The Rolling Stones — Midnight Rambler (live)
Album: Get Yer YaYas OutAvg rating:
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Length: 9:03
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Did you hear about the midnight rambler
Everybody got to go
Did you hear about the midnight rambler
The one that shut the kitchen door
He don't give a hoot of warning
Wrapped up in a black cat cloak
He don't go in the light of the morning
He split the time the cock'rel crows
Talkin' about the midnight gambler
The one you never seen before
Talkin' about the midnight gambler
Did you see him jump the garden wall
Sighin' down the wind so sad
Listen and you'll hear him moan
Talkin' about the midnight gambler
Everybody got to go
Did you hear about the midnight rambler
Well, honey, it's no rock 'n' roll show
Well, I'm talkin' about the midnight gambler
Yeah, the one you never seen before
[ad lib]
Well you heard about the Boston...
It's not one of those
Well, talkin' 'bout the midnight...sh...
The one that closed the bedroom door
I'm called the hit-and-run raper in anger
The knife-sharpened tippie-toe...
Or just the shoot 'em dead, brainbell jangler
You know, the one you never seen before
So if you ever meet the midnight rambler
Coming down your marble hall
Well he's pouncing like proud black panther
Well, you can say I, I told you so
Well, don't you listen for the midnight rambler
Play it easy, as you go
I'm gonna smash down all your plate glass windows
Put a fist, put a fist through your steel-plated door
Did you hear about the midnight rambler
He'll leave his footprints up and down your hall
And did you hear about the midnight gambler
And did you see me make my midnight call
And if you ever catch the midnight rambler
I'll steal your mistress from under your nose
I'll go easy with your cold fanged anger
I'll stick my knife right down your throat, baby
And it hurts!
Everybody got to go
Did you hear about the midnight rambler
The one that shut the kitchen door
He don't give a hoot of warning
Wrapped up in a black cat cloak
He don't go in the light of the morning
He split the time the cock'rel crows
Talkin' about the midnight gambler
The one you never seen before
Talkin' about the midnight gambler
Did you see him jump the garden wall
Sighin' down the wind so sad
Listen and you'll hear him moan
Talkin' about the midnight gambler
Everybody got to go
Did you hear about the midnight rambler
Well, honey, it's no rock 'n' roll show
Well, I'm talkin' about the midnight gambler
Yeah, the one you never seen before
[ad lib]
Well you heard about the Boston...
It's not one of those
Well, talkin' 'bout the midnight...sh...
The one that closed the bedroom door
I'm called the hit-and-run raper in anger
The knife-sharpened tippie-toe...
Or just the shoot 'em dead, brainbell jangler
You know, the one you never seen before
So if you ever meet the midnight rambler
Coming down your marble hall
Well he's pouncing like proud black panther
Well, you can say I, I told you so
Well, don't you listen for the midnight rambler
Play it easy, as you go
I'm gonna smash down all your plate glass windows
Put a fist, put a fist through your steel-plated door
Did you hear about the midnight rambler
He'll leave his footprints up and down your hall
And did you hear about the midnight gambler
And did you see me make my midnight call
And if you ever catch the midnight rambler
I'll steal your mistress from under your nose
I'll go easy with your cold fanged anger
I'll stick my knife right down your throat, baby
And it hurts!
Comments (67)add comment
Watts and Wyman. One of THE greatest R&R rhythm sections!
Unfuckingbelievable! Nuff said. When Charlie, Keef and Mick Taylor hit that groove, hold on tight! I give it s 10. Oh to be in MSG garden for that show. 
omg - this is my FAV version of this song.
"...baby, and it HURTS!"
plus, what a fab image of mr. charlie. on the cover R.I.P.
"...baby, and it HURTS!"
plus, what a fab image of mr. charlie. on the cover R.I.P.
It sounds like a riot about to break out when the song slows down and the woman screams...
Check out the Luxembourg Gardens bootleg -1973 - absolutely the best version
Not sure how this is tracking at a 7.5. This is the Rolling Stones at their absolute zenith live.
GREAT!!!!!! 
On_The_Beach wrote:
A great live band to be sure, but "Nothing else comes close"?
How about, oh, I don't know, Zeppelin, The Who, Springsteen, The Clash, The Stooges, Pink Floyd, Hendrix, Prince, Bowie, James Brown, The Allman Brothers . . . should I continue?
At least long enough to include Little Feat
A great live band to be sure, but "Nothing else comes close"?
How about, oh, I don't know, Zeppelin, The Who, Springsteen, The Clash, The Stooges, Pink Floyd, Hendrix, Prince, Bowie, James Brown, The Allman Brothers . . . should I continue?
At least long enough to include Little Feat
I don't recall a better live rock n roll recording. For what that's worth.
They played last night here in Berlin. This is the first time time (seen them at least 15 time before over decades) that I didn't go to see them. Reason - saw them for their 50th anniversary in Hyde Park when they were just sublime and I decided that was the last time I was going to see them fearing that they cannot not repeat it. What one can say in respect of both the Let it Bleed and GYYO rendition - one of the soundtracks of our lives.
Liver than you will EVER be ~
definitive live stones complete with context. with altamont landmark in music history and direction. yeow!
How'd they get a typically reserved Anton Chigurh to leap and pose like that?
i wonder how much they paid for the album cover artist
This song just screams Friday. 
WOOO-HOOOO!!! HAPPY HOLIDAYS ALL! SHAKE THOSE YA-YA'S : )
nagsheadlocal wrote:
As a friend of mine likes to say, when Mick was on board they may have indeed been the world's greatest rock and roll band.
A friend of mine likes to say that they became the Worlds Greatest Rock and Roll Band with "Sympathy For The Devil".
Mick Tayler was INCREDIBLE on that one as well as Paint It Black, Street Fighting Man, Stray Cat Blues, Gimme Shelter, Let It Bleed, Monkey Man, Shattered, Beast Of Burden, Memory Motel, Miss You, Worried About You (needle screeches on record)...
Oh! thats right, he wasn't on those tracks. As he wasn't on the original version of this very song.
As a friend of mine likes to say, when Mick was on board they may have indeed been the world's greatest rock and roll band.
A friend of mine likes to say that they became the Worlds Greatest Rock and Roll Band with "Sympathy For The Devil".
Mick Tayler was INCREDIBLE on that one as well as Paint It Black, Street Fighting Man, Stray Cat Blues, Gimme Shelter, Let It Bleed, Monkey Man, Shattered, Beast Of Burden, Memory Motel, Miss You, Worried About You (needle screeches on record)...
Oh! thats right, he wasn't on those tracks. As he wasn't on the original version of this very song.
sfyi2001 wrote:
1969.
Bootlegs were becoming popular and
the main reason the Stones released 'YA-YAs
-
Have yet to hear The Stones better perform any of the songs that they
played in 1971 (including Midnight Rambler) at the Marquee in England,
which is also the location of their first-ever live performance on
July 12th, 1962.
Link to that FULL 1971 Marquee Show :
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-fdg_qOW0lAQ3ZNX3Z1aElRM2s/view
Live with Me
Dead Flowers
I got the Blues
Let it Rock
Midnight Rambler
Satisfaction
Bitch
Brown Sugar
Sfyi2001, I went to the Marquee club one night in the early 1970's and I was amazed at how small the venue was inside, how small the stage was and how close you could get to stand in front of the bands. It must have been a great experience for those lucky enough to have seen the Stones that night.
1969.
Bootlegs were becoming popular and
the main reason the Stones released 'YA-YAs
-
Have yet to hear The Stones better perform any of the songs that they
played in 1971 (including Midnight Rambler) at the Marquee in England,
which is also the location of their first-ever live performance on
July 12th, 1962.
Link to that FULL 1971 Marquee Show :
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-fdg_qOW0lAQ3ZNX3Z1aElRM2s/view
Live with Me
Dead Flowers
I got the Blues
Let it Rock
Midnight Rambler
Satisfaction
Bitch
Brown Sugar
Sfyi2001, I went to the Marquee club one night in the early 1970's and I was amazed at how small the venue was inside, how small the stage was and how close you could get to stand in front of the bands. It must have been a great experience for those lucky enough to have seen the Stones that night.
Great version.
chinaski wrote:
This is Mick Taylor at his finest. Yep, it's his licks on this live version. The Mick Taylor years were the Stones best.
As a friend of mine likes to say, when Mick was on board they may have indeed been the world's greatest rock and roll band.
1969.
Bootlegs were becoming popular and
the main reason the Stones released 'YA-YAs
-
Have yet to hear The Stones better perform any of the songs that they
played in 1971 (including Midnight Rambler) at the Marquee in England,
which is also the location of their first-ever live performance on
July 12th, 1962.
Link to that FULL 1971 Marquee Show :
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-fdg_qOW0lAQ3ZNX3Z1aElRM2s/view
Live with Me
Dead Flowers
I got the Blues
Let it Rock
Midnight Rambler
Satisfaction
Bitch
Brown Sugar
still dig the mick taylor guitar work ! ScottN wrote:
Saw/heard them many times live play MR over the years. This is good, but they really evolved the song over the years in many better renditions than this one.
It was especially good on the last tour when Mick Taylor sat in on every North American date.
Saw/heard them many times live play MR over the years. This is good, but they really evolved the song over the years in many better renditions than this one.
It was especially good on the last tour when Mick Taylor sat in on every North American date.
swart wrote:
Saw/heard them many times live play MR over the years. This is good, but they really evolved the song over the years in many better renditions than this one.
The definition of live rock. Nothing else comes close
Saw/heard them many times live play MR over the years. This is good, but they really evolved the song over the years in many better renditions than this one.
swart wrote:
A great live band to be sure, but "Nothing else comes close"?
How about, oh, I don't know, Zeppelin, The Who, Springsteen, The Clash, The Stooges, Pink Floyd, Hendrix, Prince, Bowie, James Brown, The Allman Brothers . . . should I continue?
The definition of live rock. Nothing else comes close
A great live band to be sure, but "Nothing else comes close"?
How about, oh, I don't know, Zeppelin, The Who, Springsteen, The Clash, The Stooges, Pink Floyd, Hendrix, Prince, Bowie, James Brown, The Allman Brothers . . . should I continue?
The definition of live rock. Nothing else comes close
h8rhater wrote:
No one can stay rooted in 1969 as that moment passed over 4 decades ago. All music has far more stage production than it did in the days with no light shows, video screens, and rudimentary sound. The Stones moved on from it with Sticky Fingers, a year later, and with every album since.
They are still just a great rock and roll band. One that is headed into the studio, once again, to create something new in 2016. People may want to live in and revel in the past but I don't think the Stones do.
You can tell who, musician and audience, is rooted in a time zone. Quite a lot of the stuff on RP fits the formula. Music was something to enjoy singing, playing, and listening to 45 -50 years ago. It's about less commercialism, more fun. I watched some skinny guy (older than me) playing music with a bicycle on TV— Carson (or earlier), or Sulivan. Zappa continued to do his own music. Hendrix was sick of playing guitar with his mouth three years after an explosive introduction to the world.
I hear so many of the sterile clean twits complain about musicians who play their own thing, are "rough"; and have the gall to change, or worse. Someone told me (early) Hot Tuna was primitive and they were finally maturing into an electric R&B band. Huh? When you say "I didn't know they had other good music", pat yourself on the shoulder. You've been listening to the big business, and watching MTV.
No one can stay rooted in 1969 as that moment passed over 4 decades ago. All music has far more stage production than it did in the days with no light shows, video screens, and rudimentary sound. The Stones moved on from it with Sticky Fingers, a year later, and with every album since.
They are still just a great rock and roll band. One that is headed into the studio, once again, to create something new in 2016. People may want to live in and revel in the past but I don't think the Stones do.
You can tell who, musician and audience, is rooted in a time zone. Quite a lot of the stuff on RP fits the formula. Music was something to enjoy singing, playing, and listening to 45 -50 years ago. It's about less commercialism, more fun. I watched some skinny guy (older than me) playing music with a bicycle on TV— Carson (or earlier), or Sulivan. Zappa continued to do his own music. Hendrix was sick of playing guitar with his mouth three years after an explosive introduction to the world.
I hear so many of the sterile clean twits complain about musicians who play their own thing, are "rough"; and have the gall to change, or worse. Someone told me (early) Hot Tuna was primitive and they were finally maturing into an electric R&B band. Huh? When you say "I didn't know they had other good music", pat yourself on the shoulder. You've been listening to the big business, and watching MTV.
Interesting note from Wikipedia:
In his book The Better Angels of Our Nature, Steven Pinker discusses the song at length as an illustration of his thesis that the 1960s counterculture "pushed against" the Civilizing Process (identified by Norbert Elias), which, Pinker argues, had been reducing violence over many centuries, and that the counterculture's "glorification of dissoluteness shaded into indulgence of violence.... Personal violence was sometimes celebrated in song, as if it were just another form of antiestablishment protest." He says that "Midnight Rambler" "acted out a rape-murder by the Boston Strangler..." and he sees this as an example of how in the 1960s counterculture "the control of women's sexuality was seen as a perquisite" of men.
1970...46 years ago? My my...this has aged well...instant dance party
This is Mick Taylor at his finest. Yep, it's his licks on this live version. The Mick Taylor years were the Stones best.
garyalex wrote:
There's a definite difference in their current live shows from the period this track represents. I was at one of their shows in the 1969 tours. The difference is that they were just leaner and meaner in those days. The emphasis was on the songs. There was far less stage production. They weren't being celebrated as surviving rock icons. They were just a great rock and roll band.
No one can stay rooted in 1969 as that moment passed over 4 decades ago. All music has far more stage production than it did in the days with no light shows, video screens, and rudimentary sound. The Stones moved on from it with Sticky Fingers, a year later, and with every album since.
They are still just a great rock and roll band. One that is headed into the studio, once again, to create something new in 2016. People may want to live in and revel in the past but I don't think the Stones do.
There's a definite difference in their current live shows from the period this track represents. I was at one of their shows in the 1969 tours. The difference is that they were just leaner and meaner in those days. The emphasis was on the songs. There was far less stage production. They weren't being celebrated as surviving rock icons. They were just a great rock and roll band.
No one can stay rooted in 1969 as that moment passed over 4 decades ago. All music has far more stage production than it did in the days with no light shows, video screens, and rudimentary sound. The Stones moved on from it with Sticky Fingers, a year later, and with every album since.
They are still just a great rock and roll band. One that is headed into the studio, once again, to create something new in 2016. People may want to live in and revel in the past but I don't think the Stones do.
h8rhater wrote:
You make it sound like the core members of the band now have a backup player for each instrument. In 2015, when the Stones take the stage, no one is backing Keith, Mick, Charlie, and Ron on their respective instruments.
As for rounding out the sound... horns, keys, and backing singers have always been a part of the Stones live show, but I would hardly call them a "gang of back up folks".
There's a definite difference in their current live shows from the period this track represents. I was at one of their shows in the 1969 tours. The difference is that they were just leaner and meaner in those days. The emphasis was on the songs. There was far less stage production. They weren't being celebrated as surviving rock icons. They were just a great rock and roll band.
You make it sound like the core members of the band now have a backup player for each instrument. In 2015, when the Stones take the stage, no one is backing Keith, Mick, Charlie, and Ron on their respective instruments.
As for rounding out the sound... horns, keys, and backing singers have always been a part of the Stones live show, but I would hardly call them a "gang of back up folks".
There's a definite difference in their current live shows from the period this track represents. I was at one of their shows in the 1969 tours. The difference is that they were just leaner and meaner in those days. The emphasis was on the songs. There was far less stage production. They weren't being celebrated as surviving rock icons. They were just a great rock and roll band.
LOVE IT A1 (wicked ass rock baby : )
One of my favorite Stones song, and I'm not picky about the version. Although I prefer live versions of just about anything.
martinc wrote:
You make it sound like the core members of the band now have a backup player for each instrument. In 2015, when the Stones take the stage, no one is backing Keith, Mick, Charlie, and Ron on their respective instruments.
As for rounding out the sound... horns, keys, and backing singers have always been a part of the Stones live show, but I would hardly call them a "gang of back up folks".
Just the stones. When they took the stage without a gang of back up folks. Not even any keyboards on this baby. It's only rock n roll ...
You make it sound like the core members of the band now have a backup player for each instrument. In 2015, when the Stones take the stage, no one is backing Keith, Mick, Charlie, and Ron on their respective instruments.
As for rounding out the sound... horns, keys, and backing singers have always been a part of the Stones live show, but I would hardly call them a "gang of back up folks".
What a great live blues tune!
When will these guys ever learn how to play guitar hooks?
the king of kings
the 10 of 10s for a Rolling Stones fan
the 10 of 10s for a Rolling Stones fan
Perfect Timing...
martinc wrote:
. . . but I like it!
Just the stones. When they took the stage without a gang of back up folks. Not even any keyboards on this baby. It's only rock n roll ...
. . . but I like it!
Just the stones. When they took the stage without a gang of back up folks. Not even any keyboards on this baby. It's only rock n roll ...
I remember feeling outtasight cool being able to say to the elder brothers of school, football, and baseball friends, "Oh that song jams!" Even now, it still elicits the same cerebral & spinal responses. It's a StoneAge quantum-exchange brilliant mix of improv jazz & rock...
Poor little burro.
EXCELLANT !!! SHAKE THOSE YA-YAS BABY!!!
lemmoth wrote:
Other than the one on Sympathy from the same great album....
Agree. The version of Sympathy on this album is a blast- the guitars just get it absolutely right. Brings back memories of the first time I heard it, full of smokeables and just in awe of how great the Stones were.
Won't complain about this track, though...
Other than the one on Sympathy from the same great album....
Agree. The version of Sympathy on this album is a blast- the guitars just get it absolutely right. Brings back memories of the first time I heard it, full of smokeables and just in awe of how great the Stones were.
Won't complain about this track, though...
As good as rock n roll gets!
drewd wrote:
Other than the one on Sympathy from the same great album....
I used to listen to this over and over and over again !!!!
Never gets old !! Best jam ever.......
Never gets old !! Best jam ever.......
Other than the one on Sympathy from the same great album....
Fantastic live greatest hits album. One of those bands (like Creedence) that was always better live.
msymmes wrote:
Thank God
Raw unabridged Rock and Roll at it's best - HOT DAMN
A blight on society.
Thank God
Raw unabridged Rock and Roll at it's best - HOT DAMN
The segue from World party to the Stones in uncanny Bill. Thanks for creative mixology.
Imho it's so totally awesome man! It really is a living example of jump-it up and rock your happy ass off!
Their more recent renditions of this song, played live, are better than this 40 year old reading, imo. But give 'em credit...FIFTY years. 
I love the Stones' best work, but I find this to be a wankin' waste o' time. My problem, I know. Carry on.
A great version of a great song at their peak.
O U T S T A N D I N G In the movie Gimme Shelter, you see a snippet of a scene where they shoot the cover photo for this album.
I don't think Charlie's jumped that high again in 43 YEARS!!!
The 'Stones' were in a studio once ? Hard to tell.
Proclivities wrote:
I agree. This is one instance where I find he live version to be better than the studio version.
Proclivities wrote:
I agree. This is one instance where I find he live version to be better than the studio version.
Outstanding!
I used to listen to this over and over and over again !!!!
Never gets old !! Best jam ever.......
Never gets old !! Best jam ever.......
Glad to hear you are having a good vacation. I just can't get into these guys after 51 years.
hayduke2 wrote:
hayduke2 wrote:
This kick-ass beauty is now the high point of my Florida vacation, Fuckin A!!!
Self indulgent geezers.... me too.
fatcatjb wrote:
I agree. I've always thought this version was even better than the studio version.
I never get tired of this amazing song!
I agree. I've always thought this version was even better than the studio version.
A blight on society.
This kick-ass beauty is now the high point of my Florida vacation, Fuckin A!!!
love love this...makes me smile!
Greatest rock and roll album ever!
I never get tired of this amazing song!