{"id":2214661,"date":"2025-12-28T15:05:46","date_gmt":"2025-12-28T15:05:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2214661"},"modified":"2025-12-28T15:05:46","modified_gmt":"2025-12-28T15:05:46","slug":"the-rolling-stones-song-that-introduced-their-new-ballad-style-in-1968","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/the-rolling-stones-song-that-introduced-their-new-ballad-style-in-1968\/","title":{"rendered":"The Rolling Stones Song That Introduced Their New Ballad Style in 1968"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Rolling Stones gained an occasionally well-earned reputation for being the bad boys of rock and roll. But had they only shown that side of themselves in their music, it\u2019s doubtful they would have captivated as many fans as they have over the years.<\/p>\n

On \u201cNo Expectations\u201d, a song from their classic 1968 album Beggars Banquet<\/em>, they showed their sensitive side. They did so with a folky twang that was somewhat new to their arsenal.<\/p>\n

Along Came Jones<\/h3>\n

As bruising and unapologetic as they liked to portray themselves, The Rolling Stones always possessed a knack for the slower stuff. For a few years in the 60s, they\u2019d often add some baroque instrumentation to their ballads. For example, there\u2019s the recorder-drenched \u201cRuby Tuesday\u201d.<\/p>\n

In 1967, the Stones went a little bit too far into the psychedelic wasteland on their album Their Satanic Majesties Request<\/em>. To their credit, they quickly realized they were headed off track. Their next single, \u201cJumpin\u2019 Jack Flash\u201d, reaffirmed their commitment to the bluesy rock abandon with which they first made their musical mark.<\/p>\n

Beggars Banquet<\/a><\/em> took the gains they made with \u201cJumpin\u2019 Jack Flash\u201d and built upon them. The classic album included crunching rockers \u201cStreet Fighting Man\u201d and \u201cSympathy For The Devil\u201d. \u201cNo Expectations\u201d, which slows down the pace, shows the band getting into folk blues mode for one of the first times in their career.<\/p>\n

To help capture the mood, Brian Jones took center stage with his acoustic slide guitar work. Jones\u2019 personal problems were gradually building a wide chasm between himself and the rest of the band. His work on \u201cNo Expectations\u201d would be one of his last major contributions to the group before his death in 1969.<\/p>\n

Exploring the Lyrics of \u201cNo Expectations\u201d<\/h3>\n
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The narrator of \u201cNo Expectations\u201c has reached several different points of termination. He\u2019s at the end of a relationship, the end of a stay in a certain location, and the end of a span of life that he couldn\u2019t quite see through to ultimate fulfillment. Sorrow drips from every word sung by Mick Jagger, and he doles out those words in economic fashion.<\/p>\n

He begins the song by asking for a way out of town, and he knows it\u2019s a one-way ticket. \u201cI have no expectations<\/em>,\u201d Jagger sings. \u201cTo pass through here again<\/em>.\u201d His monetary fluctuations mean little to him compared to the devastating loneliness that now accompanies him. \u201cBut never in my sweet short life<\/em>,\u201d he explains. \u201cHave I felt like this before<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

The narrator briefly lashes out at the person he\u2019s addressing (\u201cYou cast your pearls at swine<\/em>\u201d) before explaining the negative impact she\u2019s left behind. \u201cAnd as I watch you leaving me<\/em>,\u201d he says. \u201cYou pack my peace of mind<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the penultimate verse, he waxes poetic, comparing his fickle relationship to water splashing on a stone. That\u2019s when Jagger blurs the line between the creator and his creation, as the narrator suddenly sounds like he could be a burned-out rock star. \u201cOur love is like our music<\/em>,\u201d he sings. \u201cIt\u2019s here, and then it\u2019s gone<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

The final verse finds him upgrading from a train to a plane, but he\u2019s still begging to leave, lest he continue to be surrounded by loss. \u201cNo Expectations\u201d set the template for The Rolling Stones\u2019 ballads, dustier and more desolate than the day-glo slow songs of previous years.<\/p>\n

Photo by Mark and Colleen Hayward\/Redferns<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n