Listening to Black and Blue at this moment.

Ronnie is credited with the "Inspiration" for Hey Negrita.

Whom or what is this song being written for / about?

B&B is my favorite Stones album. Have always wondered about this tune.......

I've always wondered what an "inspiration" credit actually gets Ronnie.

An extra pint - back in the day???

Its a Spanish slang for foxy woman or dark one. Can be taken as affectionate or a come-on....like a whistle.
According to Mick, someone said it to Bianca and she told him it made a good song title.

Woody thought up the riff (one of the first things he laid on the Stones, which prompted Charlie to say, "He's bossing us around already!" )—

—But here's Mick on the Bianca-inspired lyrics:

LISA ROBINSON: "Do you anticipate any problems with this one, this HEY NEGRITA? The title?"

MICK: "What? HEY NEGRITA? It's a compliment. I mean, it's not a putdown. I mean, what's the problem, the 'hey' part? 'Hey?' No, I think `hey' will get past. What, you think colored people won't like it? Well...only the most sensitive ones. It's about South Americans; that's just what you say, you know? You say, `Hey, negrita'...one negri...negrota...you say to a lady one, a lady negress...`hey, negrita!' In fact, it's been done. Been said to my old lady, you see?"

ROBINSON: "How did she react?"

MICK: "She said, `That would be a good song title.' So there it is."

When Jade was born, Bianca was quick to point put how light-skinned she was. The last thing a Latina wants is to be called dark-skinned, at least back when the song was written. So it was probably a way of hurting and insulting Bianca, at a time when all the love was gone.

Remember reading that it was Ronnie's riff, and Jagger's lyrics. And that Ron was not wild about the lyrics.

I always considered the lyrics to be something theatrical. A little story of two people in the street, having a conversation
about you know what.
I never thought it had anything to do with them personally.

I want to get lost in your rock 'n roll and drift away

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Title5Take1
Woody thought up the riff (one of the first things he laid on the Stones, which prompted Charlie to say, "He's bossing us around already!" )—

—But here's Mick on the Bianca-inspired lyrics:

LISA ROBINSON: "Do you anticipate any problems with this one, this HEY NEGRITA? The title?"

MICK: "What? HEY NEGRITA? It's a compliment. I mean, it's not a putdown. I mean, what's the problem, the 'hey' part? 'Hey?' No, I think `hey' will get past. What, you think colored people won't like it? Well...only the most sensitive ones. It's about South Americans; that's just what you say, you know? You say, `Hey, negrita'...one negri...negrota...you say to a lady one, a lady negress...`hey, negrita!' In fact, it's been done. Been said to my old lady, you see?"

ROBINSON: "How did she react?"

MICK: "She said, `That would be a good song title.' So there it is."

Mick is right:
Definition of the Urban Dictionary
1. Negrita
Spanish word for black girl (negra), used as a term of endearment or just descriptive without being offensive...adding ita/ito to the end of a word is endearing ie. abuelito/a bebito/a, besito...

Some English speakers and Americans would like to make this into an offensive word...see the definitions for negrito but negrito/a is not offensive or racist despite sounding like an English word that is offensive. In fact using negrita is like saying cute little black girl not exact translation.
My husband to me: "Te quiero mi negrita."
Me to my husband: "Te quiero papi

I've never ever heard of Jagger or the Stones getting into trouble for this song title (unlike Let's Spend The Night Together, Starfukker and that Some Girls lyric).

See Luis Suarez/Patrice Evra racism incident in English football this season. Use of similar words.

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rollmops

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Title5Take1
Woody thought up the riff (one of the first things he laid on the Stones, which prompted Charlie to say, "He's bossing us around already!" )—

—But here's Mick on the Bianca-inspired lyrics:

LISA ROBINSON: "Do you anticipate any problems with this one, this HEY NEGRITA? The title?"

MICK: "What? HEY NEGRITA? It's a compliment. I mean, it's not a putdown. I mean, what's the problem, the 'hey' part? 'Hey?' No, I think `hey' will get past. What, you think colored people won't like it? Well...only the most sensitive ones. It's about South Americans; that's just what you say, you know? You say, `Hey, negrita'...one negri...negrota...you say to a lady one, a lady negress...`hey, negrita!' In fact, it's been done. Been said to my old lady, you see?"

ROBINSON: "How did she react?"

MICK: "She said, `That would be a good song title.' So there it is."

Mick is right:
Definition of the Urban Dictionary
1. Negrita
Spanish word for black girl (negra), used as a term of endearment or just descriptive without being offensive...adding ita/ito to the end of a word is endearing ie. abuelito/a bebito/a, besito...

Some English speakers and Americans would like to make this into an offensive word...see the definitions for negrito but negrito/a is not offensive or racist despite sounding like an English word that is offensive. In fact using negrita is like saying cute little black girl not exact translation.
My husband to me: "Te quiero mi negrita."
Me to my husband: "Te quiero papi

That is correct. Although Bliss, it is true that in Latino culture, just as in African American cultures, being light-skinned was always considered a blessing....
but that has more to do with a broader world culture where dark-skinned peoples were considered lower. That is something that was ingrained in many African-American and Latino women. Not so much anymore. When I started reading about Bianca, she was never described as 'beautiful', but 'exotic'...meaning, very ethnic....
Now, Latinas as well as other 'women of color', are appreciated more. The standard of beauty has changed enormously. (Although it is why half-white Halle Berry will always be a bigger star than Viola Davis, so this kind of attitude still exists)
My dark-skinned cousin, whose mother affectionally referred to her as 'Mi Negra', envied her lighter-skinned brother.....and felt inferior. Bianca herself said when she was a little girl, she wanted to have blond hair....that's an inherent self-loathing instilled by a white culture.

As for the song, it sounds like a light-hearted, sexy role-playing game between a husband and wife .....
Mick as pimp, Bianca as 'whore'....
This sounds like Mick and we know he loves those dark-skinned ladies and it was probably something of a turn-on. Toward the end of the song, you can hear Mick clearly yell, 'C'mon Bianca'....
I think the song is supposed to be fun.
Does anyone have a version by Bernard Fowler?



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 2012-05-27 18:07 by stupidguy2.

Edited after asking a question regarding an english word which would be equivalent (I realised that it was not.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2012-05-27 21:33 by emotionalbarbecue.

deleted



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-05-28 02:55 by Green Lady.

From the book titled NAIVE AND ABROAD: MEXICO, PAINTED MASK:

"A dark-skinned Mexican in an otherwise light-skinned family will be called El Prieto, the dark one. A dark-skinned daughter of an otherwise white family I know is called Negra, Blackie. No insult is intended. No insult is imagined. A lighter skinned offspring is guero—where-oh—whitey. Accent the `where'."

From chapter three; full chapter is here >>> [naiveabroad.com]

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Title5Take1
From the book titled NAIVE AND ABROAD: MEXICO, PAINTED MASK:

"A dark-skinned Mexican in an otherwise light-skinned family will be called El Prieto, the dark one. A dark-skinned daughter of an otherwise white family I know is called Negra, Blackie. No insult is intended. No insult is imagined. A lighter skinned offspring is guero—where-oh—whitey. Accent the `where'."

From chapter three; full chapter is here >>> [naiveabroad.com]

I read the article you linked Title5

Let's face it.. Ronnie should have been credited with being a co-writer.

It's ridiculous the way Mick and Keith treat the people who help them write songs.

Love the riff by the way.. it has that Ronnie plastic string guitar sound thing going on that he did in the 70's.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-07-05 11:30 by GravityBoy.

The best part of the song lyrically is the AH HEY AH NOWWWWW...

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WeLoveToPlayTheBlues
The best part of the song lyrically is the AH HEY AH NOWWWWW...

could you kindly translate into english?

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StonesTod

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WeLoveToPlayTheBlues
The best part of the song lyrically is the AH HEY AH NOWWWWW...

could you kindly translate into english?

i believe that is an ejaculation thing.

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treaclefingers

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StonesTod

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WeLoveToPlayTheBlues
The best part of the song lyrically is the AH HEY AH NOWWWWW...

could you kindly translate into english?

i believe that is an ejaculation thing.

That would or could involve another word or two or few actually...

I love this song and always have loved it. Back in the day when they were about to launch a comeback (Vegas '89) this video was the coolest thing on earth because it was the complete opposite to the boring ridicolous CEO-image Mick tried in 1989. Whenever Jagger acts clean and stiff he should be reminded of Hey Negrita. That's the real Mick.

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WeLoveToPlayTheBlues

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treaclefingers

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StonesTod

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WeLoveToPlayTheBlues
The best part of the song lyrically is the AH HEY AH NOWWWWW...

could you kindly translate into english?

i believe that is an ejaculation thing.

That would or could involve another word or two or few actually...

Something like, "just a momentita, not so fast".

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GravityBoy
Let's face it.. Ronnie should have been credited with being a co-writer.

It's ridiculous the way Mick and Keith treat the people who help them write songs.

ESQUIRE MAGAZINE had a column in one issue about gracious behavior. And the opening example was how a fan of a country star (and I wish I could remember the star and the song) wrote the country star a letter saying So-and-So-Phrase would make a good title for a song. And the country star agreed and wrote a song titled "So-and-So-Phrase." The fan's contribution was merely the title. The star wrote the lyrics and the melody. But he gave the fan co-writing credit and half the royalties. What would Mick and Keith think of that example??

great track. definitely some reggae influence in that one. i think its maybe ronnie's lick. i think its a ronnie song, basically, except for the words.

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Title5Take1

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GravityBoy
Let's face it.. Ronnie should have been credited with being a co-writer.

It's ridiculous the way Mick and Keith treat the people who help them write songs.

ESQUIRE MAGAZINE had a column in one issue about gracious behavior. And the opening example was how a fan of a country star (and I wish I could remember the star and the song) wrote the country star a letter saying So-and-So-Phrase would make a good title for a song. And the country star agreed and wrote a song titled "So-and-So-Phrase." The fan's contribution was merely the title. The star wrote the lyrics and the melody. But he gave the fan co-writing credit and half the royalties. What would Mick and Keith think of that example??

They'd have thought the country star had lost their mind.

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Edith Grove
I've always wondered what an "inspiration" credit actually gets Ronnie.

Basically a thank you and nothing more. A subtle way of saying "you don't carry enough weight in this band yet to get a credit, junior".

Likewise with Billy Preston's credit on 'Melody' on the same album.



That number came about from Keith and I in a hotel, you know... idea swaps. And it eventually came around to, What was that one you were working on, Woody? So I thought, Oh, great, here's my chance. I immediately made up this riff.

- Ron Wood, 1982

All of us, independently and together, were into reggae, and it was also a mood of the time. I had this particular lick that I took into the studio and the others said, What are we going to start with? and I said, I've got this song. Charlie was sitting behind his kit, so he was already into it and then Keith and Mick both got into the motion of it. That was Hey Negrita, which came together very easily. The key to getting a song across in this band is never to try and write all the words. If you've got the rhythm, you're lucky! Let Mick write the words and then you're in with a chance.

- Ron Wood, 2003

Hey Negrita. It's a compliment. I mean, it's not a put down. I mean, what's the problem, the Hey part? No, I think hey will get past. What, you think colored people won't like it? Well... only the most sensitive ones. It's about South Americans, that's just what you say, you know? You say, hey negrita... one negri... negrota... you say to a lady one, a lady negress... hey negrita! In fact, it's been done, been said to my old lady (Bianca de Macias), you see?

- Mick Jagger, 1976



- www.timeisonourside.com

i thought it was understood that any time another band member gets mentioned in reference to a song-credit, whether partial or otherwise...it's code for "he wrote it, but we'll still take most of the credit...and royalties"

Great song, with hot stuff best on b&b

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treaclefingers

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WeLoveToPlayTheBlues

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treaclefingers

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StonesTod

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WeLoveToPlayTheBlues
The best part of the song lyrically is the AH HEY AH NOWWWWW...

could you kindly translate into english?

i believe that is an ejaculation thing.

That would or could involve another word or two or few actually...

Something like, "just a momentita, not so fast".

Maybe.