For 52 years and 1,296 concerts, the song Brown Sugar has accompanied the Rolling Stones.
The group made debut the topic at the Altmont Festival, baptized as “The Woodstock on the West Coast” on December 6, 1969 and put it to shoot live on its US tour of 1969, a year before recording it in its
Elepé Sticky Fingers, and since then it has been a fixed piece at its concerts.
“We have touched it all and every night we have given concerts since 1970,” the group’s singer, Mick Jagger, told Los Angeles Times.
Up to now.
In its current American tour, the Rolling have decided that Brown Sugar does not sound.
The reason is obvious: fear of criticism.
Brown Sugar is a song that is treated – or rather celebrate – of the following topics: slavery, rape, sadomasochism, racism, loss of virginity, and, if one has a bit of bad intention – which,
Several the issues of those dealing with, it seems almost mandatory – sex with minors.
The question is that the Rolling Stones, despite all the virtues that are wanted to attribute, were never great lyrics, and the public has not been set for most of these meanings.
For most people Brown Sugar is, without more, a rock and roll classic, although starting with two verses so little given to misunderstandings like “a ship of slaves of the golden coast towards cotton fields / sold
In the market in New Orleans, “and follow, shortly after, as” he hears him whipped the slaves after midnight. ”
Because, indeed, the subject tells how a white buys a slave to violate it.
From there comes the chorus “sugar brown, how do you know so well?”
Now, on the Non-Filter tour -which, paradoxically, it means “without filter” -, the three survivors of the band have decided that that letter is problematic.
As usual in the group, there have been two explanations: the business (from Mick Jagger) and the visceral (of the guitarist Keith Richards).
The best is that of Richards: “Have not you realized that this song is about the horrors of slavery? Are you trying to bury her, for now, I do not want to get into trouble with all that shit, but I hope we can resurrect to
That beauty in all its glory in this tour “.
Jagger’s version has all the enthusiasm of a press release: “We have touched Brown Sugar in all our concerts since 1970, and sometimes we say” Let’s remove this song] and see what happens. “The list of topics for a tour
In stadiums it is complicated. ”
Jagger is the author of the subject.
He wrote it in Australia, at a time when, according to his own words, his life focused on “drugs and girls”.
In December 1995, in an interview with Rolling Stone magazine (which, despite having almost the same name, they are not related to the group), it was more explicit, literally, that reference to ‘brown sugar’
It is “to the heroin and fuck.”
Of course, with a certain racist touch: the original title was Black Pussy.
That is: “Black pussy”.
