“‘Gimme Shelter’ was very much influenced by the violence in the US and the general uncertainty politically and so on.”— 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