One Hit (to the Body)

Composers: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards & Ron Wood
Recording date: April-December 1985
Recording locations: Pathé Marconi Studios, Paris, France; RPM Studios & Right Track Studios, New York City, USA
Producers: Steve Lillywhite & The Glimmer Twins           Chief engineer: Dave Jerden
Performed onstage: 1989, 1995


Probable line-up:

Drums: Charlie Watts
Bass: Bill Wyman & John Regan
Acoustic guitars: Keith Richards & Ron Wood
Electric guitars: Keith Richards, Ron Wood (incl. slide) & Jimmy Page
Lead vocals: Mick Jagger
Background vocals: Keith Richards, Ron Wood, Bobby Womack, Don Covay, Patti Scialfa & Beverly D'Angelo
Keyboards: Chuck Leavell

 

You fell out of the clear blue sky
To the darkness below
The smell of your flesh excites me
My blood starts to flow, so help me God

You burst in in a blaze of light
You unzippered the dark
One kiss took my breath away
One look lights up the stars

And it's one hit to the body
It comes straight from the heart  (straight from the heart)
One hit to the body
It sure went straight to the mark - so help me God

One more from the body
One more straight from the heart - yeah

It's one shot when you love me
One shot when you leave
I don't need no security
I just need me some peace

And it's one hit to the body
It comes straight from the heart  (straight from the heart)
One voice calls out my name
It sure went straight to the mark  (straight from the heart)

One punch and you knocked me down
You tore my defenses apart
One round took me out of the game
You did me some permanent harm

It took just one hit
You took just one hit

It ain't enough for me
It ain't enough for me  (enough for me)
It ain't enough for me - it's hurting me, baby

Oh your love is just sweet addiction
I can't clean you out of my veins
It's a life long addiction
That has damaged my brain

It took just one hit to the body
To tear my defenses apart  (straight from the heart)
One hit to the body
It sure went straight to the mark  (straight from the heart)

One hit to the body
It comes straight from the heart  (straight from the heart)
One hit to the body, to the body, to the body
It comes straight from the heart


One more from the body
One more straight from the heart  (straight from the heart)
One more from the body
One more straight from the heart  (straight from the heart)

That's all it took, that's all it took
Just one hit straight from the heart
So help me, so help me, so help me God
So help me, so help me now

One more from the body
One more straight from the heart  (straight from the heart)
One more from the body
One more straight from the heart  (straight from the heart)
One more from the body...


 

TrackTalk
 

That started with Keith.

- Ron Wood, 1986


Woody went out and played acoustic on the basic track. He was trying to come up with an electric guitar part, and it wasn't grooving enough, so he went out and started banging on the acoustic. Woody's really great at coming up with ideas like that.

- Dave Jerden, engineer

One Hit to the Body starts with Woody on acoustic guitar, Keith's 1967 (Martin) D-18. That sitarish drone during the verse is the National resophonic guitar.

- Alan Rogan, guitar technician


I was one acoustic (guitar), Ronnie was another, and then there's the 2 or 3 different electrics all coming in different places. I never, or I very rarely, use an overdub all the way through. I might do 3 different overdubs and 2 of them might be the same thing.

- Keith Richards, 1989


(Jimmy Page) rang me at the studio one night and said, How's it going? Do you mind if I come and hear how the album's going? I said, no, I didn't mind. He's a very shy guy. After he'd done that overdub on One Hit, he left the studio saying, I'm sorry, man, I'm sorry. I said, Don't apologize... you did all right!

- Ron Wood, 1986



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