Mick Jagger Said 1 of The Rolling Stones’ Songs Was About a Gay Garbage Collector

TL;DR:

• Mick Jagger said one of The Rolling Stones’ songs that he wrote was about a gay man.
• Jagger said he had a lot of gay friends but he wasn’t sure why he wrote the track.
• The song appeared on an album that was a hit in the United States and the United Kingdom.

Mick Jagger said one of The Rolling Stones‘ songs was “a straight gay song.” He didn’t know why he wrote the track. Jagger said the song was “about an imaginary person who comes from LA to New York and becomes a garbage collector.”

Mick Jagger revealed he had lots of gay admirers when he was talking about 1 of The Rolling Stones’ songs

During a 1978 interview with Rolling Stone, Jagger discussed his androgynous image. “Well, there is one song that’s a straight gay song — ‘When the Whip Comes Down’ — but I have no idea why I wrote it. It’s strange — The Rolling Stones have always attracted a lot of men [laughing]. 

“That sounds funny, but they’re not all gay,” he added. “And, of course, I have a lot of gay friends, but I suppose everyone does in New York City, and what’s that have to do with the price of eggs? … I sure hope the radio stations will play ‘When the Whip Comes Down.'”

Mick Jagger joked he wrote the song to ‘come out of the closet’

Jagger elaborated on “When the Whip Comes Down.” “Maybe I came out of the closet [laughing],” he said. “It’s about an imaginary person who comes from LA to New York and becomes a garbage collector.

“But whatever: I don’t like this gossip interest in me today at all,” he continued. “It upsets a lot of people, and it creates a lot of diversions in my life. I can ignore it in America — it’s not so bad here — but in Australia and England there are so many competing gossip columns.”

How The Rolling Stones’ ‘When the Whip Comes Down’ performed on the pop charts

“When the Whip Comes Down” was never a single; therefore, it didn’t chart on the Billboard Hot 100. The tune appeared on the album Some Girls. The album was No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for two weeks, staying on the chart for a total of 88 weeks. In the U.S., Some Girls was one of The Rolling Stones’ most commercially successful albums.

According to The Official Charts Company, “When the Whip Comes Down” didn’t hit the chart in the United Kingdom either. On the other hand, Some Girls hit No. 2 in the U.K. and stayed on the chart for 25 weeks.

“When the Whip Comes Down” is a classic song even if it doesn’t touch on The Rolling Stones’ usual topics.