I’m sure I’m going to pay in the next life.

~ Live & Learn

Richards thinks about how it all started, when he was just a kid dreaming of getting out of his London suburb. “I had no idea I was a songwriter,” he says. “I wasn’t sitting down and trying to be Gershwin. I can’t read a note of music. It’s all in the ears and from the heart—that’s all it is. I can’t believe I pulled it off, really.

“I’ve been so lucky, I don’t believe it,” he continues. “I’m sure I’m going to pay in the next life. Hell is really going to be hell for me. I don’t know why I’ve been given all this. You couldn’t dream it up, man, you couldn’t write it.”

And soon, back to work. More shows to play, more songs to chase. The Rolling Stones must go on, for the generation that grew up with them and the generations that don’t know a world without them.

“Now, there’s the air that you breathe, there’s the water you drink, and there’s the f—ing Rolling Stones,” says Richards. “We’ve been here forever—that’s the weirdest thing, ‘Oh, they’ve always been there.’ Wait till they’re gone, pal.”

~ Alan Light, from The Wisdom of Keith Richards (wsj.com, February 28, 2018)

30 thoughts on “I’m sure I’m going to pay in the next life.”

  6. I luv Sandy Sue’s comment; can’t stop laughing… 🙂
    I say; Sandy says truth!~ haha.
    I’ve never been a Stone’s fan, though, there sure is a lot I’ve loved.
    Quite ironic really, David..

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      1. Sure does! 🙂
        David, I’ve been sitting here reminiscing. In 1965, when I was a young girl of 15, I saw the Rolling Stones at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney. My girlfriend and I were in the 10th row. In order to see the Stones we had to stand on our chairs. The screaming audience was so loud we couldn’t hear the group singing/playing. My most vivid memory was watching Mick Jagger chicken strutting across the stage. Were they good? Not for me. All these years later they are still entertaining and going strong! Who am I to judge?

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      1. Wasn’t that something? Mick Jaggers is an amazing guy to be doing what he does at his age. He has more than enough money to retire several times over, yet love of rock keeps him up on the stage.

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        1. Yes, so true. And this line in the interview I thought captured the spirit of your comment:

          “In fact, Richards claims that the group’s most recent performances—12 European stops last fall—were as good as they’ve ever been in the Stones’ unprecedented 56-year career. “I think the band is sounding better than it ever has,” he says. “Does it matter now? To us, it does.

          “There’s a certain thing in this band, which I find really weird, is that they just want to do it. Some nights we’re better than others, of course, but all I know about this damn band is that they always want to make it better than the night before. And that’s one of the things that keeps us going. I actually wanted four or five more shows—it stopped just as we were peaking.”

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  10. Have to say I’ve always enjoyed the Stones–maybe because dance is one of my first loves. Yes, those who are still alive are really blessed to be able to have such fun doing what they’re doing…and what a handsome picture–they polished up the “roadkill”!

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  11. Proof that until your number is called…
    It is amazing they’ve been going at it for so long. And obviously still loving It! All of them. That is more than luck. Kudos to ’em.

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  12. “I can’t read a note of music” <<<< Amazing!!. "It’s all in the ears and from the heart—that’s all it is. I can’t believe I pulled it off, really." KR is still rocking…

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