The Spider and the Fly (song)
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| “The Spider and the Fly” | |||||
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US-cover of "Out of Our Heads"
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| Song by The Rolling Stones | |||||
| Album | Out of Our Heads | ||||
| Released | 30 July 1965 (US) | ||||
| Recorded | 13 May, 1965, RCA Studios, Hollywood | ||||
| Genre | Rock | ||||
| Length | 3:38 | ||||
| Label | London PS429 (stereo), LL3429 (mono) | ||||
| Writer | Nanker Phelge | ||||
| Producer | Andrew Loog Oldham | ||||
| Out of Our Heads track listing | |||||
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"The Spider and the Fly" is a song by British rock and roll band the Rolling Stones first released on the US version of their 1965 album Out of Our Heads. The song also acted as the b-side to the hit-single, "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction".
The song was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. A low and lumbering blues number, "The Spider and the Fly" was cut by the band during their first tour of the US at Chicago's Chess Records. The lyrics talk of the search for women on a night out;
| “ | Sittin' thinkin' sinkin' drinkin'; Wondering what I'd do when I'm through tonight; Smoking moping, maybe just hopin'; Some little girl will pass on by; Don't wanna be alone but I love my girl at home; I remember what she said | ” |
Singer Mick Jagger said in a 1995 interview with Rolling Stone, "I wasn't really that mad about it, but when you listen to it on record, it still holds up quite interestingly as a blues song. It's a Jimmy Reed blues with British pop-group words, which is an interesting combination: a song somewhat stuck in a time warp." [1]
Of particular note is the early use of the Rolling Stones' "ancient form of weaving" by guitarists Keith Richards and Brian Jones. Jagger performs harmonica on the recording while Jack Nitzsche provides percussion and keyboards.
The Stones have performed "The Spider and the Fly" twice on tour, in both 1965 and 1966 and during their 1995 leg of the Voodoo Lounge Tour. A studio "reworking" of the song was included on their 1995 live album Stripped and features the notable and amusing switch of the female subject of the song's age from thirty to fifty - a nod at the Stones' own advancing ages.
A cover was recorded by blues artist John Hammond on his 2003 album Ready For Love.
