Sometimes misunderstood as a putdown, this is a rare Stones song from the '70s that treats women as equals. Jagger sings that he don't need no beast of burden." A beast of burden is an animal that labors for the benefit of man, like an ox or a pack mule.
Rolling Stones guitarist Ron Wood explained in a promotional interview for the Some Girls album: "That's another one that just came very naturally in the studio. And I slipped into my part and Keith had his going. It may have appeared as though it was planned. We can pick it up today and it will just naturally slip into the groove again with the guitars weaving in a special way. It's quite amazing really. Ever since Keith and I first started to trade licks, it was a very natural thing that, for some unknown reason, if he's playing up high, I'm down low and the other way around. We cross over very naturally. We call it an ancient form of weaving - which we still are impressed by it to this day. Unexplainable, wonderful things happen with the guitar weaving. There's no plan."
The song isn't about a specific woman. Most women in Stones' songs are composites of many.
See your Spotify stats (with number of plays and minutes listened) and discover new music.
Music data, artist images, album covers, and song previews are provided by Spotify. Spotify is a trademark of Spotify AB.