| "Highwire" | ||||
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| Single by The Rolling Stones | ||||
| from the album Flashpoint | ||||
| Released | March 1, 1991 | |||
| Format | CD, 7" | |||
| Recorded | January, 1991 | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 4:46 | |||
| Label | Rolling Stones | |||
| Writer(s) | Jagger/Richards | |||
| Producer | Chris Kimsey and The Glimmer Twins |
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| The Rolling Stones singles chronology | ||||
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"Highwire" is a song by the Rolling Stones featured on their 1991 live album Flashpoint.
Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, "Highwire" is one of the rare examples of the Stones taking on political issues - in this case, the fall-out from Persian Gulf War. On the song, Jagger said at the time of its release, "It's not about the war. It's about how it started."[1] Richards continued, saying, "This is not about the war. It's about how you build up some shaky dictator. You can't build them up, 'cause then you've got to slam them down."[1]
The song's lyrics deconstructed the build-up to the war, and criticized the politics behind it;
| “ | We sell 'em missiles, We sell 'em tanks; We give 'em credit, You can call the bank; It's just a business, You can pay us in crude; You love these toys, just go play out your feuds; Got no pride, don't know whose boots to lick; We act so greedy, makes me sick sick sick | ” |
| “ | We walk the highwire; Sending the men up to the front line; Hoping they don't catch the hell fire; With hot guns and cold, cold nights | ” |
"Highwire" was released as Flashpoint's first single on March 1, 1991. It reached number 29 on the UK Charts, number 57 in the US, number 28 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart, and number 1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. An accompanying video directed by Julien Temple was released and depicted the Stones in an industrial set performing the song.
| Preceded by "She Talks to Angels" by The Black Crowes |
Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks
number-one
single March 16, 1991 - March 30, 1991 |
Succeeded by "Silent Lucidity" by Queensryche |
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