"You Can't Always Get What You Want" was something I just played on the acoustic guitar—one of those bedroom songs. It proved to be quite difficult to record because Charlie couldn't play the groove and so Jimmy Miller had to play the drums. I'd also had this idea of having a choir, probably a gospel choir, on the track, but there wasn't one around at that point. Jack Nitzsche, or somebody, said that we could get the London Bach Choir and we said, "That will be a laugh."[4]
"You Can't Always Get What You Want" was composed in the key of C major[5] and was the first song recorded for the album. It exists in two versions, a 4:51 single mix[2] and a 7:28 album mix.[3] "You Can't Always Get What You Want" was recorded on 16 and 17 November 1968 at Olympic Sound Studios in London. It features the London Bach Choir opening the song (the choir opening is only on the album version), highlighting throughout, and bringing it to its conclusion. Al Kooper plays piano and organ, as well as the French horn intro, while Rocky Dijon plays congas, maracas and tambourine.[6][7] Original idea was to use a gospel choir, but the Bach Choir was chosen eventually[8].
Break (1 mm. in 2/4 + 8 mm. in 4/4): acoustic guitar + French horn/percussion.
Verse 2: acoustic guitar + Jagger
Chorus-call: shaker/Chorus-response: stop time, piano, organ
Break (4 mm.): full band instrumental
Verse 3: electric guitar
Chorus-call: soul vocal group/Chorus-response: stop time, piano, organ
Break (4 mm.): instrumental, Jagger screams
Verse 4a: organ, bass/Verse 4b: el. guitar, piano, conga//additional verse
Chorus-call: soul vocal group/Chorus-response: stop time, piano, organ
Break (2 mm.): full band, Jagger screams
Bridge (5 mm.): ascending choir line, el. guitar solo
Verse with no lyrics: choir//instrumental part
Chorus-call (no lyrics): choir/Chorus-response: choir, soul vocal group (“you get what you need”)
Break (4mm.): full band, Jagger screams
Verse 5: el. guitar
Chorus-call: soul vocal group/Chorus-response: soul vocal group
Break (4mm.): full band + choir
Chorus-response [additional]: full band + choir/Chorus-response: ditto
Outro (28 mm.): choir ascending line, piano frolics, double time, handclapping
In his retrospective review of the song, Richie Unterberger of AllMusic said: "If you buy John Lennon's observation that the Rolling Stones were apt to copy the Beatles' innovations within a few months or so, 'You Can't Always Get What You Want' is the Rolling Stones' counterpart to 'Hey Jude'."[1] Jagger said in 1969, "I liked the way the Beatles did that with 'Hey Jude'. The orchestra was not just to cover everything up—it was something extra. We may do something like that on the next album."[9][10]
The use of the classical choir makes a stylistic contrast with blues-rock music. The contrast is enhanced as choir performs with British accent (Received Pronunciation), while Jagger imitates Southern American English, which is typical for his singing style[8].
Lyrics
The three verses (and the varied theme of the fourth verse) address major topics of the 1960s: love, politics, and drugs. Each verse captures the essence of the initial optimism and eventual disillusion, followed by the resigned pragmatism of the chorus.[citation needed]
Unterberger elaborated:
Much has been made of the lyrics reflecting the end of the overlong party that was the 1960s, as a snapshot of Swinging London burning out. That's a valid interpretation, but it should also be pointed out that there's also an uplifting and reassuring quality to the melody and performance. This is particularly true of the key lyrical hook, when we are reminded that we can't always get what we want, but we'll get what we need.[1]
Jimmy Hutmaker of Excelsior, Minnesota, claimed to be the "Mr. Jimmy" cited in the song and that he said the phrase "you can't always get what you want" to Jagger during a chance encounter at an Excelsior drug store in 1964.[11] However, David Dalton, a writer for Rolling Stone who witnessed the filming of The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus, claims in his commentary for the DVD of the concert that "Mr. Jimmy" refers to Miller, the Stones producer from 1968 to 1973.[12]
Marianne Faithfull has also claimed a role: "Obviously I also contributed to 'You Can't Always Get What You Want' and 'Dear Doctor' – junk songs... I know they used me as a muse for those tough drug songs. I knew I was being used but it was for a worthy cause."[13]
The song was performed live with members of Voce Chamber Choir and London Youth Choir[17] for the Stones' 2012 shows in London, November 25 and November 29.[citation needed] The same choir also performed on the track at Glastonbury and two performances at Hyde Park in 2013.[citation needed]
Trump campaign use
Donald Trump played the Rolling Stones' recording of the song at campaign appearances during the 2016 Republican primaries and the presidential election, including his nationally televised acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention in July.[18] Although the campaign had attained a blanket licence from ASCAP,[19] after the convention, the band said publicly that they do not endorse Trump and requested that he cease all use of their songs immediately.[20] Despite the requests to stop, Trump continued using the song at campaign rallies before and after the 2016 election.[21] According to Jagger, the band considers the use of the song as a play-out at rallies to be "odd", given that it is a "sort of doomy ballad about drugs in Chelsea".[22] The Trump campaign continued to use the song during 2020, and after it was played to close his political rally in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on June 20, 2020,[23]Trump was again warned by the Stones not to use their music. They said they were working with the performing rights organisation, BMI to prevent unauthorised use.[24] The Trump campaign stopped using the song soon after and began playing "Y.M.C.A." by Village People to end his rallies instead.[25]
^ abcKonert-Panek, Monika; Gradowski, Mariusz (2025). "Stylistic Contrasts and Social Implications in "You Can't Always Get What You Want"". Popular Music and Society: 1–23. doi:10.1080/03007766.2024.2442208.
