Doom and Gloom

Album: GRRR! (2012)
Charted: 61
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This hard-rocking, Louisiana bluesy number is one of two brand new songs taken from the Rolling Stones' hits collection, GRRR!. It finds Mick Jagger railing about various travails and was recorded in Paris and produced by Don Was. The French session marked the first time Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood had been in the studio together since completing A Bigger Bang seven years previously. The song received its first airplay at 8.15am (BST) on BBC Radio 2 when DJ Chris Evans played it twice, back to back.
  • This was the first original Rolling Stones song to chart on the UK singles chart in nearly six and a half years. Their previous entry was "Biggest Mistake," which peaked at #51 in June 2006.
  • Jonas Akerlund directed the song's music video. The longtime Madonna visual collaborator filmed the footage of the Stones playing behind closed doors in a Paris warehouse, while they were rehearsing for their 50th anniversary shows. The apocalyptic clip stars Noomi Rapace, who we see having a series of bizarre and violent dreams as she sleeps next door to The Stones. The Swedish actress is best known for her portrayal of Lisbeth Salander in the trilogy: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest, as well as the lead role of Dr. Elizabeth Shaw in the Ridley Scott science fiction film Prometheus.
  • Speaking with Esquire magazine, Keith Richards said this was laid down very quickly. "I don't think the Stones have ever cut a track so fast," he said. "It was like three takes and - boom! We were like looking at each other and going, 'Got anything else?' It was amazingly quick. The Stones are amazing that way, their chemistry and their energy when they get together. The hard bit with the Stones is getting them together."
  • The song was produced by Jeff Bhasker, who has also worked with Kanye West, Alicia Keys and Fun. Jagger came up with the original idea for the song. The Rolling Stones frontman then sent Bhasker a few ideas before their session. "Watching Mick come up with the lyrics to that song, I thought he just killed it; the lines are so good," he recalled to American Songwriter magazine. "There's social references, it's ballsy, he's talking about zombies and planes crashing. It's crazy."
  • Keith Richards, July 2013: "At first I said, Hey Mick, 'Doom and Gloom' is a kind of weird title for a 50-year celebration, you know? But you know what the Stones are like, it's always against the grain. But he came up with it and it's a great track and a really quite 'funny' song, actually - there are some great lyrics." >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Bertrand - Paris, France
  • This features keyboardist Chuck Leavell on organ. When the song was released, Leavell explained: "The song sounds a lot different than the title. The theme is that he [Mick Jagger] is talking to a girl saying, 'All I hear from you is doom and gloom - let's go party, let's go dance.' It's an uptempo tune." >>
    Suggestion credit:
    Bertrand - Paris, France

Comments: 1

  • Feeling Bluesy from UsaHas that punchy blues that carries back to the early Stones days. Mick has to be a student of culture and current events, or professor, 'cause he sure puts his index finger on references. Opening salvo might also be a cross-reference too, if you know what I mean? - JB
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Annie Haslam of Renaissance

Annie Haslam of RenaissanceSongwriter Interviews

The 5-octave voice of the classical rock band Renaissance, Annie is big on creative expression. In this talk, she covers Roy Wood, the history of the band, and where all the money went in the '70s.

Roger McGuinn of The Byrds

Roger McGuinn of The ByrdsSongwriter Interviews

Roger reveals the songwriting formula Clive Davis told him, and if "Eight Miles High" is really about drugs.

Five Rockers Who Rolled With The Devil

Five Rockers Who Rolled With The DevilSong Writing

Just how much did these monsters of rock dabble in the occult?

Little Big Town

Little Big TownSongwriter Interviews

"When seeds that you sow grow by the wicked moon/Be sure your sins will find you out/Your past will hunt you down and turn to tell on you."

TV Theme Songs

TV Theme SongsFact or Fiction

Was a Beatles song a TV theme? And who came up with those Fresh Prince and Sopranos songs?

Amy Lee of Evanescence

Amy Lee of EvanescenceSongwriter Interviews

The Evanescence frontwoman on the songs that have shifted meaning and her foray into kids' music.