Jagger–Richards|Jagger-Richards]], it was written by [[Mick Jagger]]<ref name="Richards' Life magazine quote">{{cite web|url=http://www.timeisonourside.com/SOMoonlight.html|title=Moonlight Mile|author=Time is on our side|date=19 March 2000|website=reviews of "Moonlight Mile"; quote from Life Magazine|location=Rolling Stones Mobile Unit, Mick Jagger's home, Newbury, England & Olympic Sound Studios, London|access-date=9 August 2013}}</ref> with assistance from [[Mick Taylor]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Fanelli|first=Damian|date=3 May 2012|title=Interview: Former Rolling Stones Guitarist Mick Taylor Discusses Gear, Bluesbreakers, Iridium and The Stones|url=https://www.guitarworld.com/features/interview-former-rolling-stones-guitarist-mick-taylor-discusses-gear|access-date=25 September 2021|website=[[Guitar World]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Moonlight Mile track talk|url=http://www.timeisonourside.com/SOMoonlight.html|quote=That's where Moonlight Mile came from. But Mick first sang it to me in a first-class railway compartment on the way from London to Bristol. Then he had the idea of embellishing it with strings. I contributed the riff that Paul Buckmaster's strings are based on - that ethereal, unresolved ending. (2011)}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Interview With Mick Taylor|url=http://www.classicbands.com/MickTaylorInterview.html|publisher=Classic Bands|quote=It's not rubbish to say that I was a bit peeved about not getting credit for a couple of songs...}}</ref> It appears as the closing track on their 1971 album ''[[Sticky Fingers]]''. The song features multiple musicians playing alternate instruments due to the frequent absence of Richards during recording sessions of the period.


"'''Moonlight Mile'''" is a song from [[rock band]] [[The Rolling Stones]]' [[1971 in music|1971]] release ''[[Sticky Fingers]]''.
"Moonlight Mile" has been largely considered an under-appreciated work of the band, with music critics [[Bill Janovitz]] and [[Robert Christgau]] praising the track's composition.


==Recording and composition==
Credited to singer [[Mick Jagger]] and guitarist [[Keith Richards]], "Moonlight Mile" is widely considered to be one of the Rolling Stones greatest [[ballads]].<ref name=allmusic>{{cite web| last =Janovitz| first =Bill| title = "Moonlight Mile"| work = | publisher = allmusic | url = http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=33:fcfoxcq5ldde| accessdate = 2006-06-28}}</ref> Recording began in March 1970 at [[Stargroves]]. The song was the product of an all-night session between Jagger and guitarist [[Mick Taylor]]. Taylor had taken a short guitar piece recorded by Richards (entitled "Japanese Thing") and reworked it for the session. Jagger performs the song's prominent [[acoustic guitar]] riff. It was Taylor's idea to add a string arrangement by [[Paul Buckmaster]] to the song. The strings are noted for their Asian influence, a direct nod to Richards' original contribution. Piano is played by regular Stones trumpet player [[Jim Price (musician)|Jim Price]].
"Moonlight Mile" was the last song recorded for ''Sticky Fingers''. Recording took place during the end of October 1970 at [[Stargroves]]. The song was the product of an all-night session between Jagger and guitarist [[Mick Taylor]]. Taylor had taken a short guitar piece recorded by Jagger (entitled "Japanese Thing") and reworked it for the session. Jagger performs the song's prominent [[acoustic guitar]] riff. Jagger felt it easier to extemporize with Taylor, as Richards was not present. It was Jagger's idea to add a string arrangement by [[Paul Buckmaster]] to the song. [[Jim Price (musician)|Jim Price]]{{Em dash}}the Rolling Stones' usual trumpeter{{Em dash}}plays piano. Taylor claims he was promised some songwriting credit, but found himself surprised that he did not receive one when the song was released on ''Sticky Fingers''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Fanelli|first=Damian|date=3 May 2012|title=Interview: Former Rolling Stones Guitarist Mick Taylor Discusses Gear, Bluesbreakers, Iridium and The Stones|url=https://www.guitarworld.com/features/interview-former-rolling-stones-guitarist-mick-taylor-discusses-gear|access-date=25 September 2021|website=[[Guitar World]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Moonlight Mile track talk|url=http://www.timeisonourside.com/SOMoonlight.html|quote=That's where Moonlight Mile came from. But Mick first sang it to me in a first-class railway compartment on the way from London to Bristol. Then he had the idea of embellishing it with strings. I contributed the riff that Paul Buckmaster's strings are based on - that ethereal, unresolved ending. (2011)}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Interview With Mick Taylor|url=http://www.classicbands.com/MickTaylorInterview.html|publisher=Classic Bands|quote=It's not rubbish to say that I was a bit peeved about not getting credit for a couple of songs...}}</ref> Richards and Jagger took credit for the song.
{{Quote box|width=35%|align=right|quote="Moonlight Mile was all Mick's. As far as I can remember, Mick came in with the whole idea of that, and the band just figured out how to play it.<ref name="Richards' Life magazine quote">{{cite web|url=http://www.timeisonourside.com/SOMoonlight.html|title=Moonlight Mile|author=Time is on our side|date=19 March 2000|website=reviews of "Moonlight Mile"; quote from Life Magazine|location=Rolling Stones Mobile Unit, Mick Jagger's home, Newbury, England & Olympic Sound Studios, London|access-date=9 August 2013}}</ref> - Keith Richards, ''Life'' magazine}}


The song was written while the Rolling Stones were on their 1970 European tour. Reportedly a rough time for the band, Jagger was particularly affected the most by the alienation and fatigue of touring. The lyrics are elliptical and mysterious, but touch on the alienation of life on the road:
Despite his substantial contribution on "Moonlight Mile", Taylor did not receive a songwriting credit. This lack of acknowledgement by Jagger and Richards of Taylor's contributions on this song (and others) eventually led him to leave the band in the summer of 1974.
{{poemquote|The sound of strangers sending nothing to my mind
Just another mad mad day on the road
I am just living to be lying by your side
But I'm just about a moonlight mile on down the road <ref>Myers, Mark (2016). Anatomy of a Song. Grove Press. pp. 177-178. ISBN 978-1-61185-525-8</ref>}}


==Reception==
Like many of the Stones songs, the meaning of the song's lyrics are elliptical and mysterious, but some of the lyrics make direct reference to the alienation of living a life on the road.
Many consider "Moonlight Mile" one of the Rolling Stones' most under-appreciated [[ballads]].<ref name="allmusic">{{cite web|last=Janovitz|first=Bill|author-link=Bill Janovitz|title=Moonlight Mile|url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/moonlight-mile-mt0010840484|access-date=28 July 2008|publisher=[[AllMusic]]}}</ref> In a review of the song, [[Bill Janovitz]] says, "Though the song still referenced drugs and the road life of a pop-music celebrity, it really is a rare example of Jagger letting go of his public persona, offering a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the weariness that accompanies the pressures of keeping up appearances as a sex-drugs-and-rock & roll star."<ref name=allmusic/>


Rock critic [[Robert Christgau]] said the song, "re-created all the paradoxical distances inherent in erotic love with a power worthy of [[William Butler Yeats|Yeats]], yet could also be interpreted as a [[cocaine]] song."<ref>{{cite web|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|title=The Rolling Stones|url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/music/stones-76.php|access-date=28 June 2007|website=The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll}}</ref> This is a reference to the first stanza, which includes, "When the wind blows and the rain feels cold, With a head full of snow". It was meant to be about coming down from a cocaine high. However, Mick Jagger later dismissed any suggestions of the song being an allegory for drug use, and stated "The feeling I had at that moment was how difficult it was to be touring and how I wasn’t looking forward to going out and doing it again. It’s a very lonely thing, and my lyrics reflected that".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/mick-jagger-and-moonlight-mile-1432735648 |title=Mick Jagger and 'Moonlight Mile' |last=Myers |first=Marc |author-link=Marc Myers | date=May 28, 2015 |website=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|access-date=April 24, 2016}} {{subscription required}}</ref>
{{cquote|''The sound of strangers sending nothing to my mind; Just another mad mad day on the road; I am just living to be lying by your side, But I'm just about a moonlight mile on down the road''}}


Writing for ''[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]'', pop critic Jack Hamilton praised the track, referring to it as ''Sticky Fingers''' "strangest and most unique recording" that is "an intoxicating mix of exotic and intimate".<ref>{{cite web|last=Hamilton|first=Jack|date=10 June 2015|title=After Altamont, the Rolling Stones Made One of the Greatest Albums in Rock History|url=https://slate.com/culture/2015/06/sticky-fingers-by-the-rolling-stones-one-of-the-greatest-albums-in-rock-n-roll-history.html|access-date=12 April 2021|website=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]}}</ref>
In his review of the song, [[Bill Janovitz]] says, "Though the song still referenced drugs and the road life of a pop-music celebrity, it really is a rare example of Jagger letting go of his public persona, offering a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the weariness that accompanies the pressures of keeping up appearances as a sex-drugs-and- rock & roll star."<ref name=allmusic/> Rock critic [[Robert Christgau]] said the song, "re-created all the paradoxical distances inherent in erotic love with a power worthy of [[William Butler Yeats|Yeats]], yet could also be interpreted as a cocaine song."<ref>[http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/music/stones-76.php Christgau, Robert. "The Rolling Stones"]. ''Rolling Stone''. [[2007]] (accessed [[28 June]] [[2007]]).</ref> This is a reference to the first stanza, which reads, "''When the wind blows and the rain feels cold, With a head full of snow...''" The song is also notable for the Stones' rare use of double tracking Jagger's lead vocal.


''Classic Rock History'' critic Matthew Pollard rated it as the Rolling Stones' best deep cut, calling it an "epic in every way imaginable" and saying that "the vibe gives off such a Winter atmosphere" but "once the song accretes towards the climactic ending, it absolutely explodes into something so tearfully optimistic that it sends the body into goosebumps."<ref>{{cite web|title= 10 Rolling Stones Songs That Are Fan Favorite Deep Cuts|author=Pollard, Matthew|date=28 December 2023|accessdate=2023-12-30|publisher=Classic Rock History|url=https://www.classicrockhistory.com/top-10-rolling-stones-songs-deep-cuts/}}</ref>
The track was used extensively during the final episode of the [[HBO]] series ''[[The Sopranos]]'' sixth season, "[[Kaisha]]," as well as giving its title and being used in the 2002 [[motion picture]] ''[[Moonlight Mile]]''.

==Personnel==
* [[Mick Jagger]]{{snd}}vocals, acoustic guitar
* [[Mick Taylor]]{{snd}}electric lead guitar
* [[Bill Wyman]]{{snd}}bass guitar
* [[Charlie Watts]]{{snd}}drums
* [[Jim Price (musician)|Jim Price]]{{snd}}piano
* [[Paul Buckmaster]]{{snd}}string arrangement


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
<references/>


{{Sticky Fingers}}
==External links==

*[http://www.rollingstones.com/discog/index.php?v=so&a=1&id=144 Complete Official Lyrics]
{{authority control}}


[[Category:The Rolling Stones songs]]
[[Category:The Rolling Stones songs]]
[[Category:1971 songs]]
[[Category:1971 songs]]
[[Category:Songs written by Jagger–Richards]]

[[Category:Song recordings produced by Jimmy Miller]]
[[da:Moonlight Mile]]
[[Category:Rock ballads]]
[[Category:British soul songs]]
[[Category:Songs about drugs]]

Latest revision as of 14:12, 4 September 2024

"Moonlight Mile"
Song by the Rolling Stones
from the album Sticky Fingers
Released23 April 1971 (1971-04-23)
RecordedOctober 1970
Genre
Length5:56
LabelRolling Stones/Virgin
Songwriter(s)Jagger/Richards
Producer(s)Jimmy Miller

"Moonlight Mile" is a song recorded by the Rolling Stones. Credited to Jagger-Richards, it was written by Mick Jagger[2] with assistance from Mick Taylor.[3][4][5] It appears as the closing track on their 1971 album Sticky Fingers. The song features multiple musicians playing alternate instruments due to the frequent absence of Richards during recording sessions of the period.

"Moonlight Mile" has been largely considered an under-appreciated work of the band, with music critics Bill Janovitz and Robert Christgau praising the track's composition.

Recording and composition

[edit]

"Moonlight Mile" was the last song recorded for Sticky Fingers. Recording took place during the end of October 1970 at Stargroves. The song was the product of an all-night session between Jagger and guitarist Mick Taylor. Taylor had taken a short guitar piece recorded by Jagger (entitled "Japanese Thing") and reworked it for the session. Jagger performs the song's prominent acoustic guitar riff. Jagger felt it easier to extemporize with Taylor, as Richards was not present. It was Jagger's idea to add a string arrangement by Paul Buckmaster to the song. Jim Price—the Rolling Stones' usual trumpeter—plays piano. Taylor claims he was promised some songwriting credit, but found himself surprised that he did not receive one when the song was released on Sticky Fingers.[6][7][8] Richards and Jagger took credit for the song.

"Moonlight Mile was all Mick's. As far as I can remember, Mick came in with the whole idea of that, and the band just figured out how to play it.[2] - Keith Richards, Life magazine

The song was written while the Rolling Stones were on their 1970 European tour. Reportedly a rough time for the band, Jagger was particularly affected the most by the alienation and fatigue of touring. The lyrics are elliptical and mysterious, but touch on the alienation of life on the road:

The sound of strangers sending nothing to my mind
Just another mad mad day on the road
I am just living to be lying by your side
But I'm just about a moonlight mile on down the road [9]

Reception

[edit]

Many consider "Moonlight Mile" one of the Rolling Stones' most under-appreciated ballads.[10] In a review of the song, Bill Janovitz says, "Though the song still referenced drugs and the road life of a pop-music celebrity, it really is a rare example of Jagger letting go of his public persona, offering a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the weariness that accompanies the pressures of keeping up appearances as a sex-drugs-and-rock & roll star."[10]

Rock critic Robert Christgau said the song, "re-created all the paradoxical distances inherent in erotic love with a power worthy of Yeats, yet could also be interpreted as a cocaine song."[11] This is a reference to the first stanza, which includes, "When the wind blows and the rain feels cold, With a head full of snow". It was meant to be about coming down from a cocaine high. However, Mick Jagger later dismissed any suggestions of the song being an allegory for drug use, and stated "The feeling I had at that moment was how difficult it was to be touring and how I wasn’t looking forward to going out and doing it again. It’s a very lonely thing, and my lyrics reflected that".[12]

Writing for Slate, pop critic Jack Hamilton praised the track, referring to it as Sticky Fingers' "strangest and most unique recording" that is "an intoxicating mix of exotic and intimate".[13]

Classic Rock History critic Matthew Pollard rated it as the Rolling Stones' best deep cut, calling it an "epic in every way imaginable" and saying that "the vibe gives off such a Winter atmosphere" but "once the song accretes towards the climactic ending, it absolutely explodes into something so tearfully optimistic that it sends the body into goosebumps."[14]

Personnel

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Top 100 Rolling Stones Songs". Ultimate Classic Rock. 12 July 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  2. ^ a b Time is on our side (19 March 2000). "Moonlight Mile". reviews of "Moonlight Mile"; quote from Life Magazine. Rolling Stones Mobile Unit, Mick Jagger's home, Newbury, England & Olympic Sound Studios, London. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  3. ^ Fanelli, Damian (3 May 2012). "Interview: Former Rolling Stones Guitarist Mick Taylor Discusses Gear, Bluesbreakers, Iridium and The Stones". Guitar World. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  4. ^ "Moonlight Mile track talk". That's where Moonlight Mile came from. But Mick first sang it to me in a first-class railway compartment on the way from London to Bristol. Then he had the idea of embellishing it with strings. I contributed the riff that Paul Buckmaster's strings are based on - that ethereal, unresolved ending. (2011)
  5. ^ "Interview With Mick Taylor". Classic Bands. It's not rubbish to say that I was a bit peeved about not getting credit for a couple of songs...
  6. ^ Fanelli, Damian (3 May 2012). "Interview: Former Rolling Stones Guitarist Mick Taylor Discusses Gear, Bluesbreakers, Iridium and The Stones". Guitar World. Retrieved 25 September 2021.
  7. ^ "Moonlight Mile track talk". That's where Moonlight Mile came from. But Mick first sang it to me in a first-class railway compartment on the way from London to Bristol. Then he had the idea of embellishing it with strings. I contributed the riff that Paul Buckmaster's strings are based on - that ethereal, unresolved ending. (2011)
  8. ^ "Interview With Mick Taylor". Classic Bands. It's not rubbish to say that I was a bit peeved about not getting credit for a couple of songs...
  9. ^ Myers, Mark (2016). Anatomy of a Song. Grove Press. pp. 177-178. ISBN 978-1-61185-525-8
  10. ^ a b Janovitz, Bill. "Moonlight Mile". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 July 2008.
  11. ^ Christgau, Robert. "The Rolling Stones". The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll. Retrieved 28 June 2007.
  12. ^ Myers, Marc (May 28, 2015). "Mick Jagger and 'Moonlight Mile'". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved April 24, 2016. (subscription required)
  13. ^ Hamilton, Jack (10 June 2015). "After Altamont, the Rolling Stones Made One of the Greatest Albums in Rock History". Slate. Retrieved 12 April 2021.
  14. ^ Pollard, Matthew (28 December 2023). "10 Rolling Stones Songs That Are Fan Favorite Deep Cuts". Classic Rock History. Retrieved 2023-12-30.
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