Street Fighting Man

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"Street Fighting Man"

Single by Rolling Stones
from the album Beggars Banquet
Released	1968
Format	7"
Recorded	March-April, 1968
Genre	Rock
Length	3 min 15 s
Label	Decca/ABKCO
Producer(s)	Jimmy Miller
Chart positions
#48 (US)
Rolling Stones singles chronology
"Jumpin' Jack Flash" (1968)	"Street Fighting Man" (1968)	"Honky Tonk Women" (1969)

"Street Fighting Man", written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, is a song by The Rolling Stones recorded in 1968. It appears on their album Beggars Banquet, and was also released as a single. The song is about political strife, and Jagger allegedly wrote it about Tariq Ali after Jagger attended several of Ali's demonstrations. In 1987, Ali released an autobiography of the 1960's entitled Street Fighting Years, which gives credence to the theory that the song was inspired by Ali's public demonstrations. The song was originally titled "Pay Your Dues" and contained the same music, but totally different lyrics. This original version was never released, however bootlegged copies of it are relatively common. A cover of the song can be found on the fourth and last studio album by Rage Against the Machine entitled Renegades. This version is featured prominently by radio duo Opie and Anthony. They play it as part of the opening of their nationaly syndicated show each morning. The song is on the play-list given to Jack Fate (Bob Dylan) in the 2003 film Masked and Anonymous. This song has also been covered by Rod Stewart on the debut solo album An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down, Mötley Crüe on the Red, White and Crüe album, and also by British rock band Oasis, on the B-side to their 1998 single, All Around The World. Pete Townshend has also claimed that the staccato beat/rhythm structure is the inspiration for "I'm Free" on Tommy. From a musical perspective it is interesting that it is produced entirely on acoustic instruments apart from the electric bass.

Vocals: Mick Jagger
Acoustic Guitars & Bass: Keith Richards
Sitar & Tamboura: Brian Jones
Drums: Charlie Watts
Piano: Nicky Hopkins
Shehani: Dave Mason
Backing Vocals: Mick Jagger & Keith Richards

Rolling Stone ranked the song #295 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

This song is used in the closing credits to the film V for Vendetta, based on the Alan Moore and David Lloyd graphic novel. The Buffalo Sabres use this as their introduction song onto the ice.

The song is also referenced by Chris Farley's character in the movie Dirty Work.

The song is used as the title of Dennis Jones' novel, Street Fighting Man, which chronicles the life of a teenager growing up in Brooklyn, NY in the mid-1960s. The main characters often reference the Rolling Stones in the novel, which focuses on the redemptive power of Rock & Roll to save kids from the streets.