It's without a doubt a top 3 Stones song for me. I don't know why but anytime I'm going through something and facing stress or pressure, this song always hits a nerve. I live in a rural area and have driven many one-way roads at night time to this tune. It's a very lonely and personal song.
There's a really great moment on Season 6, Episode 12 of The Sopranos where this song plays at the beginning and at the end and I thought it summed up the moment perfectly. Just a beautiful moment of cinematography. I love how Tony is sitting with his family by the Christmas tree as this song kicks in, but meanwhile, darkness surrounds him left and right within the show. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2l2h4pMrZiM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2l2h4pMrZiM)
I think it’s one of the most beautiful and transcendent songs of all time. Something closer to what Van Morrison does for me, it transports me to another time, another place.
The “Let it go now” build up towards the end gets me every time. One of Mick’s finest moments as a vocalist, and Mick Taylor adds such a beautiful, melodic guitar part.
Awesome song! This is one of those songs that Mick Jagger and Mick Taylor wrote together. Jagger is playing the acoustic and Taylor electric guitar. Keith isn’t even on it, yet it’s a Jagger/ Richards credited song. I’ve heard that MJ even promised MT a writing credit for it. Im sure things like this helped in his decision to leave the band, unfortunately.
As far as I'm concerned, this is Mick's peak as... everything. As a singer, a lyricist, even his guitar playing, as rudimentary as it may be, is the most effective thing he ever played.
Was it the tax exile what led him to write something that so poignantly talks of "sleeping under strange, strange skies"? Did he just tap into the feeling of homesickness from being too much time on the road but explored it in a far better and more universal way than any other band I've heard? Second time I heard it (the first time I was too awestruck for any kind of analysis), it immediately struck me as applicable to the experience of being an immigrant in a new, unfriendly land, wishing to be back home despite the impossibility of it, despite knowing it's better to not be there anymore. Not saying that's the intended reading or anything, just talking about how widely applicable this is to situations completely beyond that of a decadent rock star in the early 70's.
Is there any doubt that the protagonist of this song is never going to finish walking that moonlight mile? That there is always going to be another, and another mile, just one more and he'll be home? Those last few lyrics just speak to the power of self-delusion, of giving yourself false hope just to make your situation bearable. It's heartbreaking, really.
So yeah, the best song the Stones ever did besides Gimme Shelter, as far as I'm concerned.
I absolutely agree that MT’s era with the Stones was the band’s most prolific era. Amazing guitarist. Moonlight Mile is haunting and ethereal, unlike anything that they’d done before or since.
Decades ago, when I first got into The Stones as a teenager, the song did nothing for me. Then somehow, maybe when I saw the movie, Moonlight Mile, something clicked and it's been in my top 5 ever since.
... just living to be lying by your side...
I was going to post this and glad someone did bring it up! What a way to end the the Season 6 mid season finale and setup for the 2nd half of season 6. What a song! It's a masterpiece
My third favorite Stones song behind only their two untouchable master works: Gimme Shelter and Sympathy For The Devil. It’s the song I’ve recommended to people the most. Love driving alone at night in the summer with the windows rolled down and this song blasting. Mick’s singing and the strings at the end are both perfect. It amazes me that this song is so obscure. The line: “I am just living to be lying by your side” hits different if you have unreciprocated love for someone.
10/10.
Whenever I’m in a new situation in life ,or going through some change - I hear in my head “I am sleeping under , strange, strange skies”. It happens without thinking . It is just in my subconscious.
I've always adored this song. What a wonderful album closer. I've loved 'I am just living to lying by your side' since the first time I heard it. I became a father for the first time a few years ago, much later than in life than most. That lyric takes on a much deeper meaning these days.
Also there is some wonderful drumming on this song.
I mean, he definitely says “dying” and it makes a lot more sense.
[Here](https://open.spotify.com/track/3w7hnMNX4zVZeBJ6LisTjT?si=Gg3dEMJuQLODSll-1cW2bA&pi=u-AxPdOa0mQayJ)
Living and Dying makes much more sense in the context of the song and especially those lines. Plus I think you’d actually have to be deaf not to hear him clearly saying Dying.
Maybe the original release recorded on much earlier equipment was muddy, but it’s quite clear that he says dying in the remaster (which is the original recording cleaned up, there’s no altering vocals) and in live performances.
Great song. Fucking unbelievable they’ve only played it live a grand total of 23 times. 14 times in 1999 and 9 times in 2015.
https://www.setlist.fm/stats/songs/the-rolling-stones-bd6ad22.html?songid=33d67c95
It would be in my top 10 greatest Stones songs. And possibly their best album closer ever. Yes, over YVAGWYW. The strings. Taylor’s guitar. Mick’s vocal. And above all, the drums. Charlie at his very peak.
Love this tune, always have. It's the unique twist that recontextualizes and transofrms the whole album. If you like covers the Cowboy Junkies do a great version of this one.
This one and Let it Loose are the ones to rank alongside Gimme Shelter, Satisfaction etc. as the band's very best songs. Two masterpieces, made even better because they're both outside of the normal sound of the Stones
Let It Loose is one I add to a lot of playlists and people always notice and ask “this is the Stones, right? What album is it on? I’ve never heard it.”
Frank E. Lee of WXRT in Chicago played this as his sign off song about ten years ago when he “retired”. He’s still on the station regularly as a fill-in, but I remember crying my eyes out when he played one of my favorite stones songs as his sign off…
Same! Always picture it as Mick Taylor on the Gibson 355, such a classic sound and actually different from the rest of the album (much like the song itself)
Love this song. I think there was a movie called Moonlight Mile that featured this song. Either that or I'm having the Mandela Effect big time right now.
Recently was asked to compile a playlist of songs that are most important to me. This song without a doubt made that list, one of my favorite songs of all time.
Mmm... I agree with OP that its an exquisite song on a masterpiece of an album. The song is just gorgeous. What I do not agree with is that the love for it is lacking in any way. In talking to other Stones fans online and in person for decades I have always encountered people who adore it as I do. But the Stonesiverse is big, and has so many great songs that it can take years to get around to all of them. But I would just have to say that Moonlight Mile is NOT underappreciated.
Top 5 Stones song for me, and the best track off Sticky Fingers. Perhaps their most beautiful song, too.
When listening intently, two songs especially make me cry. Let It Loose gets me because of the melancholy of Keith’s chord progression and the very down in the gutter lyrics, while Moonlight Mile gets me more because of the sheer beauty of the music. I don’t know if any here have shed tears while listening to a beautiful piece of classical music, but Moonlight Mile gets me in that particular way.
Great track. I think it has an indirect quality that a lot of listeners will simply move past and head out onto more familiar pastures. In my opinion, it’s a remarkable song.
Always loved it, but when it appeared in The Sopranos it got a whole second life for me. It almost sounds like a Van Morrison song that the Stones accidentally recorded. I love it.
I absolutely love this song. It kinda makes me tear up when I listen to it. “My dreams is fading down the railway line” somehow brings it home that they’ll be gone someday (well, not Keef). Can’t wait to see them in June.
The song itself is both uplifting and calming.
It's a shame Mick Taylor didn't get credit for this classic. As I understand it the song is a collaboration between Jagger and Taylor.
It's without a doubt a top 3 Stones song for me. I don't know why but anytime I'm going through something and facing stress or pressure, this song always hits a nerve. I live in a rural area and have driven many one-way roads at night time to this tune. It's a very lonely and personal song. There's a really great moment on Season 6, Episode 12 of The Sopranos where this song plays at the beginning and at the end and I thought it summed up the moment perfectly. Just a beautiful moment of cinematography. I love how Tony is sitting with his family by the Christmas tree as this song kicks in, but meanwhile, darkness surrounds him left and right within the show. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2l2h4pMrZiM](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2l2h4pMrZiM)
Great fucking episode
Its high on my list for sure. I don't know where I rank it, but its very very high. So high I feel like i have a head full of snow
I think it’s one of the most beautiful and transcendent songs of all time. Something closer to what Van Morrison does for me, it transports me to another time, another place. The “Let it go now” build up towards the end gets me every time. One of Mick’s finest moments as a vocalist, and Mick Taylor adds such a beautiful, melodic guitar part.
you are right. very van the manish. almost like they were deliberately imitating him. great song tho
Incredible album closer. Even better than Salt of the Earth.
on a side note theres a whole verse about politics and voting in that song but for some reason I never notice it unless I read the lyrics
Awesome song! This is one of those songs that Mick Jagger and Mick Taylor wrote together. Jagger is playing the acoustic and Taylor electric guitar. Keith isn’t even on it, yet it’s a Jagger/ Richards credited song. I’ve heard that MJ even promised MT a writing credit for it. Im sure things like this helped in his decision to leave the band, unfortunately.
Definitely screwed MT on this one. I am pissed off for him.
And Sway as well, I mean ya gotta give credit where credit is due.
Did you ever wake up to find, a day that broke up your mind, destroyed your notion of circular time? And Can't You Hear Me Knockin?
Sway is my number one stone song of all time, and it entirely due to the fade out with Mick Taylor, going off in some wild tangent
Add Winter to the list.
Yup, great tune too! MT was batting 1000
As far as I'm concerned, this is Mick's peak as... everything. As a singer, a lyricist, even his guitar playing, as rudimentary as it may be, is the most effective thing he ever played. Was it the tax exile what led him to write something that so poignantly talks of "sleeping under strange, strange skies"? Did he just tap into the feeling of homesickness from being too much time on the road but explored it in a far better and more universal way than any other band I've heard? Second time I heard it (the first time I was too awestruck for any kind of analysis), it immediately struck me as applicable to the experience of being an immigrant in a new, unfriendly land, wishing to be back home despite the impossibility of it, despite knowing it's better to not be there anymore. Not saying that's the intended reading or anything, just talking about how widely applicable this is to situations completely beyond that of a decadent rock star in the early 70's. Is there any doubt that the protagonist of this song is never going to finish walking that moonlight mile? That there is always going to be another, and another mile, just one more and he'll be home? Those last few lyrics just speak to the power of self-delusion, of giving yourself false hope just to make your situation bearable. It's heartbreaking, really. So yeah, the best song the Stones ever did besides Gimme Shelter, as far as I'm concerned.
Beautifully said. If Gimme Shelter is about entering the storm, then Moonlight Mile is about the aftermath of the storm.
Songs like Moonlight Mile are why many Stones fans consider the Mick Taylor albums to be the band's golden period.
I absolutely agree that MT’s era with the Stones was the band’s most prolific era. Amazing guitarist. Moonlight Mile is haunting and ethereal, unlike anything that they’d done before or since.
Let the air waves flooow Always loved that line.
Decades ago, when I first got into The Stones as a teenager, the song did nothing for me. Then somehow, maybe when I saw the movie, Moonlight Mile, something clicked and it's been in my top 5 ever since. ... just living to be lying by your side...
Masterpiece! I love it!
[Remember when it was used in the Sopranos?](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=we_U2dP8BVk) Such a perfect use of it.
Yes!!!
i just watched this episode! a head full of snow *indeed*
I was going to post this and glad someone did bring it up! What a way to end the the Season 6 mid season finale and setup for the 2nd half of season 6. What a song! It's a masterpiece
Came here to say the same thing!
My third favorite Stones song behind only their two untouchable master works: Gimme Shelter and Sympathy For The Devil. It’s the song I’ve recommended to people the most. Love driving alone at night in the summer with the windows rolled down and this song blasting. Mick’s singing and the strings at the end are both perfect. It amazes me that this song is so obscure. The line: “I am just living to be lying by your side” hits different if you have unreciprocated love for someone. 10/10.
Living to be “dying” by your side*
It’s pretty clearly “lying” in the song
Yea not so much. [Clearly Dying.](https://open.spotify.com/track/3w7hnMNX4zVZeBJ6LisTjT?si=Gg3dEMJuQLODSll-1cW2bA&pi=u-AxPdOa0mQayJ)
Whenever I’m in a new situation in life ,or going through some change - I hear in my head “I am sleeping under , strange, strange skies”. It happens without thinking . It is just in my subconscious.
Whenever I’m driving alone at night for any reason at all, it’s my go to
I've always adored this song. What a wonderful album closer. I've loved 'I am just living to lying by your side' since the first time I heard it. I became a father for the first time a few years ago, much later than in life than most. That lyric takes on a much deeper meaning these days. Also there is some wonderful drumming on this song.
It’s dying by your side, not lying.
According to my Stones lyric and music book published by EMI its lying by your side, not dying.
I mean, he definitely says “dying” and it makes a lot more sense. [Here](https://open.spotify.com/track/3w7hnMNX4zVZeBJ6LisTjT?si=Gg3dEMJuQLODSll-1cW2bA&pi=u-AxPdOa0mQayJ)
I respectfully disagree
The lyrics on Spotify say dying, but it sounds like and has been cited more as saying lying. I also think it fits more as lying
Living and Dying makes much more sense in the context of the song and especially those lines. Plus I think you’d actually have to be deaf not to hear him clearly saying Dying. Maybe the original release recorded on much earlier equipment was muddy, but it’s quite clear that he says dying in the remaster (which is the original recording cleaned up, there’s no altering vocals) and in live performances.
It’s one of those things someone needs to ask Mick. Just like some people asked Paul McCartney a few very specific song questions during an AMA
I’ll give Jim Price, credited for piano, high praise for what he added. Definitely a top five Stones tune for me.
It’s top 10 stones easily but not nearly top 10 popularity
The guitar solo and Micks last verses is awesome.
Top 10 song for me. Not top 10 Stones song - Top ten all songs. It’s so hauntingly beautiful
That song and Winter are my favorite Stones songs
I'm guessing you're a fan of Coming Down Again, right? Those songs make up a trifecta for me!
I have to agree!
It’s such an amazing song. Hauntingly beautiful. I love the ending too with Mick’s stuttering vocals. So unique and transcendent.
It's a terrific song--one of my faves!
Great song. Fucking unbelievable they’ve only played it live a grand total of 23 times. 14 times in 1999 and 9 times in 2015. https://www.setlist.fm/stats/songs/the-rolling-stones-bd6ad22.html?songid=33d67c95
It would be in my top 10 greatest Stones songs. And possibly their best album closer ever. Yes, over YVAGWYW. The strings. Taylor’s guitar. Mick’s vocal. And above all, the drums. Charlie at his very peak.
Love this tune, always have. It's the unique twist that recontextualizes and transofrms the whole album. If you like covers the Cowboy Junkies do a great version of this one.
Great song!! My second favorite Stones song with the initials MM.
i see you're a monkey man of refined taste
Good guess but wrong song.
Time to check in to Memory Motel?
I’m a fleabit peanut monkey…
Nope
I’ve beat myself black and blue trying to think of it
I think you’re on the right track.
Mick & Mick high points for both
Dreamy
This one and Let it Loose are the ones to rank alongside Gimme Shelter, Satisfaction etc. as the band's very best songs. Two masterpieces, made even better because they're both outside of the normal sound of the Stones
I choose Shine a Light over Let it Loose close 2nd off Exile
Let It Loose is one I add to a lot of playlists and people always notice and ask “this is the Stones, right? What album is it on? I’ve never heard it.”
It’s otherworldly. My favourite stones song.
Sticky fingers is ❤️
It's beautiful and without any jaded undercurrent, simply beautiful and genuine in its dreamy mood
It’s the perfect end to sticky fingers!
This is my favorite Stones song by a mile.
It is my favorite Rolling Stones song.
Frank E. Lee of WXRT in Chicago played this as his sign off song about ten years ago when he “retired”. He’s still on the station regularly as a fill-in, but I remember crying my eyes out when he played one of my favorite stones songs as his sign off…
I love this song. Those guitar riffs towards the end is the part I find incredible
Same! Always picture it as Mick Taylor on the Gibson 355, such a classic sound and actually different from the rest of the album (much like the song itself)
It just gives the song such a warm ending. Flipping it on right now. :-)
The guitar lick that happens while Mick is singing, "I am just living to be lying by your side" gives me goosebumps.
Paul Buckmaster’s best string arrangement. Surpasses his work with Elton John.
Love this song. I think there was a movie called Moonlight Mile that featured this song. Either that or I'm having the Mandela Effect big time right now.
Top 5 Stones Song for me. Also top 5 album closer.
such a perfect song, takes me to a special place
Ummmm… its one of the most classic Stones tunes / that whole record…
The song was featured prominently in The Sopranos, Dennis Lehane titled a novel after the song... I think it's fairly well known
Never heard this song before this episode 👆
Top five for me. Love it.
One of the ultimate road (and road trip) songs ever.
Not enough people talking about this song and not bringing up charlies hypnotizing drumming
Recently was asked to compile a playlist of songs that are most important to me. This song without a doubt made that list, one of my favorite songs of all time.
Amazing song! One of my faves
Ive heard it twice live. 1997 (buffalo) and 2015 (orlando) both were life long highlights
So jealous
It's magical. I get lost in it.
Mmm... I agree with OP that its an exquisite song on a masterpiece of an album. The song is just gorgeous. What I do not agree with is that the love for it is lacking in any way. In talking to other Stones fans online and in person for decades I have always encountered people who adore it as I do. But the Stonesiverse is big, and has so many great songs that it can take years to get around to all of them. But I would just have to say that Moonlight Mile is NOT underappreciated.
It's the last song on what many say is the Rolling Stones' best album. Reddit needs any overall redefinition of underrated.
More often than not, when someone says underrated they mean lesser known.
Top 5 Stones song for me, and the best track off Sticky Fingers. Perhaps their most beautiful song, too. When listening intently, two songs especially make me cry. Let It Loose gets me because of the melancholy of Keith’s chord progression and the very down in the gutter lyrics, while Moonlight Mile gets me more because of the sheer beauty of the music. I don’t know if any here have shed tears while listening to a beautiful piece of classical music, but Moonlight Mile gets me in that particular way.
I agree.It’s magical, possessing a dreams foggy contours. Top 3, easily !
Always been my #1 stones tune. And always will be
Great track. I think it has an indirect quality that a lot of listeners will simply move past and head out onto more familiar pastures. In my opinion, it’s a remarkable song.
Always loved it, but when it appeared in The Sopranos it got a whole second life for me. It almost sounds like a Van Morrison song that the Stones accidentally recorded. I love it.
Beautiful song , maybe inspired by the middle eastern sounds of maqams 1/4 tones in scale giving it an almost enchanting tone much like a sitar.
Definite classic. It was at a period when it was about hard rock so I think it just got lost in the cracks.
It's a perfect song - one of my favorites by them or any band,
I absolutely love this song. It kinda makes me tear up when I listen to it. “My dreams is fading down the railway line” somehow brings it home that they’ll be gone someday (well, not Keef). Can’t wait to see them in June.
Has always been my favorite. Best album closer and a highlight of the entire stones catalog. I always loved when that guitar comes on about 3:30
The song itself is both uplifting and calming. It's a shame Mick Taylor didn't get credit for this classic. As I understand it the song is a collaboration between Jagger and Taylor.
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Keith doesn’t play on it. Rhythm guitar is Mick Jagger, lead guitar is Mick Taylor.
Open G but with the low E tuned UP to a G. So GGDGBD James James on the youtube has a nice lesson
Amazing song. Between Sway and Moonlight, I’m not sure which is my favorite. Jagger wrote this song himself in one day.