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Sleep Tonight
(Mick Jagger / Keith Richards)

RPM Studios, New York City, New York, US, July 16 - August 17 &
September 10 - October 15, 1985 and Right Track Studios, New York City,
New York, US, November 15 - December 5, 1985

Keith Richards - lead vocals, backing vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass
Ron Wood - drums, backing vocals
Tom Waits - piano, backing vocals
Chuck Leavell - synthesizer
Bobby Womack - backing vocals
Don Covay - backing vocals

You better get some sleep tonight, you better get some sleep tonight
Honey, just warn your friends, you better get some sleep tonight

They say you watch the sun go down, the same old shadows crawl over town
Those thoughts of you, it shivers me, the moon grows cold in memory, baby yeah

You better get some sleep tonight, all you got to do is close your eyes
You better get some sleep tonight

I wish you baby, all the best, if you turn out like all the rest
This darkness baby, it's chilling me, the stars stare down in sympathy, baby yeah

You better get some sleep tonight, all you got to do is close your eyes, baby

You better get some sleep tonight, you better get some sleep tonight
Warn all your friends
You better get them out of sight, you better get some sleep tonight

Well, they robbed you of your dignity, they even steal your heart from me
It ain't revenge, you understand
But babe, I just wanna know who dealt this hand, baby yeah
Oh, I’m sorry, get it up, get it up

All you got to do is close your eyes
You better get some sleep tonight, you better
You better get them out of sight

You better get some sleep tonight, honey, just warn your friends

Produced by The Glimmer Twins & Steve Lilywhite

First released on:
The Rolling Stones - “Dirty Work” LP
(CBS 86321) UK, March 24, 1986

Yeah, René. What is your view on this song?

This is where Keith starts losing his touch, where his abilities as a songwriter begin slipping away. It's a nice mood piece, but somehow misses the mark compared to Keith’s great ballads. There’s really not much of a melody here, and that booming ‘80s production doesn’t help matters.

Drew

I think maybe Keith should have followed his own advice on this one. And this ain't even the Stones - it's a Keith solo cut with Ronnie and some other mates on it.

I mean, Ronnie on drums - come on. Tells me everything I need to know about Dirty Work.

Love it! What the heck is wrong with this song? It's ragged, halting, soothing and beautiful at the same time. Love the guitar!

Is it really Tom Waits on piano?? I'm pretty sure it's Chuck, and no synthesisers.

I have always seen "Sleep Tonight" as a "cousin song" to "All About You", which is even better and outright great. However, I find "Sleep Tonight" at least good and many times very good.

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DandelionPowderman
Love it! What the heck is wrong with this song? It's ragged, halting, soothing and beautiful at the same time. Love the guitar!

Is it really Tom Waits on piano?? I'm pretty sure it's Chuck, and no synthesisers.

Knew you'd love it. Is there a Stone song you don't like Dandy? ><



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-08-11 11:52 by Silver Dagger.

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Witness
I have always seen "Sleep Tonight" as a "cousin song" to "All About You", which is even better and outright great. However, I find "Sleep Tonight" at least good and many times very good.

I've always seen it as a cousin to Coming Down Again, since the piano intros are very similar

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DandelionPowderman

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Witness
I have always seen "Sleep Tonight" as a "cousin song" to "All About You", which is even better and outright great. However, I find "Sleep Tonight" at least good and many times very good.

I've always seen it as a cousin to Coming Down Again, since the piano intros are very similar

Yep, they are definitely cousins, but one is absolutely priceless and the other is quite disposable. IMHO.

Drew

It's beautiful.

It's interesting that lots of people completely miss the threat in the lyrics and think of it as a tender lullaby.
One of the studio personnel talked somewhere about Keith sitting in the corner with his guitar crooning this over and over,
which would be about as comforting as watching a killer lovingly sharpen a knife

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with sssoul
It's beautiful.

It's interesting that lots of people completely miss the threat in the lyrics and think of it as a tender lullaby.
One of the studio personnel talked somewhere about Keith sitting in the corner with his guitar crooning this over and over,
which would be about as comforting as watching a killer lovingly sharpen a knife

><

Beautiful. One of the best on that album. Love it.

Only descent track on this album, and one of the strongest tracks from the bleeding 80ies...

2 1 2 0

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Come On
Only descent track on this album, and one of the strongest tracks from the bleeding 80ies...

+1

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Come On
Only descent track on this album, and one of the strongest tracks from the bleeding 80ies...

Harlem Shuffle isn't a decent track?

Other stinkers from the "bleeding 80s":

Start Me Up
Waiting On A Friend
Worried About You
Little T+A
Tops
Emotional Rescue
She's So Cold
Down In The Hole
She Was Hot
Undercover (Of The Night)
Continental Drift
Sad Sad Sad
Terrifying
Almost Hear You Sigh
Slipping Away

Was it so bad after all?

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DandelionPowderman

Quote
Come On
Only descent track on this album, and one of the strongest tracks from the bleeding 80ies...

Harlem Shuffle isn't a decent track?

Other stinkers from the "bleeding 80s":

Start Me Up
Waiting On A Friend
Worried About You
Little T+A
Tops
Emotional Rescue
She's So Cold
Down In The Hole
She Was Hot
Undercover (Of The Night)
Continental Drift
Sad Sad Sad
Terrifying
Almost Hear You Sigh
Slipping Away

Was it so bad after all?

Emotional Rescue and Tattoo You (both great classic Stones album) are not from the eighties, don't count them.

I love Sleep tonight! A beautiful song, which I listen to with pleasure every now and then. Last week I posted it on my FB page.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Literally 965 kilometers from being "Born in an Arctic zone".

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1962

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DandelionPowderman

Quote
Come On
Only descent track on this album, and one of the strongest tracks from the bleeding 80ies...

Harlem Shuffle isn't a decent track?

Other stinkers from the "bleeding 80s":

Start Me Up
Waiting On A Friend
Worried About You
Little T+A
Tops
Emotional Rescue
She's So Cold
Down In The Hole
She Was Hot
Undercover (Of The Night)
Continental Drift
Sad Sad Sad
Terrifying
Almost Hear You Sigh
Slipping Away

Was it so bad after all?

Emotional Rescue and Tattoo You (both great classic Stones album) are not from the eighties, don't count them.

They were released in 1980 and 1981. It doesn't matter when the songs were written and (partly) recorded, they were released in the 80s.

A beautiful song. And of course followed by the Stu tribute boogie.

You do get sleepy listening to it...

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Stoneage
You do get sleepy listening to it...

Not when Keith starts piercing those beautiful, wonky licks through your ears

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DandelionPowderman

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1962

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DandelionPowderman

Quote
Come On
Only descent track on this album, and one of the strongest tracks from the bleeding 80ies...

Harlem Shuffle isn't a decent track?

Other stinkers from the "bleeding 80s":

Start Me Up
Waiting On A Friend
Worried About You
Little T+A
Tops
Emotional Rescue
She's So Cold
Down In The Hole
She Was Hot
Undercover (Of The Night)
Continental Drift
Sad Sad Sad
Terrifying
Almost Hear You Sigh
Slipping Away

Was it so bad after all?

Emotional Rescue and Tattoo You (both great classic Stones album) are not from the eighties, don't count them.

They were released in 1980 and 1981. It doesn't matter when the songs were written and (partly) recorded, they were released in the 80s.

The 80ies is to be precise 1982 - 1988...even Dylan made albums that isn't listenable...

2 1 2 0

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DandelionPowderman

Quote
Come On
Only descent track on this album, and one of the strongest tracks from the bleeding 80ies...

Harlem Shuffle isn't a decent track?

Other stinkers from the "bleeding 80s":

Start Me Up
Waiting On A Friend
Worried About You
Little T+A
Tops
Emotional Rescue
She's So Cold
Down In The Hole
She Was Hot
Undercover (Of The Night)
Continental Drift
Sad Sad Sad
Terrifying
Almost Hear You Sigh
Slipping Away

Was it so bad after all?

That's less songs than on Exile On Main Street. For a whole decade's best of?

Very solid piece that conveys a mood.

Frankly my two fav songs on Dirty Work are both Keith numbers: Sleep Tonight and Too Rude. Neither his best work, but better than most of the rest of the record. The only other song worth listening to is One Hit.

Hate the production on the record (on top of most of the writing).

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DandelionPowderman

Is it really Tom Waits on piano?? I'm pretty sure it's Chuck, and no synthesisers.

Wondering the same thing. Sounds like Chuck.

GREAT SONG!
There are many on Dirty Work!
And I say It again:
Dirty Work is a real good album, so much better than every album, that came after.

Best track on DW.

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Silver Dagger

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DandelionPowderman

Quote
Come On
Only descent track on this album, and one of the strongest tracks from the bleeding 80ies...

Harlem Shuffle isn't a decent track?

Other stinkers from the "bleeding 80s":

Start Me Up
Waiting On A Friend
Worried About You
Little T+A
Tops
Emotional Rescue
She's So Cold
Down In The Hole
She Was Hot
Undercover (Of The Night)
Continental Drift
Sad Sad Sad
Terrifying
Almost Hear You Sigh
Slipping Away

Was it so bad after all?

That's less songs than on Exile On Main Street. For a whole decade's best of?

I could go on, but I just picked a few.

The rest of TY, a good part of ER, Tie You Up, Feel On Baby, Pretty Beat Up, Too Tough, All The Way Down, One Hit, Dirty Work, Too Rude, Mixed Emotions, Can't Be Seen, Break The Spell - to add a few...

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drewmaster
This is where Keith starts losing his touch, where his abilities as a songwriter begin slipping away. It's a nice mood piece, but somehow misses the mark compared to Keith’s great ballads. There’s really not much of a melody here, and that booming ‘80s production doesn’t help matters.

Drew

Yep, this is where the divide amongst Stones fans starts, with those who dig the torch-song ballad Keith, and those, like me, who don't care much for the make it up as you go lyric style and demo-type feel to the tracks. Slipping Away is the keeper from the later era for me.