The Rolling Stones - Waiting On A Friend

This is a rare mature reflection from The Stones, as Mick Jagger sings about the values of friendship as opposed to women. Then again, it might be about drugs. Keith Richards was a heroin user at the time, and the song could be a euphemism for waiting on the "connection" - the man with the drugs. Should Keith (or in this case, Mick, as he is singing in the video) get questioned by the police, his response would be, "I'm just waiting on a friend."

Originally Recorded in 1972 at the sessions for their album Goats Head Soup, this didn't make the cut but was repackaged and released on Tattoo You nine years later. Released as a single, it did very well in America thanks to the advent of MTV; the network launched in 1981 and was thrilled to have a new video by a rock band of The Stones' stature.

There are no musician credits on Tattoo You, but it is clear that Mick Taylor contributed on guitar, which he was not compensated for. Taylor fell into obscurity after leaving The Stones in 1974.

Lyrics

Watching girls passing by, it ain't the latest thing

I'm just standing in a doorway

I'm just trying to make some sense

Out of these girls passing by, the tales they tell of men

I'm not waiting on a lady

I'm just waiting on a friend

A smile relieves a heart that grieves, remember what I said

I'm not waiting on a lady

I'm just waiting on a friend

Just waiting on a friend

I'm just waiting on a friend

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, yeah

Don't need a whore

I don't need no booze

Don't need a virgin priest

But I need some one I can cry to

I need someone to protect

Ooh, making love and breaking hearts, it is a game for youth

But I'm not waiting on a lady

I'm just waiting on a friend

Just waiting on a friend

Waiting on a friend

I'm just waiting on a friend

I'm just waiting on a friend, waiting on a friend

Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, yeah

Songwriters: Keith Richards / Mick Jagger