Sweet Black Angel

Composers: Mick Jagger & Keith Richards 
Recording date: October 1970 & December 1971-March 1972
Recording locations: Rolling Stones Mobile Unit, Mick Jagger's home, Newbury, England; Olympic Sound Studios, London, England

& Sunset Sound Studios, Los Angeles, USA

Producer: Jimmy Miller      Chief engineers: Glyn Johns, Andy Johns & Joe Zagarino
Performed onstage: 1972

Probable line-up:

Acoustic guitars: Keith Richards & Mick Taylor
Lead vocal: Mick Jagger
Harmony vocal: Keith Richards
Harmonica: Mick Jagger
Marimbas: Richard Didymus Washington
Percussion (guiro, claves): Jimmy Miller & Charlie Watts
 

Got a sweet black angel, got a pin up girl
Got a sweet black angel up upon my wall
Well she ain't no singer and she ain't no star
But she sure talk good and she move so fast

But the gal in danger, yeah the gal in chains
But she keep on pushing, would you take her place?
She counting up the minutes, she counting up the days
She's a sweet black angel, whoa, not a sweet black slave

Ten little niggers sitting on the wall
Her brothers been falling, falling one by one
For a judge's murder in a judge's court
Now the judge he going to judge her for all that he's worth

Well the gal in danger, oh the gal in chains
But she keep on pushing, would you do the same?
She counting up the minutes, she counting up the days
She's a sweet black angel
Not a gun toting teacher

Not a Red-loving school ma
Ain't someone going to free her?


Free the sweet black slave

Free the sweet black slave

Free the sweet black slave

Free the sweet black slave

 
 

TrackTalk

That was done all of them in a room in a circle at the same time, because there was this one room away from the main hall that had no furniture in it, with a wooden floor, quite high ceilings and plaster walls. We wanted to get the sound of the room.

- Andy Johns, engineer

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