Modified open G Tuning “G G D G B E ”
High Speed Version
Recorded from October through December 1977, “Respectable” was originally written by Mick Jagger to be a slower song, but guitarist Richards saw the advantages of speeding up the tempo and crafting a rocker out of the song. Jagger continued in the liner notes, “On [“Respectable”] I was banging out three chords incredibly loud on the electric guitar, which isn’t always a wonderful idea but was fun here. This is a punk meets Chuck Berry number…” This resulted in Jagger and Richards having arguments over the song’s tempo.
The biting lyrics talk of a woman rising into high society and Jagger’s attempts to remind her of where she came from. Jagger said at the time of its release, “‘Respectable’ really started off as a song in my head about how respectable we as a band were supposed to have become, ‘We’re so respectable’. As I went along with the singing, I just made things up and fit things in. Now we’re respected in society… I really meant [the band]. My wife’s a very honest person, and the songs’s not about her… It’s very rock & roll. It’s not like (Bob Dylan’s) ‘Sara’. ‘Respectable’ is very lighthearted when you hear it. That’s why I don’t like divorcing the lyrics from the music. ‘Cause when you actually hear it sung, it’s not what it is, it’s the way we do it…