Honky Tonk Women
Honky Tonk Women was the third of four incredible singles produced by the band between 1968 and 1971. Jumpin' Jack Flash, Street Fighting Man, Honky Tonk Women, and Brown Sugar just may be the pinnacle of Stones singles output. All four songs were played on the 1969 tour, including the debut of Brown Sugar at Altamont on 12/6/69. We are treated to the unusual "Paris Verse" on GYYYO. This verse wasn't included on the classic single, but a studio outtake version of the song has surfaced in recent years that includes the Paris lines, and it can be found on the following recordings:
"Mad Shadows" on Scorpio Records (SC-91022). There are some "pops" in the first section of the song as it sounds like it was made from a test acetate.
"Itchy Fingers" on Invasion Unlimited (IU 9535-1). This version is "declicked" but it adds phasing to the sound.
"The Black Box" CD3 on Yellow Dog Records (YD 048). Very good sound.
"The First Decade" CD2 on the Big Music Label (BIG 4007). The best sounding version.
A. Structure:
Verse #1:
Line 1: I met a...gin-soaked barroom queen in Memphis
Line 2: She tried to take me upstairs for a ride...Keith: "yeah"(Marker #1)
Line 3: She had to...heave me right across her shoul-da
Line 4: 'Cause I just can't seem to drink you off my mind..."No"
Chorus #1:
Line 5: It's a hooowooowoaonky tonk women "yeah"(Marker #2)
Line 6: Gimme gimme gimme the honky tonk blues
There is electronic noise at 1:07.
Verse #2
Line 7: Strolling on the boulevards of Paris - Faint crowd applause is present that can be heard with headphones or high volume.
Line 8: As sneaky as the day that I will die
(It's naked on the alternate studio take)
Line 9: The sailors they're so charming there in Paris
Line 10: But they just don't seem to sail you off my mind "yeah"
The "Paris Verse" was also sung at the LA 11/8/69 2nd show, Oakland 11/9/69 2nd, and Detroit 11/21/69. In each of these cases it's an added verse, and doesn't replace the "New York City Verse". Verse #2 on "Ya-Ya's" Replaces the "New York City Verse" as follows:
I laid a divorcee in New York City
I had to put up some kind of a fight
The lady, she covered me in ro-ses
She blew my nose and then she blew my mind
Chorus #2:
Line 11: It's a hooowooowoaonky tonk women
Line 12: Gimme gimme gimme the honky tonk blues "yeah"
Instrumental Break #1: Keith Richards plays the classic lead lines in the right channel. There is a faint "whoo" at 2:07 during the solo.
Line 13: "Yeah"(Marker #3)
Chorus #3:
Line 14: It's a hooowooowoaonky tonk women "yeah"
Line 15: Gimme gimme gimme the honky tonk blues "Na na"(Marker #4)
Chorus #4:
Line 16: It's a hooowooowoaonky tonk women "yeah"
Line 17: Gimme gimme gimme the honky tonk blues
A few questions come to mind about this one:
Why is Jagger singing the "Paris Verse" and not the "New York City Verse" in New York City?
Why is the "Paris Verse" substituted and not added as in all other known live '69 versions of the song that feature the verse?
New York is a cultural "melting pot", but why is a New York audience cheering the during "Paris Verse"?
The Stones played Paris, France on September 22 through 24, 1970. GYYYO was released on September 29, 1970, but there is a better explanation than this unlikely scenario.....
B. Reference Recordings, Markers and Conclusions:
1. Compared to MSG November 27, 1969 audience source
Line 1: Feedback at the end of the line
Line 2: No Marker #1
Line 4: Feedback present at "seem to"...
Line 5: No Marker #2
Line 6: Feedback at the end of the line at 1:06
No "Paris Verse"
Line 7: I laid a divorcee in New York City
Line 8: I had to put up some kind of a fight
Line 9: The lady, she covered me in ro-ses - Ends with "whoo"
Line 10: She blew my nose and then she blew my mind - Ends with "yeah, yeah, yeah"
Line 11: "yeah" at the end of the line
Line 12: There is a "whoo" instead of a "yeah" at the end of the line
Instrumental Break #1: The solo is the same as "Ya-Ya's", and starts with a "whoo". "Oh yeah", "whoo", and "yeah-yeah" are also spoken during the solo. The second "whoo" is at 2:09, and based on relative start times is within 1 second of the faint "whoo" that can be heard on the "Ya-Ya's" version.
Line 13: No Marker #3
Line 14: No "yeah at the end of the line
Line 15: No Marker #4. Is "yeah" instead of "Na na"
Line 16: No "yeah" at the end of the line
Jagger says "whoo" after the song
2. Compared to MSG November 28, 1969 2nd audience source
Line 1: There is sort of a scream like sound at the end of the line
Line 2: No Marker #1
Line 3: Feedback during the vocal
Line 4: Does not end with "No"
Chorus #1 at Line 5 is unique in that Jagger misses the words "It's a hooowooowoaonky" and only ends with "tonk women" because of being rushed by a fan. The vocal is replaced by lead guitar lines.
Line 5: No Marker #2
No "Paris Verse"
Line 7: I laid a divorcee in New York City - There is feedback during the third syllable of di-vor-cee.
Line 8: I tried to put up some kind of a fight. Richards misses the timing on a chord change during this line.
Line 9: The lady, she covered me in ro-ses
Line 10: She blew my nose and then she blew my mind
Line 12: Does not end with a "yeah"
Instrumental Break #1: There are no words spoken during the solo
Line 13: No Marker #3
Line 14: Does not end with "yeah"
Line 15: No Marker #4
Line 16: No "yeah" at the end of the line
Jagger says "far out" after the song
Conclusion:
The "Paris Verse" wasn't sung in New York. It replaces the "New York City Verse" by way of a vocal over-dub. The clapping is intended for the "New York City Verse" that was originally in it's place. This also explains why the "Paris Verse" is in place of the "New York City Verse" and not added to the song. There was no room for an extra verse that was not originally included in the musical arrangement. The instrumental tracks are from 11/27/69. The faint "whoo" heard on "Ya-Ya's" during the solo is the remnants of a tape erase that was present on the 11/27/69 performance. The vocal was probably redone because of feedback in Verse #1 that was isolated to the vocal channel of the original recording. The feedback at 1:06 on the 11/27/69 audience source, matches the location of the "electronic noise" on "Ya-Ya's", and is probably the result of studio signal processing done to remove the feedback.
3. "Gimme Shelter" Movie
Spoken words before the song:
"Far out"
"Sorry you had to wait"
These are Jagger's opening words on 11/28/69 2nd show, prior to Jumpin' Jack Flash. In the movie, Jagger is wearing the "Uncle Sam" hat and a scarf, which is only seen in this segment. When the music starts and the camera pans back from an audience shot he is just wearing the scarf.
Honky Tonk Women from the "Gimme Shelter" movie musically matches the exceptions to "Ya-Ya's" listed in 11/28/69 2nd, until Line 7 when the exceptions no longer match this show, and they begin to match 11/27/69 from Line 8 onward! This song is a hybrid/combination of the two shows! The splice is made during the scene where the young lady sitting at the front of the stage is removed. Jagger pans in from screen left, and from this point on, the scarf is gone. It's possible that the removing the young lady from the stage scene didn't actually occur during this song, and that the footage was only used to make the audio transition.
Theory: They probably wanted the fan rushing the stage shot from 11/28/69 2nd (Line 5), for dramatic impact in the movie, but musically the guitar solo from 11/27/69 is a keeper, and exceeds the one played 11/28/69 2nd. Plus the chord change problem in Line 8 is eliminated by the splice.