Paul McCartney Criticizes the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil" for Its Bad Message

"Mick's not a bad boy at all — it's the exact opposite. But his image, for show, is of that. Whereas we just never really bothered with that."

Photos: Georges Biard (Jagger), Jimmy Baikovicius (McCartney)

BY Alex HudsonPublished Oct 18, 2023

Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger are texting buddies, but that didn't stop the beloved Beatles legend from criticizing the Rolling Stones for the negative message of their 1968 song "Sympathy for the Devil,"

Discussing the Beatles' 1970 classic "Let It Be" on his iHeartPodcasts show McCartney: A Life in Lyrics, Macca said that he tried to make his song a moral lesson.

"I've always known that people, in listening to your song, may take a message away," McCartney said. "So, if your song is a good message — 'Love is all you need' — then that's a good message to put out, rather than 'Sympathy for the Devil.'"

He continued, "Mick's not a bad boy at all — it's the exact opposite. But his image, for show, is of that. Whereas we just never really bothered with that."

He and co-host Paul Muldoon went on to compare "Let It Be" to "Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be)" — another song in which a mother offers a child advice. "There were loads of songs that were about stuff — that were encouraging you to be good," McCartney said.

Hear the episode below. The discussion of the Rolling Stones occurs around the 10-minute mark. This is the same interview in which McCartney admitted he wasn't thrilled about Yoko Ono hanging around during the Let It Be sessions.


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