Factory Girl (song)
Encyclopedia
"Factory Girl" is a song by The Rolling Stones
which appears on their 1968 album Beggars Banquet
.
It is very similar to an Appalachian folk tune, especially due to its minimal arrangement, featuring Mick Jagger
on vocals, Keith Richards
on acoustic guitar
, Rocky Dijon on conga drums, Ric Grech
of Family
on fiddle/violin, Dave Mason
of Traffic
on Mellotron
using the mandolin
sound, and Charlie Watts
on tabla
.[].
On his performance, Charlie Watts
said in 2003, "On 'Factory Girl', I was doing something you shouldn't do, which is playing the tabla with sticks instead of trying to get that sound using your hand, which Indian tabla players do, though it's an extremely difficult technique and painful if you're not trained."
The song is composed of lyrics musing on the singer's relationship with a young woman, all while he is waiting for her to come out to meet him;
Richards said of the song in 2003, "To me 'Factory Girl' felt something like 'Molly Malone', an Irish jig; one of those ancient Celtic things that emerge from time to time, or an Appalachian song. In those days I would just come up and play something, sitting around the room. I still do that today. If Mick gets interested I'll carry on working on it; if he doesn't look interested, I'll drop it, leave it and say, 'I'll work on it and maybe introduce it later.'"
Jagger countered, saying, "The country songs, like 'Factory Girl' or 'Dear Doctor' on Beggars Banquet were really pastiche. There's a sense of humour in country music anyway, a way of looking at life in a humorous kind of way - and I think we were just acknowledging that element of the music. The 'country' songs we recorded later, like "Dead Flowers" on Sticky Fingers
or "Far Away Eyes
" on Some Girls
are slightly different. The actual music is played completely straight, but it's me who's not going legit with the whole thing, because I think I'm a blues singer not a country singer."
The song has been performed live in 1990 and 1997. A live recording from the Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour
made its way onto the 1991 live album Flashpoint
. The song was also featured during the 1997 Bridges to Babylon Tour
.
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
which appears on their 1968 album Beggars Banquet
Beggars Banquet
- Personnel :The Rolling Stones* Mick Jagger – lead and backing vocals, harmonica on "Parachute Woman"* Keith Richards – acoustic and electric guitar, bass guitar on "Sympathy for the Devil" and "Street Fighting Man", backing vocals, lead vocals on opening of "Salt of the Earth"* Brian...
.
It is very similar to an Appalachian folk tune, especially due to its minimal arrangement, featuring Mick Jagger
Mick Jagger
Sir Michael Philip "Mick" Jagger is an English musician, singer and songwriter, best known as the lead vocalist and a founding member of The Rolling Stones....
on vocals, Keith Richards
Keith Richards
Keith Richards is an English musician, songwriter, and founding member of the Rolling Stones. Rolling Stone magazine said Richards had created "rock's greatest single body of riffs", and placed him as the "10th greatest guitarist of all time." Fourteen songs written by Richards and songwriting...
on acoustic guitar
Acoustic guitar
An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
, Rocky Dijon on conga drums, Ric Grech
Ric Grech
Richard Roman Grech was a British rock musician.-Career:Grech originally gained notice in the United Kingdom as the bass guitar player for the progressive rock group Family. He joined the band when it was a largely blues-based live act in Leicester known as the Farinas; he became their bassist in...
of Family
Family (band)
Family were an English rock band that formed in late 1966 and disbanded in October 1973. Their style has been characterised as progressive rock, although their sound often explored other genres, incorporating elements of styles like as folk, psychedelia, acid, jazz fusion and rock and roll...
on fiddle/violin, Dave Mason
Dave Mason
David Thomas "Dave" Mason is an English singer, songwriter, and guitarist from Worcester, who first found fame with the rock band Traffic...
of Traffic
Traffic (band)
Traffic were an English rock band whose members came from the West Midlands. The group formed in April 1967 by Steve Winwood, Jim Capaldi, Chris Wood and Dave Mason...
on Mellotron
Mellotron
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
using the mandolin
Mandolin
A mandolin is a musical instrument in the lute family . It descends from the mandore, a soprano member of the lute family. The mandolin soundboard comes in many shapes—but generally round or teardrop-shaped, sometimes with scrolls or other projections. A mandolin may have f-holes, or a single...
sound, and Charlie Watts
Charlie Watts
Charles Robert "Charlie" Watts is an English drummer, best known as a member of The Rolling Stones. He is also the leader of a jazz band, a record producer, commercial artist, and horse breeder.-Early life:...
on tabla
Tabla
The tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres...
.[].
On his performance, Charlie Watts
Charlie Watts
Charles Robert "Charlie" Watts is an English drummer, best known as a member of The Rolling Stones. He is also the leader of a jazz band, a record producer, commercial artist, and horse breeder.-Early life:...
said in 2003, "On 'Factory Girl', I was doing something you shouldn't do, which is playing the tabla with sticks instead of trying to get that sound using your hand, which Indian tabla players do, though it's an extremely difficult technique and painful if you're not trained."
The song is composed of lyrics musing on the singer's relationship with a young woman, all while he is waiting for her to come out to meet him;
Richards said of the song in 2003, "To me 'Factory Girl' felt something like 'Molly Malone', an Irish jig; one of those ancient Celtic things that emerge from time to time, or an Appalachian song. In those days I would just come up and play something, sitting around the room. I still do that today. If Mick gets interested I'll carry on working on it; if he doesn't look interested, I'll drop it, leave it and say, 'I'll work on it and maybe introduce it later.'"
Jagger countered, saying, "The country songs, like 'Factory Girl' or 'Dear Doctor' on Beggars Banquet were really pastiche. There's a sense of humour in country music anyway, a way of looking at life in a humorous kind of way - and I think we were just acknowledging that element of the music. The 'country' songs we recorded later, like "Dead Flowers" on Sticky Fingers
Sticky Fingers
-Personnel:The Rolling Stones*Mick Jagger – lead vocals, acoustic guitar on "Dead Flowers", electric guitar on "Sway", percussion*Keith Richards – electric guitar, six & twelve string acoustic guitar, backing vocals...
or "Far Away Eyes
Far Away Eyes
"Far Away Eyes" is the sixth track from rock and roll band The Rolling Stones's 1978 album Some Girls.Mick Jagger and Keith Richards collaborated extensively on writing the song, which was recorded in late 1977. A bootleg version with Richards singing exists. The Stones, longtime country music...
" on Some Girls
Some Girls
Some Girls is the 14th British and 16th American studio album by The Rolling Stones, released in 1978 on Rolling Stones Records, catalogue COC 39108...
are slightly different. The actual music is played completely straight, but it's me who's not going legit with the whole thing, because I think I'm a blues singer not a country singer."
The song has been performed live in 1990 and 1997. A live recording from the Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour
Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour
The Rolling Stones' Steel Wheels Tour was a concert tour which was launched in North America in August 1989 to promote the band's album Steel Wheels; it continued to Japan in February 1990, with ten shows at the Tokyo Dome. The European leg of the tour, which featured a different stage and logo,...
made its way onto the 1991 live album Flashpoint
Flashpoint (album)
Flashpoint is a live album by British rock band The Rolling Stones. It was released in 1991, having been recorded throughout 1989 and 1990 on the mammoth Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour...
. The song was also featured during the 1997 Bridges to Babylon Tour
Bridges to Babylon Tour
The Bridges to Babylon Tour was a worldwide concert tour by The Rolling Stones in support of their then-latest album Bridges to Babylon, followed by 1999's No Security Tour.-History:...
.