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TL;DR:

  • Keith Richards said one of The Rolling Stones’ songs is really ambiguous.
  • Mick Jagger discussed the inspiration behind the track.
  • The public reaction to the song in the United States and the United Kingdom was very different.
The Rolling Stones in black-and-white
The Rolling Stones | J. Wilds/Keystone/Getty Images

Keith Richards said one of The Rolling Stones‘ songs was interpreted in many different ways. Subsequently, he seemed to imply the song had something to do with protests against the Vietnam War. Notably, the song performed differently in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Keith Richards implied one of The Rolling Stones’ songs is about ‘trying to be revolutionary’

The book Keith Richards on Keith Richards: Interviews & Encounters includes a 1971 interview. During the interview, he discussed “Street Fighting Man.” “The timing of those things is funny because you’re really following what’s going on,” he said. “That’s been interpreted thousands of different ways because it really is ambiguous as a song.

“Trying to be revolutionary in London in Grosvenor Square,” he said. “Mick went to all those demonstrations and got charged by the cops.” Richards seemed to be referring to demonstrations against the Vietnam War. During a 1995 interview with Rolling Stone, Jagger said the Vietnam War “Street Fighting Man” was inspired by the Vietnam War and the student protests going on in France at the time.

Keith Richards discussed the way Brian Jones played sitar on the song

Subsequently, Richards discussed how “Street Fighting Man” came together in the studio. “The basic track of that was done on a mono cassette with very distorted overrecording, on a Phillips with no limiters,” he said. “Brian [Jones] is playing sitar, it twangs away. He’s holding notes that wouldn’t come through if you had a board; you wouldn’t be able to fit it in.

“But on a cassette if you just move the people, it does,” he said. “Cut in the studio and then put on a tape. Started puttin’ percussion and bass on it. That was really an electronic track, up in the realms. Some songs, with a 16-track, I don’t really need all that. It’s nice to make it simpler sometimes.”

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How The Rolling Stones’ ‘Street Fighting Man’ performed on the pop charts in the United States and the United Kingdom

“Street Fighting Man” hit No. 48 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying on the chart for six weeks. The track appeared on the album Beggars Banquet. The album reached No. 5 on the Billboard 200 and remained on the chart for 32 weeks.

According to The Official Charts Company, “Street Fighting Man” hit No. 21 in the United Kingdom and lasted on the chart for eight weeks. On the other hand, Beggars Banquet peaked at No. 3 and spent 12 weeks on the chart.

“Street Fighting Man” was not one of The Rolling Stones’ big hits but it inspired a lot of speculation.

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