Tina Turner performed this live with the Rolling Stones. She said at the time, it was a well written account of a dark time in history that cant be ignored put to a great rock n roll tune.

Mick played this song demo backstage for Ike and Tina during the 69 tour. Tina loved it. You can find the clip easily.

The song is a critique of the slave trade and plantation culture. The music is so upbeat and rocking that many never thought about the content. The song is not racist. It is the opposite. But, I get how people can think otherwise if they don't examine it.

This song in my mind is talking about how slave owners whip the slaves during the day then rapes them at night and then putting the blame on the slave for"looking so good". That's why I find it strange this song was basically cancelled and won't be played live by the band. Even Keith Richards said "Didn't they understand this was a song about the horrors of slavery?"

Don't let this song sway you Bro. Keith Richards once said this song is about the horrors of slavery and Mick and Keith are far from racists. Mick LOVES him some black women, He had a long relationship with a black model Marsha Hunt who some say was an inspiration for this song. And the band loves black artists of the 50's & 60's, Keith's favorite musician was Chuck Berry. Their long time Bass player Darryl Jones who took over after Bill Wyman left is black as well as their backup singers. So don't sweat the connotations of this song. It's one of their best songs played Live.

Kickass song. Been singing along to it ever since I was a kid.

hey Biz, love the video and honest reaction. As other comments expressed it’s beyond the first look at lyrics. another tidbit: At the time when Mick wrote this song he was in Australia in the middle of a field filming the movie Ned Kelly. a woman named Marsha Hunt was pregnant with his first child. Marsha Hunt is a black woman from Philadelphia. I think Mick tried to pull the inner plight the mother of his soon to be child was feeling being a black woman in America. Thats my opinion anyway. Keep the great videos coming !

Yeah, I get it...but....Claudia Lennear was a back up singer...dedicated to her....AND TINA who toured with them, LOVED it.

It's only now I'm understanding the lyrics. Never paid much attention all these years. Just enjoyed the groove

Alot of people thinks brown sugar was heroin,still a debate! The beat is it! English people are different,they're much more blended. I'd like to know why the band did it? Mick Jagger has mixed kids. I know it's not meant to be bad. He' likes to shock people.His way to to say something,maybe strange

Picture the times when this was written. Civil rights was front and center and white America was all shook up. The songs of the times across many genres contained lyrics the adults couldn't understand even though they were in plain English. The message was being sent to the establishment that a lot of us were onto their bs. Fact: Mick Jagger had a long time affair with beautiful black model Marsha Hunt, with whom he had a daughter.

Stones had a way of hitting subject matters that no other artists would touch. Sometimes I think they did this just to piss off the older generation of the time. Jackasses were still openly racist back then and it was purely sickening. Civil rights, Vietnam, Nixon, it was really a turbulent time. I can only hope that at some point we can cut this sh#t out, live peaceful and respectful of each other and also realize that our government loves this crap to keep us all divided and at each other for their gain and ALL our enslavement.

"I don't know how someone could listen to that and dance"... Neither do I. But I do and have done ever since I first heard "Sticky Fingers" (on vinyl, already). And I will let you in on a secret. I have actually sung "Brown Sugar". Out loud. Very loud. On stage. For money. Many times. It is just a great number. Sir Mick and Keith have built a career which has survived for an exceptional number of years based upon writing, recording and performing songs that are often beyond "edgy", rather blatantly occupying the zone known as "confrontational". "Stupid Girl" or "Under My Thumb", anyone? I can hardly stand up straight, let alone walk, but the sound of the first two chords of "Brown Sugar" will get me up and moving to the irresistible beat of one of the Greatest Rock'N'Roll numbers ever composed.

Omg, it is good to reminisce the older groups. It makes me feel young again.

I had never looked at the words to the song Brown Sugar before. I thought he was saying/singing "How come you "dance" so good. I didn't know it was "taste so good" in every verse I thought it was just the last verse...never owned the song but my brother was a big Stones fan and this was big on the radio back in the day. Stay safe...Be well...

Sounds Like a history lesson by The Rolling Stones

The stones have announced they will never play the song live again

3 great Stones tunes that should get more love. 1. Bitch 2. Tumbling Dice 3. Wild Horses

I love that song

There is a video of Jagger playing a rough early version of this for Ike and Tina Turner backstage at Madison Square Garden in 1969. He even used Ike's guitar. I've always felt that had there been any racist intent to the song, those two wouldn't have been nodding and smiling in approval.

I could only understand the chorus, he liked a black girl. Never heard the lyrics to the rest of the song, WOW. Its a horrible dark story to tell, but maybe thats what it was about. The Stones love black people.

I have always loved the song but didn’t really get the lyrics until a couple of years ago. The first part is based on fact - these things did happen. Later on my view is Mick is just celebrating his love of black women. He has many documented affairs including having a child with Marsha Hunt

I always loved the song musically although I also always had mixed feelings about it because of the way people would perceive it mixing such a terrible subject matter into a fun Rock N Roll tune.Obviously the Stones aren't racist nor condoning these awful things that happened.They are so influenced by Black music like Blues,RnB,Rock N Roll and Reggae ect and many musicians that have played with them are black including current bassist Daryl Jones and drummer Steve Jordan.The song is a narration of a story...Jagger is painting the imagery just like a movie.The Stones have written many songs with dark subject matter like 'midnight rambler' which is about a murderous r*pist or 'sympathy for the devil' which is about the devil.They aren't condoning these subjects but rather telling the tale like in a movie.This song was written in 1969 when interacial relationships were still taboo.Jagger was known to date 2 black women that year and ended up having a daughter with one of them.So maybe this song was inspired by those experiences and his lust for black women.Keith Richards also wrote in his autobiography how on the Stones 1964 USA tour they would hang out at black clubs and often spend the night with a girl he met there....pretty bold to do in 1964 especially in the south!!The Stones were the bad boys of Rock N Roll then because they weren't afraid to challenge the norms of what was socially correct.This song was released in 1971 and it was making a statement about loving interacial sex and making it acceptable albeit though the dark and twisted scenario of r*pe and slavery.

great song

Yeah it's raw and it's about stuff that happened historically. Mick had a lovely black girlfriend back in the day (Starred in HAIR) and they had a daughter Karis. The aren't ADVOCATING what happened, they are describing it honestly.

I always saw it as a depiction of the horrors of slavery. The Stones lyrics always took on highly political subjects and set them to great music. The power of the words don't always jive with the upbeat tenor of the music. Gimme Shelter (war & violence ) and Paint It Black (loss and depression) are good examples, although those songs sound much darker than this one. That's probably the biggest issue here. They don't play this one live anymore because it offends too many people, but IMHO the listener would have to be a sociopath to think it was "pro rape" or "pro slavery." Then again, I am in no position to argue with those who are offended by it. If it offends you, then it's offensive.

He's talking about back when the slaves were being shipped into the south and how they had it. Now come up to 100 years later (and where I grew up in the north) the 1960s were open to all colors but probably not so much in the south.

Dark stuff there! Never knew the lyrics! Open my eyes after all these years!

Mick Jagger, lead singer, was dating a black girl in 1971 and the Stones had been recording at Muscle Shoals studios in Alabama. I think the song was meant to both be a little controversial, flirtatious, pushing the envelope and possibly offensive especially to the older white segregationists who lived in the south in 1971.

but the houseboy was getting him some too, with the lady of the house

Ironically, Mick played a rough version for Ike and Tina Turner backstage when it was preliminary draft stage.... there's a video here on YT that shows it

I made a comment recently about this song being reviewed by a young black woman, and was criticized by a fellow commenter for that. Shortly after that, the Stones pulled the song from their live set.

3:21 I fuckin died🤣🤣

Best party song

That pause as he processed it.

Brown sugar has also another meaning.

A lotta people can't deal with irony on such a hard matter

I've seen them do this live but Mick has removed it from their concert play list.

BIZ, I got Rocked today by a tune I haven't heard in as bout 35 years. JUDAS PRIEST, " You've got another thing com'in." I will Rock your World. Enjoy, ✌

Mick jagger was in a relationship with one of his back up singers.thats what the song is about

I allways heard it was a metafor for heroin. "Brown sugar. How come you taste so good"

The song is about exactly what you think it's about

This emerged out of his infatuation with Marsha Hunt an actress who was appearing in the London version of Hair., the hippy tribe rock musical He eventually had a child by this black singer/actress who we presume is the real Brown Sugar of the Mick Jagger's song D

I remember hearing a long time ago that the lyrical content described trading fellatio for heroin .....

Look man, I listen to some of the music I grew up on and really listen to the words and my mind is frequently blown. lol I used to really jam out to these songs and now, not so much. I am not going to apologize, these songs are from a different time and still have a place, they were in a lot of ways ground breaking. I literally can't listen to some of it any more. Live and learn. That's all any of us can do.

I always thought the song was a kick in the teeth to people who claimed they "don't see race." Not seeing it means you don't have to look at the pain and suffering and recognize not only that everyone isn't like you, but plenty of them have damn good reasons for not wanting to be like you. And yet, all it takes is a taste, right?

Yeah, I think the lyrics are telling how, unfortunately, slave ow ears sold, beat and slept with the females. It’s tragic, but unfortunately it did happen.

Brown sugar by ZZ top is a blues classic about having a taste of some 😁

My overall thought is that Mick decided to write a naughty song. Throw in slavery, a heroin allusion, his love of black women, and more and couple it to a "dirty" sound (as Mick called it in the Gimme Shelter movie).

FYI The Stones removed this #1 hit from their concert playlist

☮️💙💙💙🔥

mick is using the rhetorical device of saying the opposite of your own position on an issue, in order to put it into a negative light. to do this, you have to assume the character of someone you don't like (like playing the villain in a movie) pat benatar did the same thing with her often-misunderstood song "Hell is for Children"

The lyrics have always been there,since 1971 when this song was released.Why didnt anyone object until now?

The Stones pulled it on tour due to probably some complaints. I really don't understand why because it notes some controversial history , but got away with it. Now if the Brother's wrote and played a tune called " White sugar " in 69 they wouldn't be here now. I don't see any problem either way . Great tune ❗😎

Watch the film Mandingo that is the true definition of the song brown sugar!

Listen to their song Too Much Blood.

The song has many meanings. It's about the horrors of slavery. It's also about drug use, namely heroin. Brown Sugar is a type of heroin. The song was initially called Black Pussy. The Stones have stopped performing the song.

Exactly. ...Here's what one critic says fifty years after the song's release: "Tom Taylor concludes that the song "does not offer one considered thought to the subject matter that it sings of..." and "the atrocity of the slave trade, r*pe and the unimaginable suffering therein should not be adorned with gyrating, glib lyrics, guitar solos and no redeeming features in the way of discerned appraisal." (quoted on wikipedia) The Stones don't play this song anymore when they play in the States and I think that is kind of telling.

I'm sure that I heard the song for more than 30 years without knowing what it said. I went to school and worked in Atlanta, there were beautiful black women everywhere, I loved them and I'm married to one of them. As for the popularity of the song, I don't believe anyone heard anything except Mick was chasing after a hot, sexy black girl after midnight. I hope I'm right. The music's great but I don't really like hearing the song anymore.

It’s a not so subtle reminder that slaves weren’t kept just for pickin’ vegetables & buildin’ big white mansions…

Musically,this song is awesome.Lyrically,it’s brutally honest about slavery.

Mick Jagger said, “, "That makes it... the whole mess thrown in. God knows what I'm on about on that song. It's such a mishmash. All the nasty subjects in one go... I never would write that song now." When interviewer Jann Wenner asked him why, Jagger replied, "I would probably censor myself. I'd think, 'Oh God, I can't. I've got to stop. I can't just write raw like that.'"

What you’re thinkin, you’re not wrong. Jagger wrote about the bad sides history often

The song music melody is great, The STones were great at hooks with rhythm but they did write songs that could make you think WhyTF did they do that ..It does sound like a good time about a serious matter and you don't think about it at all when you hear it for first time ,,For years I never even looked at the lyrics .Check out Stray Cat Blues ,that is one that never got the harsh attention ...

I think there is a major twist in the last two verses. Second verse is about the slave owner’s wife having sex with the houseboy….I assume the houseboy is black. Third verse the singer of the song is having sex with the slave owner’s wife. At least that is how I hear it. In other words the whole scene at that plantation is getting blowback because of one catalyst: the slave owner raping one of his slaves. Or not….it’s just a song 🤷🏻

Listen to the entire Sticky Fingers album, it’s right up there with the best Led Zep albums, I know you will love it.

Song slaps - news to anyone upset about the lyrics get fucking bent. This shit happened dont ignore it

Is it though? While that's what Mick said, is that really his purpose? I'd say he was trolling, gaslighting, being controversial, etc. To me it's just marketing because when the song came out it had people talking and wondering. It's also a recurring theme with British musicians. They all seem to be heavily into American blues and R&B and they sometimes say or sing about things that happened in America a long time ago, I might add mostly during the time it was a colony. Again, he's stirring. It worked and then fairly recently they removed it from their playlist proving they're just pushing buttons when it's to their economic advantage.

at the time.. Slavery was mostly an English and Danish thing.. in all the Americas.. The United States Constitution ended Slavery..

I would ask Keith..or Mick.

Mick was not only in some “entanglements” with black American women at the time, but his first child even came from one of those relationships. The song probably just started with the riff and the feeling of enjoying that particular company. Like every great songwriter, Mick just took those initial elements and gave it a more noteworthy backdrop. He knew the song was edgy back then. Not long after, he replaced the “young girl” in the song with a “young boy” when they did it live just to try to soften it. Although, I don’t think that does much lol

Here I am, a white woman and oooooooh man, AM I GLAD TO SEE A BLACK MAN OFFENDED BY THESE LYRICS! Because it is what it is and Jagger made a very catchy song about a topic, so heavy as this! And than, when I look at the reaction of most people, I am dumfounded by the way they, kind of, not care!?! Yeah, they say, hear this nice sax coming in, and what a good vibe this song has. Good vibe, bloody hell, good vibe my ass!!! So! I am glad that finally I see a man who is pissed about this song!!!

I think the over-arching theme is "illicit" nookie has been going on a long time. And, the subtext I believe is that he (Jagger) likes "brown sugar". Anyway, it is historically accurate in spirit, if not in exact details. IOW, no reason to be upset -- we've got to get back to where we can use almost any subject in a song or art and not be "offended" (assuming the art is not seriously/unironically advocating for the "bad" thing)

Do 'one in a million' by gnr :) lol

Such a deeply dark song, uh huh.

I heard it was about Tina .

Try to do Beast of Burden live

Biz you paused for 15 seconds. PRICELESS

In the same way that Sympathy For The Devil is from the devil's perspective which is an unusual place to deliver a song from, this is from a slaver's perspective who is happy with what he's doing...which is another unusual perspective to deliver a song from. In the same way that Sympathy For The Devil isn't devil worship....it's just a song from the devil's perspective, this is not advocating slavery, it's just a song from a slaver's perspective. Both songs are uncomfortable lyrically and great musically. I'm 100% sure that the Stones knew that some people would be offended by each song (and a number of others they've written) but I'm also 100% sure that they don't care. It's up to the artist to put stuff out there and up to people that consume it to decide what they think. I think both are great songs.

Dude I LOVE seeing you work this song out... It's true this song is about serious shit. I think the moral of the song is: race mixing is freaking fine and awesome lol. But they really dug into the history. It's a satire because it's conveyed thru a rollicking rock n roll song but it's real It's kinda painful tho lol

Check out FIRE WOMAN by THE CULT 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

It's self-explanatory, a little controversial but that guitar riff would sell it no matter what the lyrics were ...actually the lyrics are extremely racist, my bad

It’s a catchy damn song with very disturbing lyrics. The house boy is getting the missus, the slave owner doing the slave girl. It’s all a big mess. But so is life.

It should have been written with a more sinister tone

Woah I just listened to this reaction again, and caught the stress tones in your voice. Jagger is drawing attention to a dark truth, not advocating for it or celebrating it. We Brits aren't to be taken literally, we don't do literal. But sorry this one upset you, brother, it shouldn't have been suggested. Even the Stones themselves no longer play it on tour.

When I finally saw the words after hearing it I tried to rationalize them but like you I couldn't First you can't hear all the words Secondly why write a song glorifying the decadence of slavery? At least writing from the point of view of the devil on Sympathy For The Devil had a purpose This didn't People think of this as a good kick ass rock song Half the time probably because they cant hear the lyrics

Please react to "Bitch". It is not a sexist thing about women but how life can be bitch sometimes.

I never understood the lyrics until just now and I've heard it off and on since I was a kid- I just never understood what they were singing. The melody definitely doesn't match the lyrics. I'm not surprised they would do this just for shock value back then, I mean a few years earlier they were singing about having sympathy for the devil.

Never got the last verse....it seems to critique southern hospitality and manners as phony and that the " tent show queen" , a pretty girl winning third rate beauty contests was giving herself up rather easily to the boys. Anyone have thoughts?

If you want to react to a song with controversial lyrics, try One in a Million by Guns and Roses.

I get it, but Mick Jagger was married to black woman,he loves black women,so yeah, alot people thinks about heroin

They first came to the US (Beatles too) during segregation. It's a comment on the US. They were horrified. But like the anti-fascist film Salo it's misunderstood. I don't think they still do it in concert.

far from some of the stupidity you're reading here, the "whipping" is from the slave owner going down on the slave girl and whipping here with his tongue, comparing her to the addictive taste of heroin. The second verse also has the house boy doin' alright with the lady of the house. Is it controversial subject matter? Sure. But rock n' roll was never supposed to be safe.

Back in 71/72 - we loved this record, it was played everywhere. But you know what? The lyrics had no bearing on how we listened to this song. I was about 18 and I just danced to this great record. Since Google has taken over out lives, we are all aware about EVERYTHING.....lyrics are easy to access, so when you say that the lyrics are disturbing - I have to agree with you...the subject matter does not tally with the record we all loved back then. God knows what was in the mind of Jagger and Richards in the composition of this song. Reflecting on how we saw it all those years ago and now fully aware of the lyric content..... the record loses a little for me....I know, different times and all of that, but a song describing whipping slaves, the rape of slaves and commenting that they taste so good...certainly loses a lot.in my eyes.

Biz, the Rolling Stones are not racist; on the contrary. The lyrics in hindsight are not in such good taste, which is why they removed the song from their concert playlists. This was written a long time ago. I know you would love their songs "Time Waits For No One" and "Can't You Hear Me Knocking."

Wow! I always loved this song since I was a kid. I never bothered with the lyrics as I'm more interested in the music of songs. Now that I know the lyrics, it is a bit weird. Thanks for ruining the song for me Biz ... haha jk.

@Bizmatik: At the time this song was recorded, interracial coupling, and marriage were still somewhat taboo. The Stones were all about waking society up, and saying, "In your face!" If I were to summarize what the Stones are saying in this song it would be this: Get ready world. This rock-n-roll generation ain't got no taboo on black-n-white relationships, and you had better be OK with that. Here is why. Blacks and whites are falling in love, and that is peaceful and beautiful. This is NOT like a few generations ago where the white slaver would rape his slaves at night. Does that make sense? The Stones did not consider black men marrying white women in this song. That was a wise move. I think you can take it by inference. If they had introduced that, it might have aggravated racial tensions that were better left alone. The song is about interracial love, and how much better and moral it is than interracial rape (as in the case of the slaver.)

I think it’s more about mick Jaggers love of black women. Never where a racist kind of band.

So, toss most of what was said here. The meaning, you have to go back to the time. Mixed relationships were illegal in many places at that time. Mich Jagger was pointing out the hypocrisy of slavery and white men forcing themselves on black women and it was legal, and HIS relationships with black women being illegal. Mick Jagger had many relationships. He was a rock star. He dated black women at times and even had children with some. No, he didn't treat them like slaves. No woman has ever talked about him that way. I'm sure there were plenty of women upset with the fact that he was a person who would walk away from a relationship, but once again he was a rock star. It's a tough song to listen to really from many points of view. But considering Mick was really pointing out hypocrisy I think people should really appreciate what he did because it could have cost him many fans and it probably did because The Rolling Stones were very good but a lot of people didn't like them.

You grown, acting shocked 😲