Wild Horses Lyrics - The Rolling Stones

I'm sorta irritated by all the comments about Susan Boyles version and how wonderful and touching it was. This song is a beautiful and touching rock performance. The Rolling Stones perfected this song and created a hauntingly beautiful memoir of tough love and outstanding persistence. Wild Horses, while melancholy and nostalgic is a song about love and pain. Isn't that what love is all about? Going through pain with someone, getting angry and fighting and passion, but knowing you would never want to do that with someone else. That those "wild horses couldn't drag [you] away". Lets leave the praise where it belongs, this song is a Rolling Stones masterpiece.

A immature young lady who’s been spoiled by her boyfriend who buys her whatever she wants .She makes rude graceless comments because she knows her boy friend doesn’t want to let her slide away from him. She knows this but he does too and he thinks to himself , I love her unconditionally and wild horses couldn’t drag me away. He has watched her suffer opiate withdrawal and he helped her through her dull aching pain .she pays him back by breaking his heart and he sees a similarity between heart break and being dope sick. She’s a drama queen sometimes with her sweeping exits and he feels undermined by her off stage lines but he loves her and isn’t bitter and would never treat her unkind. He knows this but she does too and he realizes that after it all ,wild horses couldn’t drag him away. But his love isn’t enough for her and she moves on. And he dreams during the day and night about her sins against him and the lies she’s told him . he reflects back to the relationship to times when he guiltily thought of freedom and says to himself , I still don’t have much time. Because he thinks his lack of time is why she left. He knows faith has been broken and that tears must be cried but will keep hope and will wait even till after death if that’s what it takes to be back with her . he really believes that they will do great things with their love . he dreams of riding wild horses together

A beautiful song, as just all of you told us. Its true, there are a lot of ways to interpret it. By my side I recomend of couse the original, maybe the best Rolling Stone·s song, and in second place an interesting cover version of Mazzy Star, sung by Hope Sandoval, maybe an unrecognized singer, owner of a incredible voice and feeling. Good luck....

To me this song relates perfectly to a friendof my moms that We lost. He was like a father to me. it was played at his funeral and to me this song describes him watching over me like I know he is. The line "graceless lady you know how I am. I can't let you slide through my hands" reminds me of something he would say because he always told me that I was like a daughter to him and he would never let me feel unloved.

The line "I've watched you suffer a dull aching pain. Now you decided to show me the same. No sweeping exits or offstage lines could make me feel bitter, or treat you unkind" reminds me of how I feel about loosening him. I watched him suffer through a lot knowing him and I knew he went to a better place where he wouldn't suffer or hurt anymore. And I couldnt blame him for that.

This whole song just reminds me so much of him because he used to play it for me on the guitar and sing along I it. So every time I listen to it it has a new way of reminding me of him. It makes me miss him more but I think of it as a way of him telling me not to make the same mistakes he did and to enjoy life and he will be right there beside me because " wild horses couldn't drag him away"

This is a song about first love for a guy who buys the heart of a young girl. He sees how she has put up with him and after so long realizes he has been putting up with her and decides to call it quits and hopes that it will not have any long term affects on either of them.

I've always intrpreted this song as a relationship and an infidelity by the singer. The singer cheated with the "graceless ladies" so his lover suffers the "dull aching pain". Then the tables are turned on the singer, she has an affair and she "showed me the same". The singer will not be bitter or unkind even if they have created scenes or spectacles of themselves following the affairs (no sweeping exits or offstage lines.) "faith has been broken tears must be cried" points to the obvious...the affairs. And "lets do some living after love dies... life goes on and maybe they can still be together somehow. If the true lyrics are "After we die" then maybe they can be together in the afterlife. Wild horses couldnt drag him away...he will always love her even through the infidelities and hard times.

OK, now that you have all speculated on this, the truth is, Keith Richards wrote this song for Gram Parsons to record. It was first recorded by the Flying Burrito Brothers, Gram's band at the time. Kieth gave it to Gram as a thank you for Gram's helping the Stones create their honky tonk sound. The Stones recorded it after the Flying Burrito Brothers recorded it.

A further aside, it was Keith Richards that introduced Gram to the drugs that would eventually kill him.

I agree this song is beautiful and haunting, and there are multiple ways to interpret it that fit the words. To me there has always been a suggestion of forbidden love, which could be a Lolita type of infatuation, or even incestuous desire. "Faith has been broken, tears must be cried" suggest some kind of romantic tragedy, but that could be the dissolution of a prior marriage rather than the person Mick sings to.

"Let's do some living after we die" suggests choosing to give in to some mortal sin, which is too tempting to resist on Earth, but in religious terms would send one to Hell. That would not be out of character for the Stones to say.

Yes, it could be about drugs too but the Stones were ususally too hip and sophisticated to just say Horse=Heroin. More like them to call it "dead flowers"... but that's another song.

While the written lyrics are correct, what Mick sings on the record version is different, and he does sing "Let's do some livin' AFTER WE DIE" not "after love dies." Or, at least that's what it sounds like to me as far as I can understand what Mick sings. Although it's often difficult to make out certain lines, Mick is very clear when he wants to be (nothing obscure about the line "Black girls just wanna get fucked all night and I just don't have that much jam" -- he sings that as clear as day).

Mick Jagger says this song is about a girlfriend he once had and dumped, and she tried to kill herself and went into a coma. When she woke up, the first thing she said was "wild horses couldnt drag me away".

The meaning of this song is so obvious to me that I can't believe there is any ambiguity at all. A man and his woman are heroin addicts and the singer knows that they are in a downward spiral probably leading to ,at least, his death.The 'wild horses' is Horse, skag, H, heroin. A love song? what do junkies love?

I agree thet this particular song can be received in many different ways. Because there is really no clear meaning i believe he is talking about himself. Maybe he experienced some self abuse in his life. Once his soul was settled he decided to accept his remaining destiny with a certain strength,grace and determination. Just a "perception".

Hi Brandon, I have the original cd of the rolling stones (sticky fingers) and I am sorry to tell you this but on the original song by them it clearly says GRACELESS LADY YOU KNOW HOW I AM also it is LET'S DO SOME LIVING AFTER LOVE DIES. So I am sorry to dissapoint you but who ever posted this lyrics posted them correctly... I have no idea why other singers have changed those two line but the original ones do make a lot more sense...

I used to listen to this song with my dad when I was young and never thought much of it, but just liked it. As an adult, I pictured this as a couple reenactment of their ups and downs. My father has recently passed...now I can't listen to this song and not understand the meaning to be a relationship between a father and daughter.
The relationship was easy when she was young and he was on the road...he bought her love. Now she's growing up and he can't let her go. The pain she felt by not being able to see her father is now being shown to him as she grows up and doesn't have time for him. Now he has the the chance (freedom) to get to know her, but the opportunity is late (Dont have much time, the chance to form their bond)...yet still he tries as "wild horse couldn't drag him away" You get the idea. Please read the lyrics with this picture in mind and let me know what you think!

I think I heard this song a million times and never REALLY liked it until I heard it in the movie Fear in 1996 (the sundays I believe sang it).. I read all the reviews and I do agree it's one of those songs that you can interpret in anyway you want to, but for myself, it makes me think that it's about a relationship... A long stressful one where both partners made mistakes, and for some reason no matter how detrimental to the relationship, they just can't let go.. "wild horses couldn't drag me away" from the relationship.

I mean even the part "lets do some living before WE die" to me it comes off as they are going to die together. (meaning still in contact with eachother). Also "wild horses, we'll ride them someday" meaning they'll overcome everything that could have happen and it'll all work out and be okay. This is an amazing song, and I think mostly everyone can relate to it in the way that I can. Beautiful.