Today, I’m comparing the not quite opposite, yet connected, themes of wanting what you want and wanting what you need in the songs
You Can’t Always Get What You Want
and
I Want It All.
You Can’t Always Get What You Want by the Rolling Stones is a 1969 song on their album Let It Bleed. It was named as the 100th greatest song of all time in the 2004 list in Rolling Stone magazine. The song is a commentary on looking past what you want in order to discover what you need Sometimes, the wanting overshadows the needing, and people struggle to separate the two. While the song is a product of the 1960s and the counterculture movement of the time, the message still applies today: Striving for instant gratification with an “I want” attitude does not necessarily result in Satisfaction (pun intended).
While the Queen song I Want It All isn’t polar opposite in its message to the Stones’ song, it is harsher around the edges for going after what you want regardless of the need in relation to the want. I Want It All is a 1989 song from Queen’s studio album The Miracle. There are two versions of this song, a long and a short with different beginnings. The message in this song is Carpe Diem! Rebellion! Fight for What You Want! Never Give Up! Don’t Back Down! Grab that Golden Ring before It’s too Late!
Until next time,
Kaye Spencer
Lasterday Stories
writing through history one romance upon a time
I love both these songs. 🤩
I do, too. ‘I Want It All’ ranks in my top favorites of Queen’s songs.