Inspiration and Recording
Recorded in late 1973 and completed in the spring of 1974, "It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)" is credited to the Rolling Stones songwriting team Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, although future Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood collaborated with Jagger on it. The song was originally recorded one night in a studio at Wood's house, "The Wick" in Richmond, London. David Bowie was backing singer to Jagger's lead, and Willie Weeks played bass with Kenney Jones on drums. The song on the album is similar to that original recording, with the Stones keeping the original rhythm track.
The meaning of the lyrics was summed up by Jagger in the liner notes to the 1993 compilation Jump Back; "The idea of the song has to do with our public persona at the time. I was getting a bit tired of people having a go, all that, 'oh, it's not as good as their last one' business. The single sleeve had a picture of me with a pen digging into me as if it were a sword. It was a lighthearted, anti-journalistic sort of thing."
| “ | If I could stick my pen in my heart, And spill it all over the stage; Would it satisfy ya, would it slide on by ya, Would you think the boy is strange? Ain't he strange? |
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| “ | If I could win ya, if I could sing ya, a love song so divine, Would it be enough for your cheating heart, If I broke down and cried? If I cried? I said I know it's only rock 'n roll but I like it |
” |
| “ | Suicide right on the stage... | ” |
Mick also has said that as soon as he wrote it, he knew it was going to be a single. He said it was his answer to everyone who took seriously what he or the band did. According to Keith there was opposition to it being a single but they persisted, saying it had to be the next single. He said that to him "that song is a classic. The title alone is a classic and that's the whole thing about it."
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