[John Lennon and Paul McCartney  provided backing vocals on “We Love You” (During The Rolling Stones Satanic Majesties Request album sessions]—Wikipedia

¢¢¢ from Their Satanic Majesties Request LP

“And a great portent appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars; she was with child and she cried out in her pangs of birth, in anguish for delivery. And another portent appeared in heaven; behold, a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems upon his heads. His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to bear a child, that he might devour her child when she brought it forth;  she brought forth a male child, one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron, but her child was caught up to God and to his throne, and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God…

but they were defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. ¹⁰ —Rev. 12.

——

It’s interesting that Jagger here, as the lyrics below show, appears to be condemning horrific acts of evil. But was he? It is debated.  At the same time he appears by his facial features and androgynous makeup and shadow style to be manifesting something darkly preternatural.

“Mick Jagger has always been distant about this demonic identification, although he did not hesitate to exploit it. This can be seen in The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus, a live recording originally intended for the BBC, but which remained hidden until 1996. At the end of the interpretation of “Sympathy for the Devil,” while John Lennon is convulsing in the audience, Jagger kneels and takes off his sweater, revealing his naked torso, on which a portrait of the Beast is drawn as a tattoo. But what idea was in Jagger’s head when he decided to dedicate a song to the Devil?” — Mick Jagger and His Alleged Obscure Relationship with the Devil, culturacolectiva

>> See also The Beatles And Where We Are

It said,

Please allow me to introduce myself
I’m a man of wealth and taste
I’ve been around for a long, long year
Stole many a man’s soul and faith

I was ’round when Jesus Christ
Had his moment of doubt and pain
Made damn sure that Pilate
Washed his hands and sealed his fate

Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name
But what’s puzzlin’ you
Is the nature of my game

Stuck around St. Petersburg
When I saw it was a time for a change
Killed the Tsar and his ministers
Anastasia screamed in vain

I rode a tank, held a general’s rank
When the blitzkrieg raged
And the bodies stank

Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name, oh yeah
Ah, what’s puzzling you
Is the nature of my game, ah yeah

I watched with glee
While your kings and queens
Fought for ten decades
For the gods they made

I shouted out
“Who killed the Kennedy’s?”
When after all
It was you and me

Let me please introduce myself
I’m a man of wealth and taste
And I laid traps for troubadours
Who get killed before they reach Bombay

Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name, oh yeah
But what’s puzzlin’ you
Is the nature of my game, ah yeah
Get down, damn it

(Whoo-woo, whoo-woo)
(Whoo-woo, whoo-woo)
(Whoo-woo, whoo-woo)
(Whoo-woo, whoo-woo)
(Whoo-woo)

Pleased to meet you (whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo)
Hope you guess my name, oh yeah (whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo)

But what’s confusing you (whoo-hoo)
Is just the nature of my game, mm yeah (whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo)

Just as every cop is a criminal
And all the sinners saints
As heads is tails, just call me Lucifer
‘Cause I’m in need of some restraint

So if you meet me, have some courtesy
Have some sympathy, and some taste
Use all your well-learned politeness
Or I’ll lay your soul to waste, mm yeah

Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name, oh yeah
But what’s puzzlin’ you
Is the nature of my game, mean it
Get down

(Whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo)
(Whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo) whoo-hoo
(Whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo) oh yeah, get on down
(Whoo-hoo, whoo-hoo) oh, yeah

_______

Search Assist Note

Inspiration and Themes

Historical Context

The song’s lyrics are narrated from the perspective of the Devil, who recounts various historical atrocities. This approach reflects a commentary on the darker aspects of humanity. Jagger drew inspiration from the Russian novel The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov, which explores themes of good and evil.

Musical Influences

Jagger’s visit to Salvador, Bahia, in 1968 exposed him to Candomblé traditions, which influenced the song’s rhythmic structure. Keith Richards suggested a change in tempo, contributing to it —Search Assist

“The fiendish track can be traced back to the [1930s] Soviet Union-era satire The Master and Margarita, written by Mikhail Bulgakov. The complex work was a meditation on the omnipresent battle between good and evil as seen through the lens of Joseph Stalin’s dictatorship.” — Alex Hopper, American Songwriter

________

(1) Anastasia, the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, was executed along with her family by Bolshevik revolutionaries on July 17, 1918, in Yekaterinburg. Rumors of her survival circulated for years, but DNA testing later confirmed that she died with her family that night.