Line-up:

Drums: Charlie Watts
Bass: Bill Wyman
Electric guitars: Keith Richards & Wayne Perkins (incl. solos)
Lead vocal: Mick Jagger
Background vocals: Keith Richards & Ron Wood
Piano: Billy Preston
Percussion: Ollie Brown
 

The hand of fate is on me now
It picked me up and it knocked me down
I'm on the run, I'm prison bound
The hand of fate is heavy now

I killed a man, I'm highway bound
The wheel of fortune keeps turning round
Turning round, turning round
I should have known it was a one-horse town

Cause my sweet girl was once his wife
And he had papers that the judge had signed
The wind blew hard, it was a stormy night
He shot me once but I shot him twice

The hand of fate is on me now
It picked me up and it kicked me right down
Kicked me right down, kicked me right down

I had to save her life
Yeah, I gunned him twice

Yeah and I watched him die, watch out boy
Yeah, I watched him die

He was a barroom man, the violent kind
He had no love for that gal of mine
And then one day in a drinking bout
He swore he'd throw me right out of town

The hand of Fate is on me now
I shot that man, I put him underground
I put him underground, underground
Yes I did

I'm on the run, I hear the hounds
My luck is up, my chips are down
So goodbye baby, so long now
Wish me luck, I'm going to need it, child

The hand of fate is on me now

Yeah it's too late baby
I say it's too late baby, it's too late now
The hand of fate is on me now

Oh yeah
The hand of fate is heavy now

Don't you worry, don't you frown
Ah yeah
Watch out, boy
Ah yeah, come on
It's too late, it's too late now

The hand of fate is heavy now
It pick you up and it knock you down
 
 

TrackTalk

(Keith and I) write some together. In fact, Hand of Fate we kind of did, get together. Even on the lyrics, we discussed it over a lengthy coffee... coffee BREAKS, in the studio, and we came up with the lyrics TOGETHER on that one.

(I)t's the wrong rhythm these days. It's a bit old-fashioned Rolling Stones... Well, you've got your fucking opportunity (if you prefer dancing to this one). If you don't like to dance to THIS one (Hot Stuff), you don't have to touch it, soon enough THIS one comes on. And you're back into your old Rolling Stones booga-boom, gadda-gadda, boom-boom. All right?

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