The Story Behind “19th Nervous Breakdown” by The Rolling Stones and How the Tension Affecting the Band at the Time Informed a Classic

In 1965, The Rolling Stones finished their second tour of America when they felt they were in the eye of a hurricane. Every night, screaming crowds greeted the five musicians, and security could barely contain the violent outbreaks. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards began exploring song ideas that consisted of more heady content than the typical pop songs about love and relationships. “Get Off of My Cloud” went to No. 1.

Extreme fatigue and nervous tension were at an all-time high, affecting all the band members. Guitarist Brian Jones seemed to struggle the most with the demands of the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle—he would die by drowning four years later at age 27. Jagger came up with an alliterative phrase describing what he felt they were all going through. Let’s take a look at the story behind “19th Nervous Breakdown” by The Rolling Stones.

You’re the kind of person you meet at certain dismal, dull affairs
Center of a crowd, talking much too loud, running up and down the stairs
Well, it seems to me that you have seen too much in too few years
And though you’ve tried, you just can’t hide your eyes are edged with tears
You better stop, look around
Here it comes, here it comes, here it comes, here it comes
Here comes your 19th nervous breakdown

The Recording

The Rolling Stones entered RCA Recording Studios in Hollywood in early December 1965. They were recording songs for their album Aftermath. All five of the Stones were eager to cut “19th Nervous Breakdown.” Jagger told Rolling Stones Monthly magazine, “We had just done five weeks hectic work in the States, and I said, ‘Dunno about you blokes, but I feel about ready for my 19th nervous breakdown.’ We seized on it at once as a likely song title. Then Keith and I worked on the number at intervals during the rest of the tour. Brian [Jones], Charlie [Watts], and Bill [Wyman] egged us on—especially as they liked having the first two words starting with the same letter.”

When you were a child, you were treated kind
But you were never brought up right
You were always spoiled with a thousand toys, but still, you cried all night
Your mother, who neglected you, owes a million dollars tax
And your father’s still perfecting ways of making sealing wax
You better stop, look around
Here it comes, here it comes, here it comes, here it comes
Here comes your 19th nervous breakdown

Deeper Waters

The Rolling Stones began their career playing rhythm and blues. Their first single was a cover of the Chuck Berry song “Come On.” They built their repertoire around the material of Muddy Waters, Bo Diddley, and Willie Dixon. After witnessing the success of John Lennon and Paul McCartney’s songwriting for The Beatles and recording their song “I Wanna Be Your Man,” Jagger and Richards began writing their own compositions.

As they expanded into deeper waters than simple love songs, the band performed “19th Nervous Breakdown” on The Ed Sullivan Show on February 13, 1966. It was the first time they appeared on American television in color. Jagger told Songfacts.com, “That’s a very Los Angeles period. I remember being in the West Coast a lot then. ’19th Nervous Breakdown’ is a bit of a joke song, really. I mean, the idea that anyone could be offended by it really is funny. But I remember some people were. It’s very hard to put yourself back in that period now—popular songs didn’t really address anything very much. Bob Dylan was addressing it, but he wasn’t thought of as a mainstream pop act. And anyway, no one knew what he was talking about. Basically, his songs were too dense for most people. And so to write about anything other than the normal run-of-the-mill love clichés was considered very outer, and it was never touched. Anything outside that would shock people. So songs like “19th Nervous Breakdown” were slightly jarring to people. But I guess they soon got used to it. A couple years after that, things took a sort of turn and then saw an even more dark direction. But those were very innocent days, I think.”

Oh, who’s to blame, that girl’s just insane
Well, nothing I do don’t seem to work
It only seems to make matters worse, oh please
You were still in school when you had that fool who really messed your mind
And after that, you turned your back on treating people kind
On our first trip, I tried so hard to rearrange your mind
But after a while, I realized you were disarranging mine

Chrissie Shrimpton

When Jagger wrote the song, he was dating English model Chrissie Shrimpton. Their relationship dated back to 1963 but ended when the lead singer was accused of philandering. The couple planned to take a vacation together, but when Jagger stood up the model, it led to her taking an overdose of sleeping pills. Jagger claimed he did not write the song about Shrimpton, but people still drew parallels between the lyrics and real life. Jagger defended himself, “Things that are happening around me—everyday life as I see it. People say I’m always singing about pills and breakdowns therefore I must be an addict—this is ridiculous. Some people are so narrow-minded they won’t admit to themselves that this really does happen to other people besides pop stars.”

You better stop, look around
Here it comes, here it comes, here it comes, here it comes
Here comes your 19th nervous breakdown
Oh, who’s to blame, that girl’s just insane
Well, nothing I do don’t seem to work
It only seems to make matters worse, oh please

“Brand New, Fresh, and Exciting”

The shock rocker Alice Cooper praised The Rolling Stones’ “19th Nervous Breakdown’ as a modern rock song. “It didn’t sound like Chuck Berry or an old blues. It sounded like something brand new, fresh, and exciting,” he said.

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Photo by Cyrus Andrews/Michael Ochs Archive/Getty Images