The Rolling Stones’ songs are among the most candid, intriguing, and anthemic in rock history. Because of this, you’d be forgiven for thinking that their songs are honest retellings of their life as one of the biggest bands in the world. While that’s partly true, Mick Jagger once spoke about his songwriting secret, pointing away from the “three chords and the truth” mentality. Learn more about Jagger’s uniquely fabricated approach to writing lyrics below.
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Mick Jagger’s Songwriting Secret
While there may be some embellishment, Jagger says to start with the truth. Jagger’s point of view is one many classic songwriters take. Paul Simon once agreed, saying, “It’s very helpful to start with something that’s true. If you start with something that’s false, you’re always covering your tracks. Something simple and true, that has a lot of possibilities, is a nice way to begin.”
But where Jagger’s opinion deviates from the crowd is his willingness to embellish. Many songwriters do this, but not all of them talk about it so openly. There are many points of view in the world, and tapping into them can only enrich your craft. At least, that’s Jagger’s perspective.
“Let Your Mind Drift”
In a 1985 interview, Jagger offered his two cents on embellished songwriting.
“I was reading [Alexander] Pushkin,” Jagger said at the time. “And his stories are autobiographical. But not totally, because he was never in Siberia – but his friends were, so he uses it. You use your own experience, and then you spice it up with your friends’ observations and your imagination.”
“You can’t just experience something and leave it at that,” he continued. “You’ve got to try and embroider, like, any land of writing. And that’s the fun part of it.”
Jagger offered an example of how this might be done in the same interview, saying, “You have this one experience looking out of a window, seeing children. Well, you might not have felt anything, but then you just let your mind drift and dream, and you imagine an older person doing that. You put yourself in their point of view, and you start to write other things, and all this is a very subconscious thing. Out of that comes a mature thought, out of a young person.”
It’s a nice perspective for young, upstart songwriters who haven’t had many life experiences yet. “Take what you know and put another spin on it.” Moreover, it’s advice every songwriter could apply to their craft to see where their imagination takes them.
(Photo by Joe Bangay/Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
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