So you have heard of four Stones songs , this one being a total classic , brilliant .The Sones have been going over 60 years and she hasn't heard it , must really know their music .They still sell out every single concert they do and you've heard of four songs , good luck for the future . We had another group over here , The Beatles, maybe you have heard of them although l doubt it.
These 2 we're raised on the shit that passes for music today so it's only natural when they hear a classic they're baffled by the complexity and brilliance of it...Kinda like eating Kraft dinner all your life then suddenly eating Filet Mignon.
"burns like a red coal carpet" is a reference to Napalm bombing by USAF on Viet villages. Google " Napalm Girl " - you may be shocked, who knows , with your generation ?
UA-cam need a ‘thick people react’ section. My god. “Nobody knows why WW1 happened?” Yes, yes they do, loads of people do. Plus this song has fuck all to do with WW1. Jesus Christ haha
The reasons for WWI were notoriously complex, so I think that may be what they were referring to - there's no one simple, clear-cut answer. And the obvious link to this war themed song was that WWI was famously triggered by a single shot.
Oh brother! So I'm of that generation and not your generation. I absolutely don't get this psycho analytical parsing of the lyrics. It's about the BAD,BAD times in the 60's with Viet Nam, the draft, street fighting, hippies, the establishment coming down hard on kids. It was the Black Panthers, civil rights, nascent women's liberation and the establishment's negative, often brutal reaction to all of it. The song--the music, the allusions which are not subtle at all--is nothing but an expression of how scary and how troubled those times were. That's it. I'm sorry if you can't pick that up from the music and the words. Gimme Shelter still gives me goose bumps 50 years later. Guess you had to be there. (Wonder what was being vaped)
@roo1314 So "the bull" isn't about mick having concerns about his investments in the stock market? Lol. There were some rough moments in hearing them talk about this. Maybe they will learn from reading some of these comments?
I would say it is a reaction to the year 1968; the war, protests, police brutality, assassinations, etc... when many people thought the US was coming apart at the seams. Also, "children" is addressing we the listeners. We are being schooled. Better pay attention before it is too late.
if you were alive listening to this song in 1969 you would probably be facing your draft notice and maybe facing the storm .it was real for Americans .The Stones were British and might be talking about World War II , but everyone was talking Vietnam in those days. The war drove the culture.
Listen to Merry’s voice crack on the third ‘ Rape, murder’. Still gives me shivers. You can hear Mick go ‘Whooo’ in the background. She asked to do a re-take, but Mick wanted to keep it in. She miscarried the day after. She had shit luck… look it up, poor lass, but remained a beautiful creature. Love you Merry Clayton.
I agree with someone below that some of these songs aren't really amenable to picking apart word by word. Rather it's the overall vibe, power, and feeling produced by the music that makes rock n roll from this era so great.
i love reactions, but this this is brutal. is she playing a character and this is a joke? i can't tell. if it is, then i take it back and this is kind of genius.
Merry is singing backing vocals throughout the track. Martin Scorsese uses Rolling Stones songs in most of his films. they are his favourite band. He also directed 'Shine a Light' one of the documentary films about the Stones live. Don't try to read too much into Stones lyrics. they are what they are. Throw your tablets in the bin and listen to the music.
I think they're just trying to find out more about the era and thus get some context for the song and its references. Not sure why this should arouse the ire of some of the older fans here... Maybe it's all obvious and thus doesn't need stating, for us oldies, but for younger generations who didn't live through those times, how can they understand fully, if they don't do at least a little research? I for one applaud them for their preparedness to make that effort.
@@papercup2517 If they can't relate to what this song is talking about by looking at the era it was released then they're severely lacking history education of the modern US.
Come on guys. The greatest rock n roll band of all. Start with Beggars Banquet LP and go from there. No one has the variety of the Stones. None even close.
"Burns like a red coal carpet" is outside of your generation. In the 50's though the 70's regular TV channels aired war documentaries. There is an image sealed into the minds of a couple of generations. It's the sight of the big German cities at night during the latter parts of World War II filmed from an allied bomber. You look down at the cities and they look like a carpet of burning coals because of all of the fires because of the bombing. It's a horrific sight.
I thought it was a reference to the napalm strikes and I thought the storm was referencing the helicopters overhead then the rape murder is an obvious reference to American soldiers in Vietnam
@@hustler666100 Both powerful images of war... I wonder, maybe a hint of a reference to firewalking too? (Where you psyche yourself up into walking across red hot coals without getting burnt...) Can you navigate the winds of social unrest and looming war without getting burned? (..Or swept away in the flood..)
just recently while digitizing my favorite music I saw Merry Clayton's name as a vocalist on Carole King's "Tapestry" and Lynrrd Skynryd's "Second Helping"
Soundtrack used in Casino Goodfellows The Departed Adventures in Babysitting The Fan Layer Cake Air America Dexter Flight (Trailer) Person of Interest The Sopranos When We Left Earth- (Documentary) And 19 Documentaries on The Vietnam War
Keith composed this masterpiece after observing a violent thunderstorm sweeping through London from his apartment. People running for shelter. He compared the violence of nature to the violence that was going on in the world at the time.
Soldiers are beyond the law in war and Gangsters are beyond the law in civil society. My theory alone but I think that's why Scorsese uses it in his Gangster films.
For me, it's just describing the dichotomy of how we live. Of how we were, and timelessly, how and where we are today. War, rape, murder, it's just a shot away. And yet how about this, let's try another approach: Love, sister, it's just a kiss away. Mick was saying: We can make the change. Crosby Stills and Nash wrote quite a few anti-war songs. I loved one and I think (been a long time since I heard it) starts as a song "Chicago" and it blends into a song, "We can change the world". 4-Way Street perhaps? Heck, it's only been 50 years since I played that album. Played the shit out of it though. lol
chaos- the bull is lost signifies chaos- a big strong bull who is attracted to the color red. so much red / fire burning even the bull doesn't know which way to go-my opinion
Everyone who knows the tune and lived in the time suffers a flutter in their heart when Merry Claytons voice cracks. It is legendary and emotional. Every one who pauses to talk during that process needs to stick to Green Day and Taylor Swift. Disappointing
I'm seriously wondering if I imagined all this now, but I thought I remembered reading or hearing Mick Jagger saying he was inspired to write this song one day in 1968(?) during the time when there were weeks of increasingly chaotic anti-Vietnam War protests in Grosvenor Square outside the American Embassy. As protest pivoted into violence, a policewoman was shot and killed. Just a shot away... As I recall the story, Mick lived just around the corner from there, and coming across this scene or hearing of it on his way home it just hit him viscerally, bringing both the violence of the war itself and the growing social unrest and descent into violence (ironically) of the anti-war/ peace movement literally 'close to home' for him. An unstoppable social movement (for better or worse) can feel like a flood. Bob Dylan used similar imagery a few years earlier in 'The Times They Are a'Changing'. If this was 1968, that was the year that the hippy/Love and Peace ideals of only the year before in the famous Summer of Love degenerated into violent anti-war and anti-Establishment protest in various parts of the Western world. Whichever way that world was going to flip - towards Love & peaceful evolution or into War & violent revolution - it could be triggered by as little as a single shot, or a single kiss. But, there again, maybe I did dream this whole thing! 😀
I lived through this era take at face value don’t need to dissect it was a reaction to what was going on back at that time and has been linked to the Vietnam war but could easily be today
although this song uses apocalyptic imagery, it is deliberately ambiguous enough so that any listener can plug in his own end-of-the-world scenario. it could be the end of the whole world (meteor, super volcano, armageddon), or it could be the end of your own personal world (divorce, death of a loved one, tragic accident, etc) the strength of these lyrics is that the real meaning is never stated. instead, the mood is set for the listener to imagine his own disaster.
The Vietnam War was the first time in history that actual footage of war and civilian trauma were valuable for public viewing, It was in color on the nightly news. There were worldwide protests, violent riots, etc. The song may not be a word-for-word "anti-war" song, but that influence was part of every day life in 69'.
You really do need to throw away the tablets and just enjoy the music for what it is, to paraphrase Bruce Lee, when a finger points at the moon don't concentrate on the finger else you miss all the heavenly glory. Merry Clayton's contribution was brilliant and yet you just glossed over it, more interested in what the lyrics mean than how good the song is. You are severely over-analyzing the unimportant aspects of these songs.
Keith Richards is not the most reliable source. I've heard different stories from different eras about the same song from him before. Mick himself says, "apocalypse." I think it's just describing that on edge feeling of anxiety and paranoia of the times. Words are like colors with which they're painting a picture. They don't have to be literal. In fact, in music they often are not. Jess got the gist of the vibe.
@Mr.Sidenote One of my favorite things about music with these types of lyrics, is hearing how different people interpret the meaning of them. It reflects each person's own personally, and how they perceive the world around them. Audioslave's "Like a stone" has been said to be of a religious nature, or about a grapist. (g=r) UA-cam! SMH. That one is quite the contradiction.
LA and I read somewhere that her hair was in curlers it something. I never heard about the miscarriage. And yeah she wanted to do it again but The Stones said you're good
And NOOOOO the lyrics were pretty risqué for the time and the song is filled with this ccccrazy thing maybe you also haven’t heard of called METAPHORS. ew you guys
I don't know if anybody has mentioned it already, but the only connection with "bull" that I can think of that might apply is that Britain is represented many time as a bulldog. And somewhere in the back of my mind I seem to remember a British cartoon figure with the sir name of Bull that I think somehow represented Britain or an aspect of British society. For what it's worth.
Watching and listening to your comments is hilarious, I have never seen such cluelessness in my life, This in many people's opinion is the greatest Rock song ever. Not your fault I don't know anything about Taylor Swift or other Crap music
I'm the same way. I only can tolerate around a hsndful of songs from the Rolling Spoons. I'll take the Beatles the Who Led Zepplin among others any day of the week. Over the Rolling Spoons.
![Gimme Shelter (Live & Studio) [Rolling Stones Reaction] Love in Vain-First time hearing Let It Bleed](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/eEDixQS5F4A/mqdefault.jpg)
Like watching two elementary school art students trying to describe a Picasso...
@glassslide
Lol.
I had a couple of different analyzing similarities floating around in my head similar to yours.
"You`re very kind...." 😄😆😆😆😆🤣
That ain't Picasso. The Boomers taught everyone how to be delusional about their favorite pop music
@@periechontology Who taught you?
@@periechontology The boomers are often hypocrites, but projecting that onto "Gimme Shelter" is irrational nonsense. In this instance they nailed it!
This band is honestly above you
So you have heard of four Stones songs , this one being a total classic , brilliant .The Sones have been going over 60 years and she hasn't heard it , must really know their music .They still sell out every single concert they do and you've heard of four songs , good luck for the future . We had another group over here , The Beatles, maybe you have heard of them although l doubt it.
These 2 we're raised on the shit that passes for music today so it's only natural when they hear a classic they're baffled by the complexity and brilliance of it...Kinda like eating Kraft dinner all your life then suddenly eating Filet Mignon.
"burns like a red coal carpet" is a reference to Napalm bombing by USAF on Viet villages. Google " Napalm Girl " - you may be shocked, who knows , with your generation ?
UA-cam need a ‘thick people react’ section. My god. “Nobody knows why WW1 happened?” Yes, yes they do, loads of people do. Plus this song has fuck all
to do with WW1. Jesus Christ haha
The reasons for WWI were notoriously complex, so I think that may be what they were referring to - there's no one simple, clear-cut answer. And the obvious link to this war themed song was that WWI was famously triggered by a single shot.
Stones are a legendary band .Too good for the both of you and the sniob you are both.
Most frustrating reaction iv seen of this song. Let it play!
Is this a comedy show. No one can really be this clueless.
How on earth do these people go through life and never here Gimma Shelter? It’s been in movies, commercials, everywhere!
One of the greatest songs ever. So much better than the teen bullshit played on the radio today
well said
Beyonce for EX: could never do that vocal true justice like merrell clayton on vox here -has
Maybe you two should stick with Taylor Swift.
Ogm karen and kevin live.lord help us all.
i have to agree , he is so bored he is texting and definately not into the music .
Millennials.
Dude
She has no idea
Oh brother! So I'm of that generation and not your generation. I absolutely don't get this psycho analytical parsing of the lyrics. It's about the BAD,BAD times in the 60's with Viet Nam, the draft, street fighting, hippies, the establishment coming down hard on kids. It was the Black Panthers, civil rights, nascent women's liberation and the establishment's negative, often brutal reaction to all of it. The song--the music, the allusions which are not subtle at all--is nothing but an expression of how scary and how troubled those times were. That's it. I'm sorry if you can't pick that up from the music and the words. Gimme Shelter still gives me goose bumps 50 years later. Guess you had to be there. (Wonder what was being vaped)
@roo1314
So "the bull" isn't about mick having concerns about his investments in the stock market?
Lol. There were some rough moments in hearing them talk about this.
Maybe they will learn from reading some of these comments?
I would say it is a reaction to the year 1968; the war, protests, police brutality, assassinations, etc... when many people thought the US was coming apart at the seams. Also, "children" is addressing we the listeners. We are being schooled. Better pay attention before it is too late.
It's a protest song anti war. One of the Stones best. Anti Vietnam song.
Put your phones down. Use your own thoughts.
if you were alive listening to this song in 1969 you would probably be facing your draft notice and maybe facing the storm .it was real for Americans .The Stones were British and might be talking about World War II , but everyone was talking Vietnam in those days. The war drove the culture.
Listen to Merry’s voice crack on the third ‘ Rape, murder’. Still gives me shivers. You can hear Mick go ‘Whooo’ in the background. She asked to do a re-take, but Mick wanted to keep it in. She miscarried the day after. She had shit luck… look it up, poor lass, but remained a beautiful creature. Love you Merry Clayton.
Guys, it's not E.E. Cummings or Keats. Don't overanalyze it. That said, please continue reacting to peak-era Stones!
So funny. I kinda like that they look stuff up. They are doing the do, I guess.
I agree with someone below that some of these songs aren't really amenable to picking apart word by word. Rather it's the overall vibe, power, and feeling produced by the music that makes rock n roll from this era so great.
Don't over think this one.
If this man doesn't know that a woman is, we're fucked.
Really???
What's it like to live under a rock?
I'm begining to become disbelieving with some of these first time hearing reaction videos.
i love reactions, but this this is brutal. is she playing a character and this is a joke? i can't tell. if it is, then i take it back and this is kind of genius.
A perfect example of "You had to be there."
Merry is singing backing vocals throughout the track.
Martin Scorsese uses Rolling Stones songs in most of his films. they are his favourite band. He also directed 'Shine a Light' one of the documentary films about the Stones live.
Don't try to read too much into Stones lyrics. they are what they are. Throw your tablets in the bin and listen to the music.
A fuckin men
I think they're just trying to find out more about the era and thus get some context for the song and its references. Not sure why this should arouse the ire of some of the older fans here... Maybe it's all obvious and thus doesn't need stating, for us oldies, but for younger generations who didn't live through those times, how can they understand fully, if they don't do at least a little research?
I for one applaud them for their preparedness to make that effort.
@@papercup2517 We can research ourselves up our own holes. just listen to it.
@@dougoneill7266 lol... OK, but you know, some of us can actually walk AND chew gum... 🙂
@@papercup2517 If they can't relate to what this song is talking about by looking at the era it was released then they're severely lacking history education of the modern US.
Come on guys. The greatest rock n roll band of all. Start with Beggars Banquet LP and go from there. No one has the variety of the Stones. None even close.
"Burns like a red coal carpet" is outside of your generation. In the 50's though the 70's regular TV channels aired war documentaries. There is an image sealed into the minds of a couple of generations. It's the sight of the big German cities at night during the latter parts of World War II filmed from an allied bomber. You look down at the cities and they look like a carpet of burning coals because of all of the fires because of the bombing. It's a horrific sight.
I thought it was a reference to the napalm strikes and I thought the storm was referencing the helicopters overhead then the rape murder is an obvious reference to American soldiers in Vietnam
@@hustler666100 Both powerful images of war... I wonder, maybe a hint of a reference to firewalking too? (Where you psyche yourself up into walking across red hot coals without getting burnt...) Can you navigate the winds of social unrest and looming war without getting burned? (..Or swept away in the flood..)
Worlds greatest Rock Band!!!
“Something is going on”. “Really, mr. Jones?”
Grab your crayons and go home.
1969 middle of Vietnam War
just recently while digitizing my favorite music I saw Merry Clayton's name as a vocalist on Carole King's "Tapestry" and Lynrrd Skynryd's "Second Helping"
Soundtrack used in
Casino
Goodfellows
The Departed
Adventures in Babysitting
The Fan
Layer Cake
Air America
Dexter
Flight (Trailer)
Person of Interest
The Sopranos
When We Left Earth- (Documentary)
And
19 Documentaries on The Vietnam War
That was painful.
IS THAT A WOMAN? good god goooooo awayyyyyy
It was always referred to as an anti war song. Keith was usually stoned so who knows what he was thinking about 😂🤣
Keith composed this masterpiece after observing a violent thunderstorm sweeping through London from his apartment.
People running for shelter.
He compared the violence of nature to the violence that was going on in the world at the time.
@@machinegunjackmcgurn7453plus Anita was sleeping with Mick while filming a movie! It was in his book
The guy who is not big on the Stones held onto his chair during the intro.
Soldiers are beyond the law in war and Gangsters are beyond the law in civil society. My theory alone but I think that's why Scorsese uses it in his Gangster films.
If you had a carpet of burning coals and a mad bull rampaged through it, you'd see fires breaking out everywhere.
For me, it's just describing the dichotomy of how we live. Of how we were, and timelessly, how and where we are today. War, rape, murder, it's just a shot away.
And yet how about this, let's try another approach: Love, sister, it's just a kiss away. Mick was saying: We can make the change.
Crosby Stills and Nash wrote quite a few anti-war songs. I loved one and I think (been a long time since I heard it) starts as a song "Chicago" and it blends into a song, "We can change the world". 4-Way Street perhaps? Heck, it's only been 50 years since I played that album. Played the shit out of it though. lol
Apocalyptic scenarios, 1960's
Has to be the worst review of a song in history.
Merry just left her soul on the floor, listen again ,Merry said she could do better but Mic said KEEP IT!!!!
chaos- the bull is lost signifies chaos- a big strong bull who is attracted to the color red. so much red / fire burning even the bull doesn't know which way to go-my opinion
The bull can also symbolize war spiraling out of control.
Everyone who knows the tune and lived in the time suffers a flutter in their heart when Merry Claytons voice cracks. It is legendary and emotional. Every one who pauses to talk during that process needs to stick to Green Day and Taylor Swift. Disappointing
1968! We were at war in other countries and at war inside The US itself.
OMG
The "flood" is also a reference to the Biblical flood - the destruction of the whole world.
I'm seriously wondering if I imagined all this now, but I thought I remembered reading or hearing Mick Jagger saying he was inspired to write this song one day in 1968(?) during the time when there were weeks of increasingly chaotic anti-Vietnam War protests in Grosvenor Square outside the American Embassy. As protest pivoted into violence, a policewoman was shot and killed. Just a shot away...
As I recall the story, Mick lived just around the corner from there, and coming across this scene or hearing of it on his way home it just hit him viscerally, bringing both the violence of the war itself and the growing social unrest and descent into violence (ironically) of the anti-war/ peace movement literally 'close to home' for him. An unstoppable social movement (for better or worse) can feel like a flood. Bob Dylan used similar imagery a few years earlier in 'The Times They Are a'Changing'.
If this was 1968, that was the year that the hippy/Love and Peace ideals of only the year before in the famous Summer of Love degenerated into violent anti-war and anti-Establishment protest in various parts of the Western world. Whichever way that world was going to flip - towards Love & peaceful evolution or into War & violent revolution - it could be triggered by as little as a single shot, or a single kiss.
But, there again, maybe I did dream this whole thing! 😀
Too much chat. Sorry.
I lived through this era take at face value don’t need to dissect it was a reaction to what was going on back at that time and has been linked to the Vietnam war but could easily be today
lol: "Keith Richards says it is about trying to get out of the rain". You guys should stick to analyzing songs like "Stayin' Alive".
Interesting when younger generations try to understand songs of this nation's not-so-distant past. That said, I enjoyed your reactions and comments.
The great Merry Clayton
uh, like the 'storm' is a metaphor. like they do in poetry sometimes.
That’s right
Overanalyzing totally
although this song uses apocalyptic imagery, it is deliberately ambiguous enough so that any listener can plug in his own end-of-the-world scenario. it could be the end of the whole world (meteor, super volcano, armageddon), or it could be the end of your own personal world (divorce, death of a loved one, tragic accident, etc)
the strength of these lyrics is that the real meaning is never stated.
instead, the mood is set for the listener to imagine his own disaster.
These two think they are smart
Hey, it's the Stones. Not a lot of intellectual content here. Just enjoy the music.
There is a ton of intellectual content with the Stones. This is a profound and very intellectual song.
Paul Hardcastles '19' is a great vietnam track
The Vietnam War was the first time in history that actual footage of war and civilian trauma were valuable for public viewing, It was in color on the nightly news. There were worldwide protests, violent riots, etc. The song may not be a word-for-word "anti-war" song, but that influence was part of every day life in 69'.
it was in the movie platoon
The Stones always get the gals moving and grooving.
Just like Gimme Shelter Brown Sugar is all in the lyrics if you guys do it please do the lyrics too
DUH‼ Dumber than a box of rocks‼
Maybe
I thought you’re playing the music
You really do need to throw away the tablets and just enjoy the music for what it is, to paraphrase Bruce Lee, when a finger points at the moon don't concentrate on the finger else you miss all the heavenly glory. Merry Clayton's contribution was brilliant and yet you just glossed over it, more interested in what the lyrics mean than how good the song is. You are severely over-analyzing the unimportant aspects of these songs.
Powers that be gone berserk
It is mostly about war in general…..
I always wondered what Pittsburgh dad's wife looked like .
Keith Richards is not the most reliable source. I've heard different stories from different eras about the same song from him before. Mick himself says, "apocalypse." I think it's just describing that on edge feeling of anxiety and paranoia of the times. Words are like colors with which they're painting a picture. They don't have to be literal. In fact, in music they often are not. Jess got the gist of the vibe.
@Mr.Sidenote
One of my favorite things about music with these types of lyrics, is hearing how different people interpret the meaning of them. It reflects each person's own personally, and how they perceive the world around them.
Audioslave's "Like a stone" has been said to be of a religious nature, or about a grapist. (g=r) UA-cam! SMH.
That one is quite the contradiction.
This was recorded in LA, not London. They called Merry *Clayton at 2 am to come in and makes the recordng, which annoyed her husband.
New York
LA and I read somewhere that her hair was in curlers it something. I never heard about the miscarriage. And yeah she wanted to do it again but The Stones said you're good
Vietnam
Hey guys, have you reacted to Bob Dylan? Since we're on the topic I recommend Shelter from the Storm. xD
React to Nas-Take it in Blood
Make sure you have the lyrics
Jagger was once asked who his favorite cover of a Stones tune was, it was Grand Funk Railroad...
Gimme Shelter Live.
And NOOOOO the lyrics were pretty risqué for the time and the song is filled with this ccccrazy thing maybe you also haven’t heard of called METAPHORS. ew you guys
Get a history book out and read it.
They are great...my favorite song by them. Try some Led Zeppelin!!
f you have servied in any military this song is always used to depict seens from any deplayment.
Good grief … seriously?
American riots in your country at the time. Vietnam war soldiers committing acts of rape and murder. This woman is so dozy, Ignorance is no excuse.
I don't know if anybody has mentioned it already, but the only connection with "bull" that I can think of that might apply is that Britain is represented many time as a bulldog. And somewhere in the back of my mind I seem to remember a British cartoon figure with the sir name of Bull that I think somehow represented Britain or an aspect of British society. For what it's worth.
Watching and listening to your comments is hilarious, I have never seen such cluelessness in my life, This in many people's opinion is the greatest Rock song ever. Not your fault I don't know anything about Taylor Swift or other Crap music
I'm the same way. I only can tolerate around a hsndful of songs from the Rolling Spoons. I'll take the Beatles the Who Led Zepplin among others any day of the week. Over the Rolling Spoons.
Please, not the who.
Dont dig so deep in the lyrics. Listen to the female backup singer.
These two kids represent the "free Palestine" gang we have to deal with today.
couldn't be more WRONG lmaooooooooooo love boomers who think they know EVERYTHING.
She is singing all of the chourses its not that hard to find out guys.
Mick Taylor nuff said.
What do you think is happening in Ukraine, you two are missing the point of this song 😢
Wow,
Two clueless Americans. This song was written about the Vietnam War! Shout out to the beautiful lisa fisher singing backup.❤