music.wikisort.org - Composition

"She's a Rainbow" is a song by the Rolling Stones and was featured on their 1967 album Their Satanic Majesties Request.[5] It has been called "the prettiest and most uncharacteristic song" that Mick Jagger and Keith Richards wrote for the Stones,[6] although somewhat ambiguous in intention.[6]

"She's a Rainbow"
Single by the Rolling Stones
from the album Their Satanic Majesties Request
B-side	"2000 Light Years from Home"
Released	November 1967 (1967-11)[1]
Recorded	17–21 May 1967
Studio	Olympic, London
Genre	Psychedelic pop[2] baroque pop[3] psychedelic rock[4]
Length	2:48 (US promo single edit) 4:10 (US single) 4:35 (album version)
Label	London (US) Decca (UK)
Songwriter(s)	Jagger/Richards
Producer(s)	The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones US singles chronology
"In Another Land" (1967) "She's a Rainbow" (1967) "Jumpin' Jack Flash" (1968)
Their Satanic Majesties Request track listing
10 tracks Side one "Sing This All Together" "Citadel" "In Another Land" "2000 Man" "Sing This All Together (See What Happens)" Side two "She's a Rainbow" "The Lantern" "Gomper" "2000 Light Years from Home" "On with the Show"

Composition and recording

The song starts with a carnival barker saying:

Alright there now listen very closely for how to play the game, I'll tell you how to do it.
Now luv, all you gotta do, luv, is when the whistle's blown, I want you to give one spin, one spin only on your ball.
Any prize, take what you like. One winner, one prize, the pick o' th' stall. Are you all ready?

The song includes rich lyricism, vibrant piano by Nicky Hopkins and Brian Jones' use of the Mellotron. The second verse includes:

Have you seen her all in gold,
Like a queen in days of old?
She shoots colours all around
like a sunset going down.
Have you seen a lady fairer?[5]

John Paul Jones, later of Led Zeppelin, arranged the strings of this song during his session days.[7] Backing vocals were provided by the entire band except for Charlie Watts. Notably, all of the vocals sound like soft background singing with the music overshadowing them to the point of the lyrics being difficult to hear. The lyrics in the chorus share the phrase "she comes in colours" with the song of that title by Love,[8] released in December 1966.

The song begins with the piano playing an ascending run with a turnaround, which returns throughout the song as a recurring motif. This motif is developed by the celesta and strings in the middle 8. Humorous and ambiguous devices are used, such as when the strings play out-of-tune and off-key towards the end of the song, and when the other Stones sing their "La La's" like little children.[5] The song is in the key of B flat. [9] The ascending run starts on C and goes up the Bb scale : C D E♭ F G B♭ A.^{[clarification needed]}

Release and appearances

"She's a Rainbow" was released as a single in November 1967 and went to No. 25 in the United States. Cash Box said that the Rolling Stones "[step] up their blues beat with orchestrations that surround the listener in a swirling collage of offsetting tonal colors."[10]

It has regularly featured on Stones' hits compilations, including Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2) (1969), More Hot Rocks (Big Hits & Fazed Cookies) (1972), 30 Greatest Hits (1977), Singles Collection: The London Years (1989), Forty Licks (2002), and GRRR! (2012).[6]

Personnel

According to authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon:[11]

The Rolling Stones

• Mick Jagger – lead vocal, harmony vocal, tambourine
• Keith Richards – acoustic guitar, lead guitar
• Brian Jones – Mellotron
• Bill Wyman – bass
• Charlie Watts – drums
• Unidentified musicians (played by the Rolling Stones) – backing vocals, percussion[note 1]

Additional personnel

• Nicky Hopkins – piano, harpsichord
• John Paul Jones – string arrangement
• Unidentified session musicians – string section

Charts

Chart (1967–68)	Peak position
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[13]	8
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[14]	13
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[15]	9
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[16]	2
Spanish Singles Chart[17]	19
Sweden (Kvällstoppen)[18]	14
Sweden (Tio i Topp)[19]	9
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[20]	3
US Billboard Hot 100[21]	25
Chart (2007)	Peak position
Denmark (Tracklisten)[22]	25
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[20]	91

In popular culture

• The song was used in a 1998 advert for Apple's iMac G3 computer, to showcase the iMac's wide variety of colours.
• At the end of the 3rd episode ("Forbidden Fruit") of American Horror Story: Apocalypse, music from a radio changes to the song, as witches Cordelia, Myrtle, and Madison emerge from the shadows.
• In Season 2, Episode 5 episode of Ted Lasso, the song plays as Roy Kent (Brett Goldstein) journeys from a television studio to the stadium, joining the coaching staff of AFC Richmond.
• In the 2021 film Cruella, the song serves as the introduction to Estella (Emma Stone), whose artistic genius, shown onscreen in a colorful burst of outfits, is also reflected in the song lyrics: "She comes in colours everywhere. She combs her hair. She's like a rainbow."

Notes

References

Sources

На других языках

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- [en] She's a Rainbow

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[es] She's a Rainbow

«She's A Rainbow» —en español: «Ella es un arcoíris»— es una canción de la banda británica The Rolling Stones incluida en el álbum del año 1967 Their Satanic Majesties Request y escrita por Mick Jagger y Keith Richards.[1]

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[ru] She’s a Rainbow

«She’s a Rainbow» (с англ. — «Она — радуга») — песня из альбома Their Satanic Majesties Request британской группы The Rolling Stones. Написана Миком Джаггером и Китом Ричардсом. В декабре 1967 года была также издана в виде сингла (с композицией «2000 Light Years from Home» из того же альбома на обратной стороне) и достигла #25 в Billboard Hot 100[1].

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