“‘Gimme Shelter’ was very much influenced by the violence in the US and the general uncertainty politically and so on.”— Mick Jagger, independent.ie
“People have this obsession. They want you to be like you were in 1969. They want you to, because otherwise their youth goes with you, you know. It's very selfish, but it's understandable.”— Mick Jagger, independent.ie
“It was a very moody piece about the world closing in on you a bit. When it was recorded, early '69 or something, it was a time of war and tension, so that's reflected in this tune. It's still wheeled out when big storms happen, as they did the other week. It's been used a lot to evoke natural disast…”— Mick Jagger, npr.org