Jagger tackles Brexit, Trump on new tracks

Mick Jagger.

LONDON • The Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger does not like what is happening in the world now.

He has released a new track called England Lost that reflects the soul-searching in Britain since the Brexit vote in what he said was "a difficult moment in our history".

The song, a collaboration with grime artist Skepta, starts out as a reflection on seeing England's beleaguered football team lose.

"But when I wrote the title, I knew it would be about more than just that. It's about a feeling that we are in a difficult moment in our history," the singer, who turned 74 last Wednesday, said in an interview with Apple Music.

"It's about the unknowability about where you are and the feeling of insecurity. That's how I was feeling when I was writing," he said.

"I went to find England, it wasn't there/I think I lost it in the back of my chair," goes the blues-inspired song, with a music video showing a smartly dressed man being held back as he tries to run into the sea.

"I think I'm losing my imagination/I'm tired of talking about immigration/You can't get in and you can't get out/I guess that's what we're all about."

The Brexit referendum last year divided the country after a bitter campaign in which hardline rhetoric against immigration featured prominently.

Jagger told Sky News in an interview in April last year ahead of the vote: "I don't think to me, personally, it's going to make a huge difference.

"I think to the country, in the short-term, it will be detrimental.

"In the longer term, in say a 20-year term, it might turn out to be beneficial."

Jagger has also released a second solo track titled Gotta Get A Grip, a dance tune, that he said was more inspired by the United States and is being seen as a comment on US President Donald Trump.

"The world is upside down/Everybody lunatics and clowns/No one speaks the truth/And madhouse runs the town," Jagger sings.

"Immigrants are pouring in/ Refugees under your skin/Keep 'em under, keep 'em out/Intellectual, shut your mouth/Beat 'em with a stick," he sings.

"The message, I suppose, is despite all those things that are happening, you've got to get on with your own life, be yourself and attempt to create your own destiny," Jagger said.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on August 02, 2017, with the headline Jagger tackles Brexit, Trump on new tracks. Subscribe