As Tears Go By

"As Tears Go By" is a song written by The Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger, guitarist Keith Richards, and their manager Andrew Loog Oldham, and was a popular hit for both British singer Marianne Faithfull in 1964 and The Rolling Stones in 1965. The song is one of the first original compositions by Jagger and Richards, as until that point The Rolling Stones had chiefly been performing covers of blues standards.
 

Marianne Faithfull 1964

 

Lyrics

It is the evening of the day
I sit and watch the children play
Smiling faces I can see
But not for me
I sit and watch
As tears go by

My riches can't buy everything
I want to hear the children sing
All I hear is the sound
Of rain falling on the ground
I sit and watch
As tears go by

It is the evening of the day
I sit and watch the children play
Doin' things I used to do
They think are new
I sit and watch
As tears go by

Marianne Faithfull began her singing career in 1964. Her first major release, "As Tears Go By", was penned by Jagger/Richards, and became a chart success. She then "left her husband John Dunbar to live with Mick Jagger" and told the "New Musical Express": "My first move was to get a Rolling Stone as a boyfriend. I slept with three and decided the lead singer was the best bet." Jagger finished the relationship with Faithfull in May 1970.

 

 

Version by The Rolling Stones