10 Upbeat Rock Songs With Darker Meanings

Brown Sugar is one of The Stone's most played and successful songs. It contains Keith Richards's instantly recognisable guitar riff. With a chord progression that straddles the line between soul and rock, anyone who listens to it, is hard pressed to resist adopting the Jagger strut, as they pout their way through the lyrics.

But, put the melody aside and focus on what Jagger actually sings in this track, they're some of the most troubling lyrics in rock music.

The title Brown Sugar has often been cited as a reference to brown heroin. But the metaphor is jumbled in a whole mess of references about the slave trade, sexual abuse and Jaggers passed relationships.

Both Marsha Hunt and Claudia Lennear, two former girlfriends of Mick Jagger's, have claimed the song was inspired by their relationships. Whatever the truth may be, Jagger's lyrics are so tied up in racist connotation, that trying to fathom what was going on when he used the abuse of black slaves by their white masters, as a metaphor for heroin addiction is almost a futile effort.

In 1995 Jagger Spoke to Rolling Stone stating "I never would write that song now. - I would probably censor myself. I’d think, oh God, I can’t. I’ve got to stop. I can’t just write raw like that.”

Jagger supposably sings altered lines when performing this song live, but even still, it's a total mess...