Country Honk

Let It Bleed 
Track 3 
"Country Honk" – 3:10




Okay, maybe I was a little overenthusiastic about the Stones' "country" songs. After knocking "Love in Vain" out of the park with an inventive, exploratory performance, they immediately settle into kitsch on "Country Honk"[*]. The Stones are no strangers to self-parody, obviously, but it wasn't clear at this time that they would be able to go from one extreme of the artistic spectrum to the other with such ease.

God I hate this song – it reminds me precisely how thin the line is between creation and destruction. With "Love in Vain", they created something utterly new to the world. With "Country Honk", they tore that all down, explaining that the whole thing was just a joke and I can't believe you took it seriously.

[* which was recorded during the same period they recorded "Honky Tonk Woman" – neither song appears to have been "first", both simply came about at the same time.]