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Indian Girl
(Mick Jagger / Keith Richards)

Pathé Marconi Studios (EMI Studios), Boulogne-Billancourt, Paris, France,
June 10 - October 19, 1979 and Electric Ladyland Studios, New York City,
New York, US, November - December 1979

Mick Jagger - vocals
Keith Richards - acoustic guitar, piano
Charlie Watts - drums
Bill Wyman - bass, synthesizer
Ron Wood - pedal steel guitar
Ian Stewart - marimbas
Nicky Hopkins - piano
Arif Mardin - horns

Little Indian girl, where is your momma?
Little Indian girl, where is your poppa?
He's fighting in the war in the streets of Masaya
All the children were dead, except for one girl who said:
Please Mister Gringo, please find my father
And I say: Lesson number one, that I learned while I was young
Life just goes on and on getting harder and harder
Little Indian girls, from Nueva, Granada

Ma says there's no food, there's nothing left in the larder
Last piece of meat was eaten by the soldiers that raped her
Lesson number one that, that you learn when you're young
Life just goes on and on getting harder and harder
Life just goes on and on getting harder and harder
Little Indian girls, from Nueva, Granada
Little Indian girls, from Nueva, Granada
Yes, I saw them today, it's a sight I would say
They're shooting down planes with their M-16 and with laughter
Mr. Gringo, my father he ain't no Che Guevara
And he's fighting the war on the streets of Masaya
Little Indian girl, where is your father?
Little Indian girl, where is your momma?
They're fighting for Mr. Castro in the streets of Angola

Produced by The Glimmer Twins

First released on:
The Rolling Stones - “Emotional Rescue” LP
(Rolling Stones Records CUN 39111) UK, June 23, 1980

Without a shadow of a doubt the most appalling song the Stones have ever recorded.

Mathijs

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Mathijs
Without a shadow of a doubt the most appalling song the Stones have ever recorded.

Mathijs

you forgot to add "IMO"

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Mathijs
Without a shadow of a doubt the most appalling song the Stones have ever recorded.

Mathijs

Not their finest moment, but there's certainly worse songs, even on ER ('Where The Boys Go' springs to mind!).

The song never did for me

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keefbajaga

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Mathijs
Without a shadow of a doubt the most appalling song the Stones have ever recorded.

Mathijs

you forgot to add "IMO"

No, it's a fact. It's official.

Mathijs

The worst in every way...diabolical and unbelievable that they wasted a space on an album with this rubbish!

Everyone is entitled to his opinion about this song, of course.

What is facinating, is where this kind of latin song came from at the time? What inspired them
to play a rumba/tango-ish song during those sessions?

Just as long as the guitar plays, let it steal your heart away

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marcovandereijk
Everyone is entitled to his opinion about this song, of course.

What is facinating, is where this kind of latin song came from at the time? What inspired them
to play a rumba/tango-ish song during those sessions?

Not very different from some of the stuff on Dylan's Desire, released a few years before, imo.

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DandelionPowderman

Not very different from some of the stuff on Dylan's Desire, released a few years before, imo.

Maybe. In that case it would be their second Dylanesk song since 'Who's been sleeping here"?

But amidst this punk-disco phase they were going through at the time, it is little surprise
to me that they ventured onto this road.

Just as long as the guitar plays, let it steal your heart away

Love it.
ER is great.

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Mathijs

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keefbajaga

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Mathijs
Without a shadow of a doubt the most appalling song the Stones have ever recorded.

Mathijs

you forgot to add "IMO"

No, it's a fact. It's official.

Mathijs

OK, in that case I am relieved, although normally I do 'lap official things aan mijn laars'

Like it, whats so bad about it?

I like it very much. Best song from ER

I happen to LOVE Indian Girl. I fell in love with Indian Girl the first time I heard it and I love it every bit as much to this day.

Why? It is a gentle, shimmering masterpiece, and (like Start Me Up), a showcase for the genius of every member of the band. Keith's delicate acoustic guitar licks and tinkling piano notes are transcendent. Charlie lays down a mesmerizing, syncopated rhythm that hooks you and refuses to let go. Mick's pleading, yearning vocal is like a stab in the heart. The lyrics are devastating. (Are they politically correct? Maybe not...) Ronnie's pedal steel is simply gorgeous. Bill's bass has never sounded better. Ian Stewart's marimbas add beautiful color and mood. Everything here meshes perfectly.

Not only is this a fantastic song, but like every track on ER, it is produced with stunning clarity. I love how front and center Charlie's drumming is, in particular. This is the band I love, recorded during their renaissance period.

Drew



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011-09-12 15:00 by drewmaster.

I love it's ironic lyric.Mick is great.

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jamesjagger
Like it, whats so bad about it?

It's not a bad song actually it's technically a great song....but how great a song can be................ I feel nothing with this song

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A serious matter/ironic lyrics/a camp vocal/the texan horns.

It's just hard to take the song seriously, that's my biggest beef with it...

I like it a lot, classic ballad with superb singing from Jagger...second best on ER behind 'Where the boys go'....

2 1 2 0

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Come On
I like it a lot, classic ballad with superb singing from Jagger...second best on ER behind 'Where the boys go'....

What about Down In The Hole? That's my favorite on the album.

Down In The Hole



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Sheer maudlin sentimentality. Always skip this one on ER. I just didn't get why they chose to do something like this because they'd done their darndest to make themselves relevant again to a younger audience with the new wave inspired Some Girls and then slick rockers like Let Me Go, She's So Cold, Summer Romance on Emotional Rescue.

This was a step backwards. Perhaps Mick wanted to write another worldly classic like Time Waits For No One but this falls down badly. It lacks balls and comes across very disingenously.

If you want to listen to a take on the Central American political situation listen to The Clash and Sandanista.

In fact it was just after London Calling and before Sandanista that The Clash took over as the best rock'n'roll band in the world for me, based on live performances and songwriting quality.

I've always liked it but I've always wondered if it wasn't an instrumental track from early to mid-70s (because of Nicky playing on it, they hadn't worked with him since IORR plus he's not featured on any other ER tracks or outtakes (as far as we know). Also, I think the only time they worked with Mardin was on "Melody" so maybe the horns were from around that time too.

I pretty well love, to varying degrees every song they have recorded but i feel that this song is simply their worst song ever.

I like Indian Girl.

They obviously don't love it...as far as I know it's never been played live!

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DandelionPowderman

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Come On
I like it a lot, classic ballad with superb singing from Jagger...second best on ER behind 'Where the boys go'....

What about Down In The Hole? That's my favorite on the album.

That's the best song to perform live from this album....

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Come On

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DandelionPowderman

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Come On
I like it a lot, classic ballad with superb singing from Jagger...second best on ER behind 'Where the boys go'....

What about Down In The Hole? That's my favorite on the album.

That's the best song to perform live from this album....

I wouldn't mind Summer Romance or Where The Boys Go either. Even Emotional Rescue would have been cool to see live.

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crumbling_mice
They obviously don't love it...as far as I know it's never been played live!

Ballads are tricky to perform in front of thousands of screaming fans. I wouldn't assume they don't love it just because they haven't played it!

Drew

For me this song is part of Emotional Rescue and not the best or the worst. It stands out in a charming way. When looking at the photos or video of the band from 1980 i feel more the obscurity of the song and i like that. Always felt it a little bit mystical and far from the worst or most boring song from the Stones (beside i don´t believe in such judgment). I mean Jagger and the Stones singing about a little Indian Girl in 1980 thats just baeutiful itself
,,where is your moma?