Sweet Virginia

Composers: Mick Jagger & Keith Richards
Recording date: June-July 1970, October 1970 & December 1971-March 1972
Recording locations: Olympic Sound Studios, London
, England; Rolling Stones Mobile Unit, Mick Jagger's home, Newbury, England
& Sunset Sound Studios, Los Angeles, USA
Producer: Jimmy Miller      Chief engineers: Glyn Johns, Andy Johns & Joe Zagarino
Performed onstage: 1972-73, 1994-95, 1999, 2002-03, 2005-07, 2014, 2016-19, 2022, 2024

Probable line-up:

Drums: Charlie Watts
Bass: Bill Wyman
Acoustic guitars: Keith Richards & Mick Taylor
Lead vocal: Mick Jagger
Background vocals: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Mick Taylor & others
Harmonica: Mick Jagger
Piano: Ian Stewart
Saxophone: Bobby Keys
Handclaps: ---
 

Wading through the waste, stormy winter
And there's not a friend to help you through
Trying to stop the waves behind your eyeballs
Drop your reds, drop your greens and blues

Thank you for your wine, California
Thank you for your sweet and bitter fruits
Yes, I've got the dessert in my toenail, uh huh
And I hid the speed inside my shoe

But come on, come on down, sweet Virginia
Come on, honey child, I beg of you
Come on, come on down, you've got it in you, uh huh
You've got to scrape that shit right off your shoes

I want you to come on and sing it with me one time...

All right


Yes, I want you to come on, come on down, sweet Virginia
I said I want you to come on, honey child, I beg of you
Ah, I want you to come on, honey child, you've got it in you, uh huh
You've got to scrape that shit right off your shoes 

One more time
Hey


Come on, come on down, sweet Virginia
Yeah, come on, come on down, I beg of you
Come on, come on down, you've got it in you, uh huh 
You've got to scrape that shit right off your shoes
 
 

TrackTalk

I wanted to release Sweet Virginia as kind of an easy listening single.

- Keith Richards, 1972


I can't remember if that was the actual first (Exile track we recorded in Nellcote). That would be beyond even my phenomenal memory. But I recall that Mick had Sweet Virginia prepared and ready to go. I have a feeling that we'd been playing around with that one on the last sessions. Maybe on Sticky Fingers, or whatever. So it was a work in progress.

- Keith Richards, 2010


I know it's rumoured that (Gram Parsons) sang backing vocals on Sweet Virginia but that's me singing, not him.

- Mick Taylor, 2002



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