This is a rare mature reflection from The Stones, as Mick Jagger sings about the values of friendship as opposed to women. Then again, it might be about drugs. Keith Richards was a heroin user at the time, and the song could be a euphemism for waiting on the "connection" - the man with the drugs. Should Keith (or in this case, Mick, as he is singing in the video) get questioned by the police, his response would be, "I'm just waiting on a friend."
Originally recorded in 1972 at the sessions for their album Goats Head Soup, "Waiting On A Friend" didn't make the cut but was repackaged and released on Tattoo You nine years later. Released as a single, it did very well in America thanks to the advent of MTV; the network launched in 1981 and was thrilled to have a new video by a rock band of The Stones' stature.
There are no musician credits on Tattoo You, but it's clear that Mick Taylor contributed on guitar, which he was not compensated for. Taylor left The Stones in 1974.
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