Marilyn Manson Said The Rolling Stones Promoted Satanism With 1 Song
The Rolling Stones and Marilyn Manson are very different artists, but they both aesthetically allude to Satanism. The Rolling Stones used devilish imagery multiple times, while Manson is a Satanist. In his autobiography, the “Antichrist Superstar” singer said a lyric from one Rolling Stones song could have been his motto. That’s debatable!
Marilyn Manson named the Satanic Rolling Stones song that could’ve been his credo
Manson is the most famous living member of the Church of Satan. In his 1998 book The Long Hard Road Out of Hell, Manson discussed his place within the religion. “No mainstream rock musician has advocated Satanism in any lucid, intelligent, accessible way since perhaps The Rolling Stones, who in ‘Monkey Man’ came up with a line that could have been my credo, ‘Well I hope we’re not too messianic / Or a trifle too Satanic,'” he said. “The day I became a Satanist also happened to be the day the allied forces of Christianity and conservatism began mobilizing against me.
“Just after our meeting, I was told that the Delta Center, where we were to play in Salt Lake City, would not allow us on the bill with Nine Inch Nails,” Manson added. “We were offered, for the first but not the last time, money not to play — in this case, $10,000. Although we were removed from the bill, Trent Reznor brought me out as a guest, and I condensed my entire set to a single gesture, repeating, ‘He loves me, he loves me not’ as I tore pages out of the Book of Mormon.”
The Rolling Stones’ song isn’t as Satanic as Marilyn Manson thought
Is “Monkey Man” truly Satanic? Not really, it just borrows some religious imagery. There are three forms of Satanism. The Church of Satan and The Satanic Temple are atheist organizations that use the devil as a symbol for their ideals. “Monkey Man” doesn’t promote atheism in the way a tune like Manson’s “The Fight Song” does.
The rarest form of Satanism is Theistic Satanism. Theistic Satanists believe that Satan is real and divine. Nothing about The Rolling Stones’ song suggests that the members of the band have any faith in the devil. The track emphasizes the idea of human beings being merely animals rather than spiritual beings. There are a lot of Satanic rock songs out there, but “Monkey Man” is not one of them.
How The Rolling Stones’ ‘Money Man’ performed
“Monkey Man” never charted on the Billboard Hot 100. The tune appeared on the album Let It Bleed. That record reached No. 3 on the Billboard 200, staying on the chart for 44 weeks. Today, Let It Bleed is remembered as one of The Rolling Stones’ best albums. It’s primarily known for the tunes “Gimme Shelter” and “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.”
The Official Charts Company reports that “Monkey Man” did not chart in the United Kingdom either. On the other hand, Let It Bleed peaked at No. 1 in the U.K. for a week. It spent 29 weeks on the chart.
“Monkey Man” was not the most famous Rolling Stones song. It’s not even the most famous Rolling Stones son to reference the devil. Regardless, the tune had a big impact on Manson.
