Behind the Meaning of “Honky Tonk Women” by The Rolling Stones

“Honky Tonk Women” stands out in The Rolling Stones‘ discography. The Southern rock direction in this song plays wonderfully with Mick Jagger’s voice and the bluesy guitar riff is classic Stones material. Check out the meaning behind this track, below.

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Behind the Meaning

I met a gin-soaked, bar-room queen in Memphis
She tried to take me upstairs for a ride
She had to heave me right across her shoulder
‘Cause I just can’t seem to drink you off my mind

It’s the honky tonk women
Gimme, gimme, gimme the honky tonk blues

Despite hailing from England, the Stones fancy themselves a bit of Americana. Their roots in American blues music are readily apparent, but they have also dabbled in country flavors across their tenure.

“Honky Tonk Women” is an ode to the southern parts of the U.S. and the women that can be found there–at least in Jagger and Keith Richards’ imagination.

“We lived for a few days on a ranch, where Mick and I wrote Country Honk (the original title of this song) sitting on a veranda like cowboys, thinking ourselves in Texas,” Richards once explained. “It was written on acoustic guitar, and I remember the place because every time you flushed the john these black blind frogs came jumping out.”

I laid a divorcée in New York City
I had to put up some kind of a fight
The lady then she covered me with roses
She blew my nose and then she blew my mind

Strollin’ on the boulevards of Paris
Naked as the day that I will die
The sailors, they’re so charming there in Paris
But I just don’t seem to sail you off my mind

In the verses, Jagger and Richards try anything and everything to get their Honky Tonk Women off their minds. They find partners in New York and Paris, but it’s to no avail.

It’s the honky tonk women
That gimme, gimme, gimme the honky tonk blues

(Courtesy of Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for The Rolling Stones)