Music Blog

Whip It, Whip It Good

Nancy's Notes 🖊️🎶

Written for Song Lyric Sunday –
“Remembering John 45 Years Later”.
This is my response to the challenge.

Robert Brownjohn. Let It Bleed (front cover) 1969. Lithograph © MoMA

It’s December and over at Jim Adams’ Song Lyric Sunday this week, he has written about the coldblooded murder of John Lennon … a tragic event none of us will forget. The SLS theme is “Remembering John 45 Years Later” and our challenge is to write about a song that mentions death, kill or murder.

“Midnight Rambler” by the Rolling Stones isn’t just a dark blues jam; it’s rooted in a chilling true story … the twisted tale of serial killer Albert DeSalvo, the so-called “Boston Strangler.” Between 1962 and 1964, thirteen women were brutally murdered, many with stockings tied around their necks. DeSalvo confessed but was never officially convicted, leaving doubts that still spark debate. The Stones took that terrifying backdrop and cranked it into a wild, theatrical track that oozes menace and raw rock energy.

Ironically, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards wrote “Midnight Rambler”, not in a dark alley, but while vacationing in Positano, Italy … a sun-soaked cliffside town better known for romance than murder ballads. Jagger was quoted – “That’s a song Keith and I really wrote together. We were on a holiday in Italy for a few nights. Why we should write such a dark song in this beautiful, sunny place, I really don’t know. We wrote everything there – the tempo changes, everything. And I’m playing the harmonica in these little cafés, and there’s Keith with the guitar.” Keith Richards would later say they never planned to write a “blues opera” but simply followed where the music led, proving the Stones’ instinct to turn raw fragments into something epic.

“Midnight Rambler” was released in 1969 on the Stones’ Let It Bleed album; Keith Richards asked his good friend, graphic designer Robert Brownjohn, to design the cover of the Let It Bleed album. The front album jacket depicts a heavily frosted and intricately decorated layer cake, complete with miniature members of the Rolling Stones in concert. The cake is on the automatic spindle of a record player and there is a Rolling Stones LP playing on the turntable. When the album is turned over, the back cover features the same cake in shambles. All the band members have toppled over with the exception of Keith Richards, who miraculously continues to play on!

Robert Brownjohn. Let It Bleed (back cover) 1969. Lithograph © MoMA
 

This is “Midnight Rambler” by the Rolling Stones.

LYRICS

I’m a-talkin’ ’bout the midnight rambler
Everybody got to go
Well I’m a-talkin’ ’bout the midnight gambler
The one you never seen before
I’m sighin’ down the wind so sadly
A-listen and you’ll hear me moan
Well I’m a talkin’ ’bout the midnight rambler
And everybody got to go

Talkin’ ’bout the midnight gambler
The one you never seen before
I’m talkin’ ’bout the midnight rambler
Did you see me jump the garden wall
I don’t give you a hoot of warning
A-dressed up in my black cat cloak
I don’t see the light of the morning
I’ll split the time the cock’rel crows

I’m tellin’ ’bout the midnight gambler
Well, honey, it’s no rock ‘n’ roll show
Well, I’m a-talkin’ ’bout the midnight rambler
And everybody got to go

Oh, don’t do that……..

Well, you heard about the Boston
Honey, it’s not one of those
Talkin’ ’bout the midnight rambler
Did you see me jump the bedroom door
I’m called the hit and run raper, in anger
Or just a knife sharpened, tippy toe
Or just a shoot ’em dead, brainbell jongleur
Everybody got to go
If you ever meet the midnight rambler
And he’s prowlin’ down your marble hall
And he’s pouncin’ like a proud black panther
You should say, I told you so
If you listen for the midnight rambler
Play it easy, easy, as you go
I’ll go smash down all your plate glass windows
Put my fist through your stairway doors


Well I’m a-talkin’ bout the midnight rambler
The one you never seen before
Well I’m a-talkin’ bout the midnight rambler
And did you see me jump your garden wall
And if you ever catch the Midnight Rambler
Steal your mistress from under your nose
Go easy with your cold fanged anger
I’ll stick my knife right down your throat baby, and it hurts

Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Keith Richards/Mick Jagger
Midnight Rambler lyrics © Abkco Music Inc.

“Midnight Rambler” debuted on stage July 5, 1969. Early performances of the song frequently included a masked Mick Jagger crawling around and whipping the stage with his belt, as seen here in this clip of a video recorded in Paris. “Midnight Rambler” remains a powerful concert favorite to this day.

Remembering John 45 Years Later

Big thanks to Jim Adams for hosting another great Song Lyric Sunday this week and every week. Be sure to follow the link and check out his site.

Thanks for stopping by for a look and a listen.

That’s all she wrote, kids. See you on the flip side. 😎

NAR©2025

All text, graphics and videos are copyright for Nancy Richy and are not for use by anyone without permission. NAR©2017-present.

46 thoughts on “Whip It, Whip It Good”

    1. Thanks for an excellent comment, Lisa. This is more than a song; this is a performance. I don’t remember seeing Mick quite so in character as he is in this piece, especially in the second clip with the whipping scene. I can only imagine what it was like to be in the audience that night.

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  6. Great album and this song and a few others from Beggars Banquet like Stray Cat Blues…I feel like I need a shower after listening to them lol…but I love them! I like the live version much more than the studio one.

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    1. I definitely agree with you about the live version being better than the studio one. The Stones are great to listen to period but watching them live is a totally different experience. You’re so right about needing a shower afterwards, especially this one with the whipping clip. That’s why they’re the naughty boys of rock ‘n’ roll. 🤣

      Thanks very much, Max. I’m glad you enjoyed my post..

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    1. Can you just imagine running into Mick and Keith in Positano while writing that song? What a trip for everyone else there! Thank you very much, Christine, for your excellent comments. I always have so much fun posting for SLS. I’m glad you enjoyed today’s featured song.

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        1. Thanks for your wonderful comments Christine. They are so very appreciated.

          Before I started with WordPress, I belonged to an online competitive story writing group. The guy in charge of the group lived in Lincolnshire, UK; he told me about a local BBC radio station that ran a program called “Upload”. Listeners were invited to make a recording of themselves reading a story they had written and upload it to the radio station website. I did that and a couple of my recorded stories were played on the air. It was very cool to hear but what happened next came as a huge surprise to me. I was contacted via email from the station manager who told me he was going to play my recorded story called “The Eighth of December” on the “Upload” show and asked me if I would be interested in doing a LIVE interview about how I felt as a New Yorker the day John Lennon was killed. As you can imagine I was completely stunned, but I wasn’t going to miss out on an opportunity like that. Unfortunately, about a year or so after the interview, the radio station changed its format and the “Upload” show was canceled. I didn’t think to make a recording of my interview, thinking I would be able to access it from the radio website, but once they changed the format, I was unable to access the recordings. Live and learn. Thank you for sharing your interest and my 15 minutes of fame. 😊

          https://theelephantstrunk.org/2018/09/02/the-eighth-of-december/

          I apologize for the length of this comment, Christine. I found a copy of the first time I wrote this story. I was very new at WordPress and had only one or two followers at the time. Since then I have published this story a couple of times

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          1. Nancy, it was a beautiful account of your feelings that day. Thank you for sharing it. I am so sorry you took it so hard as did your husband. A tragic and violent death, such as John’s, had most of the world reeling. It is understandable. Poor John. 😢💔

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  9. Excellent choice, Nancy as this song is like channeling anger into a dark play instead of just mindless violence.  The Rolling Stones loved how creepy it felt live, pushing the boundaries of what a rock song could be.  Keith Richards loved song’s energy and how it resonated with audiences when they played this live.  Mick Jagger went full method actor, channeling the creepy killer with his performance.

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    1. Thanks very much, Jim! You provided the perfect description of Jagger and his role-playing on stage. What a trip that must’ve been seeing him crawling around on the floor. Whip it! Whip it good! Finding that clip from the second video was a real bonus. I’m so glad you enjoyed today’s post. This was a most intriguing challenge.

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  11. Great song choice. My first thought is of course with reference to the cover art- of course Keith is still standing- that bastard will outlive us all! And with that said. I love this song always have. Can you imagine being in a cafe and watching these two plot out and create this song? Now that would be a life altering event!

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    1. Thank you so much, Brian. As you are relatively new to my site, allow me to explain: Using the titles from one song while writing about another song is something I try to do as often as possible. It’s my little Sicilian Curveball and I like to toss it out to keep my people confused …. I mean guessing! I wonder if you went online to double-check the lyrics to Devo’s song! 😂

      I’m delighted to know you enjoyed my post featuring your favorite group and record. I aim to please so knowing that is a real treat for me.

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