When The Rolling Stones started playing together, they played songs by Muddy Waters and Chuck Berry. They were more interested in the music of Chicago than what was going on in their stomping grounds of Kent, England. As they evolved musically and began writing their own material, they earned the reputation of being the greatest rock ‘n’ roll band in the world. They have always utilized elements of blues, boogie, soul, folk, and country in their repertoire. Whether it was Keith Richards’ alternate tunings, Mick Jagger’s storytelling lyrics, or Ronnie Wood’s steel guitar, they’ve constantly mined the elements of the roots of American music.
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In 1968, Gram Parsons of The Byrds befriended Jagger and Richards and introduced them to many country songs. Phil Kaufman, a road manager, recounted how Parsons and Richards would sit for hours playing obscure country records and trading songs with their guitars. By 1978, during the height of disco, The Rolling Stones were experimenting with the latest fad, and “Miss You” was the lead single from their Some Girls album. The song shot to No. 1 in America, but we are going to flip the record over and talk about the B-side. Let’s take a look at the story behind “Far Away Eyes” by The Rolling Stones.
I was driving home early Sunday morning through Bakersfield
Listening to gospel music on the colored radio station
And the preacher said, you know you always have the Lord by your side
And I was so pleased to be informed of this that I ran
Twenty red lights in his honor
Thank you, Jesus, thank you, Lord
I had an arrangement to meet a girl, and I was kind of late
And I thought by the time I got there, she’d be off
She’d be off with the nearest truck driver she could find
Much to my surprise, there she was sittin’ in the corner
A little bleary, worse for wear and tear
Was a girl with far away eyes
The Bakersfield Sound
The Rolling Stones are, at the same time, paying tribute to and making fun of classic country music as they saunter through the first song on Side 2 of Some Girls. Mick Jagger has his tongue firmly in his cheek as he drawls through the verses, but the band plays the backing track sincerely and succinctly. In 1978, Jagger told Jonathan Cott of Rolling Stone magazine, “You know, when you drive through Bakersfield on a Sunday morning or Sunday evening—I did that about six months ago—all the country music radio stations start broadcasting live from L.A. black gospel services. And that’s what the song refers to. But the song’s really about driving alone, listening to the radio.”
So, if you’re down on your luck
And you can’t harmonize
Find a girl with far away eyes
And if you’re downright disgusted
And life ain’t worth a dime
Get a girl with far away eyes
Isolation and Solitude
Listening to the radio while you are driving down the road can be therapeutic. The lyrics of “Far Away Eyes” focus on the solitude of the situation. The half-sung, half-spoken delivery draws inspiration from the preachers heard on the airwaves. The girl in question with the far away eyes may be the embodiment of someone lost in their own world. When Jagger was asked if the girl was real, he replied, “Yeah, she’s real, she’s a real girl.” When pressed further and asked if she was a girl he knew, Jagger offered, “Yeah, she’s right across the room … a little bleary-eyed.”
Well, the preacher kept right on saying that all I had to do was send
Ten dollars to the church of the Sacred Bleeding Heart Of Jesus
Located somewhere in Los Angeles, California
And next week, they’d say my prayer on the radio
And all my dreams would come true
So I did. The next week, I got a prayer with a girl
Well, you know what kind of eyes she got, well I’ll tell ya
Gram Parsons
After he left The Byrds, Parsons continued exploring the space where country and rock overlapped. His recordings with Emmylou Harris were a blueprint for what would become so popular a few years later. The backing track of “Far Away Eyes” is relaxed and grooving. The piano and bass drive it as Wood’s pedal steel mourns. Clearly, the band is taking it seriously, but Jagger comes off more like a send-up. His over-the-top southern drawl is hard to take too seriously. Continued Jagger, “I knew Gram quite well, and he was one of the few people who really helped me to sing country music—before that, Keith and I used to just copy it off records. I used to play piano with Gram, and on ‘Far Away Eyes,’ I’m playing piano, though Keith is actually playing the top part. We added it on after. But I wouldn’t say this song was influenced specifically by Gram. That idea of country music played slightly tongue-in-cheek—Gram had that in ‘Drug Store Truck Drivin’ Man,’ and we have that sardonic quality, too.”
So, if you’re down on your luck
I know you all sympathize
Find a girl with far away eyes
And if you’re downright disgusted
And life ain’t worth a dime
Get a girl with far away eyes
So, if you’re down on your luck
I know you all sympathize
Get a girl with far away eyes
Pedal Steel
Ronnie Wood’s plaintive pedal steel guitar work on “Far Away Eyes” is the secret weapon. In fact, his mastery of multiple styles of guitar playing on Some Girls laid the foundation for his acceptance as a full-fledged member of the band. In 1996, engineer and mixer Chris Kimsey told Billboard magazine, “Ronnie was quite diverse in his playing. He can play peddle steel. That was great on ‘Faraway Eyes,’ and he could play a number of different types of guitar, which was good fun, very helpful. A lot of slide guitar, too. It was working very well together.”
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