You Got the Silver
| "You Got the Silver" | |
|---|---|
| Song |
"You Got the Silver" is a song by English rock and roll band The Rolling Stones from their 1969 album Let It Bleed. It was also released as the b-side to the "Let It Bleed" single in Japan.
Recorded on 18 February 1969, "You Got the Silver" is the first Stones song to feature guitarist Keith Richards on solo lead vocal throughout (Richards previously sang separate lead vocals on parts of "Something Happened to Me Yesterday" from Between the Buttons and "Salt of the Earth" from Beggars Banquet).[3] One of Richards' own compositions, "You Got the Silver" is said to be written about his then-girlfriend Anita Pallenberg.
<templatestyles src="Template:Blockquote/styles.css" />
Hey babe, you got my soul, You got the silver, you got the gold
A flash of love has made me blind, I don't care, no, that's no big surprise
It is the last Stones recording with Brian Jones to be released. He plays autoharp, one of his two appearances on the album. The band recorded a version of the song with Jagger on lead, but opted to use Richards' version for the official release. The Jagger version has since become a well-known bootleg recording. Jones' autoharp contribution can only be heard clearly on the alternate mix with Jagger on vocals and it is played only during the section of the verses where the drums join in. Wyman's bass playing also stands out more in the unreleased alternate mix. The official/album mix has the autoharp either mixed very low or removed completely in favor of Nicky Hopkins' organ and piano overdubs and adds a backwards echo effect applied to Richards' slide guitar track.
Personnel
- Keith Richards - vocals, acoustic and electric guitar
- Brian Jones - autoharp
- Bill Wyman - bass guitar
- Charlie Watts - drums
- Nicky Hopkins - piano, organ
"You Got the Silver" was featured in the Michelangelo Antonioni film Zabriskie Point.
It was played live during the No Security Tour in 1999 for the first time. It has been brought out again by Richards for the 2006 A Bigger Bang Tour and 2007 European Tour. A live recording taken from the 2008 documentary Shine a Light is featured on the album of the same name. During live performances, the song is highly notable for being sung by Richards without him playing guitar or any other instrument. The song was played live during the Rolling Stones' 50 and Counting tour performance (July 2013), which appears on the Hyde Park Live recording and features Ron Wood playing slide guitar.
Cover versions
The song was covered by blues singer Susan Tedeschi on her 2005 album, Hope and Desire and by neo-bluegrass group Crooked Still on its 2010 album, Some Strange Country.
