It’s a song that doesn’t sound a lot like what you would expect to hear from The Rolling Stones, the band who released it. And it comes from an album that is generally regarded as one of their few misfires. Yet “She’s a Rainbow” seems to find its way into the culture as much as any other song from the band.
Why has this song enjoyed such a healthy shelf life? How did the Stones manage to pull it off while in the midst of chaotic recording sessions? And what exactly does the song mean? Let’s figure it all out as we explore the wonders of “She’s a Rainbow.”
Majesties’ Madness
“Every fuckin’ thing we did, Mick does exactly the same—he imitates us. And I would like one of you fuckin’ underground people to point it out, you know Satanic Majesties is Pepper…”
That’s what John Lennon told Rolling Stone’s Jann Wenner in a 1970 interview. He was referring to The Rolling Stones’ 1967 album Their Satanic Majesties Request, which came out six months after The Beatles’ landmark Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and you can see his point. There’s the similarity of the mouthful of a title, the Stones’ appearing on the cover in ornate costumes as the Fab Four did, and the psychedelic, flower-power tendencies of the music on both records.
To be fair, it’s a wonder the Stones were recording anything at all. Separate drug busts in 1967 led to arrests of first Mick Jagger and Keith Richards and then Brian Jones, meaning that it was next to impossible for the band to focus entirely on the record. There was also a growing rift between the band and their longtime manager/producer Andrew Loog Oldham, who didn’t like the trippy musical path Jagger and Richards were taking. The band ended up producing the album themselves, which meant that no one was there to keep their indulgences in check.
Perhaps it was helpful then that “She’s a Rainbow” was the first song the band tackled for the album, meaning that it came before a lot of the tumult. Whatever you might think about the Satanic Majesties album, that lead single still shines. Let’s take a look at what’s so special about it.
Nicky to the Rescue
Unlike The Beatles, who would farm out the keyboard duties to either Paul McCartney, John Lennon, or even producer George Martin when needed, the Stones would generally go outside the group when a piano or other keyboard was needed. Ian Stewart, who was also the band’s road manager, was called on when the song was uptempo. And in later years, they would use Billy Preston (who also played with the Fab Four.)
But their secret weapon, when some delicate, complex piano was called for, was Nicky Hopkins. Hopkins was an in-demand session keyboardist at the time, and would also go on to record his own material. Famous Stones tracks like “Angie” and “Waiting on a Friend” benefitted from his magic touch on the ivories.
Hopkins’ work on “She’s a Rainbow” was majestic, as he single-handedly created the colors to which the lyrics refer. Add in the stop-and-start sequences of the song, which drummer Charlie Watts handled expertly, and the quirky touches like Brian Jones’ harmonium work, the interrupting cello, and the childlike backing vocals, and you’re left with one of the most whimsical Stones songs in the band’s esteemed catalog.
What Does “She’s a Rainbow” Mean?
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards created a straight-up love song with “She’s a Rainbow,” one of the few in the band’s history. But there’s an element to it where you can’t really be sure if the object of the narrator’s affection is even real. Or if she is real, there may be supernatural elements she possesses, what with her beauty’s ability to alter the very nature of light itself: She shoots colours all around / Like a sunset going down.
This being the Stones, it’s no surprise that there’s a bit of sexual innuendo at play here, especially with the line She comes in colours. But all in all, “She’s a Rainbow” is an innocent ode to a truly special person. Have you seen a lady fairer? Jagger asks before each refrain.
Reigning Rainbow
“She’s a Rainbow” made it to No. 25 in the U.S. upon its release in 1967, a modest hit by the Stones’ standards at the time. But it’s a song that keeps popping up when you least expect it. In 2018, it appeared in not one, but two major television ad campaigns in the U.S. TV shows like American Horror Story and Ted Lasso have featured it memorably in recent years, as well.
As for the Stones, they realized their bread was best buttered with the blues-rock that they knew best. Their next single following Satanic Majesties was the bruising “Jumpin’ Jack Flash,” a course correction if ever there were one. But people keep coming back to “She’s a Rainbow,” a fascinating musical road briefly taken by the world’s most enduring rock and roll band.
