Salt of the Earth (song)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "Salt of the Earth" | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Song by The Rolling Stones | ||
| from the album Beggars Banquet | ||
| Released | 6 December 1968 | |
| Recorded | May - July 1968 | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 4:47 | |
| Label | Decca/ABKCO (UK) ABKCO (US) |
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| Writer(s) | Jagger-Richards | |
| Producer(s) | Jimmy Miller | |
| Beggars Banquet track listing | ||
| "Factory Girl" (9) |
"Salt of the Earth" (10) |
|
"Salt of the Earth" is a song from the 1968 Rolling Stones album Beggars Banquet.
Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, the song is most notable for its opening lead vocal by Richards. While not his first like many believe (that title goes to "Something Happened to Me Yesterday" off Between the Buttons), it was his most prominent to date. The lyrics (written primarily by Jagger) sees the Stones salute the common workers of the world;
| “ | Say a prayer for the common foot soldier; Spare a thought for his back breaking work; Say a prayer for his wife and his children; Who burn the fires and who still till the earth | ” |
Jagger said in a 1970 interview that the lyrics were written as "...total cynicism. I'm saying those people haven't any power and they never will have." Notable within the lyrics is the salute to the salt of the earth but no action to change or improve the circumstances of working people is implied or suggested.
"Salt of the Earth" heavily features the acoustic work of Richards, typical of most songs from Beggars Banquet. Richards also performs the slide guitar throughout the song as Brian Jones, notable for his slide on other songs from Beggars Banquet, was absent from these sessions. While some songs from Beggars Banquet were famously recorded by Jagger and Richards with only a tape recorder inbetween them, "Salt of the Earth" was recorded at London's Olympic Sound Studios from May until July in 1968.
Featured on the song are Los Angeles' Watts Street Gospel Choir and a raucous piano performance by Nicky Hopkins. These additions, and their prominence near the end of the song, are thought to have had an influence on their next album Let It Bleed's closing song, "You Can't Always Get What You Want".
"Salt of the Earth" has been captured live and released only once, for the taping of the Stones' 1968 television special Rock and Roll Circus. It has been performed live sporadically since then, the most notable during the 1989-1990 Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour where for one performance the Stones performed the song with Axl Rose and Izzy Stradlin of Guns N' Roses. Jagger and Richards also performed the song during the 2001 "The Concert for New York City", commemorating the fallen of September 11, 2001.
