Gotta get a grip, beat it with a stick
Gotta get a grip, she goin' for the hit
The world is upside down
Everybody lunatics and clowns
No one speaks the truth
And madhouse runs the town
Well, you gotta get a grip, beat it with a stick
You gotta get a grip
Everybody's stuffing their pockets
Everybody on the take
The news is all fake
Let 'em eat chicken and let 'em eat steak
Let 'em eat shit, let 'em eat cake
You gotta get a grip
You gotta get a grip
You gotta keep it zipped
And shoot 'em from the hip
Yeah, yeah, you gotta get a grip
Beat it with a stick
I tried diversion and I tried coercion
Meditation and medication
LA culture and aquapuncture
Overeating and sex in meetings
Induced insanity, Christianity
Long walks and fast drives
And wild clubs and low dives
I pushed and I strived
But I can't get you, can't get you,
Can't get you out of my mind
Gotta get a grip
Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, beat it with a stick
Immigrants are pouring in
Refugees under your skin
Keep 'em under, keep 'em out
Intellectual, shut your mouth
Beat 'em with a stick, oh yeah
Gotta get a grip
Gotta get a grip
Chaos, crisis, instability, ISIS
Lies and scandals, wars and vandals
Metadata scams and policy shams
Put 'em in a slammer
Gotta get a grip
Gotta get a grip
Come on
Oh, yeah
~ Mick Jagger
One day after his 74th birthday, Mick Jagger released two singles, this one and "England Lost," both a reaction to a post-Brexit Trumpian world. He didn't wait for an album to be completed, as he wanted the songs out there right away, his response to the "confusion and frustration with the times we live in." In the two days since the release of the songs, I would posit that the confusion and frustration has gotten even more acute, at least here in the States.
Did you watch the video? It's as gritty as Jagger's voice. I admit to not really getting it. I consulted The Guardian, which told me that it "features Jemima Kirke of Girls fame as a cigarette-smoking protagonist in an array of sweaty nightclub revelers, whose attempts to get down seem to turn into a labored, solemn frenzy." I still don't get it. But then, I'm old. Two things are for sure, though: the song is a toe-tapper, and Jagger sounds great.
Jagger's rhyming in the song reminds me of early Dylan, especially "Subterranean Homesick Blues." I'm guessing he had some fun writing the song. And that speaks to his own analysis of the song's intent. "The message, I suppose, is -- despite all those things that are happening, you gotta get on with your own life, be yourself, and attempt to create your own destiny."
I'm on it, Mick.
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