Mick Jagger / Keith Richards / 4:23
Musicians
Mick Jagger: vocals, acoustic guitar (?)
Keith Richards: acoustic guitars (?), piano
Bill Wyman: bass, synthesizer
Charlie Watts: drums
Ron Wood: pedal steel guitar, acoustic guitar (?)
Jack Nitzsche: horn arrangement, marimba (?)
Arif Mardin: horn conducting
Ian Stewart: marimba (?)
Max Romeo: marimba (?)
Unidentified musicians: horns, claves
Recorded
EMI Pathé Marconi Studios, Boulogne-Billancourt, France: June 27–October 8, 1979
Electric Lady Studios, New York City: November–December 1979, April 1980
Technical Team
Producers: The Glimmer Twins
Associate producer: Chris Kimsey
Sound engineer: Chris Kimsey
Assistant sound engineers: Sean Fullan, Brad Samuelsohn, Ron “Snake” Reynolds, Jon Smith
With a few rare exceptions (notably on Beggars Banquet), the Rolling Stones seem to have felt that the political events that shook the world during the second half of the twentieth century were no more than indirectly their concern. In “Indian Girl,” however, the Glimmer Twins turn the spotlight on the bloody civil wars that had been raging in Central America since the 1960s, in particular in Nicaragua, Bianca Jagger’s home country. Like thousands of others, the young Indian girl in the song finds herself alone, her mother having been raped by soldiers and her father fighting in the streets of Masaya, both parents risking their lives for the revolution set in motion years before by Fidel Castro.
Much as they liked to keep up with the musical trends of the day, the Stones retained their fondness for country music, as demonstrated by “Indian Girl”—and, before it, by “Far Away Eyes” on Some Girls. Keith is probably responsible for both the acoustic guitar parts, the second not always perfectly in time (listen between 1:49 and 1:54). The marimba, a percussion instrument immortalized by Brian Jones on “Under My Thumb,” is played here by Ian Stewart, Jack Nitzsche, or Max Romeo. Charlie plays cross-stick before adopting a heavier beat supported by Bill’s very good bass, probably his Dallas Tuxedo. The pianist, meanwhile, is apparently not Nicky Hopkins but Keith Richards: “Indian Girl was [a song by] Mick cos I just played piano on that,”11 he would reveal in 1980. This would seem to indicate that the two acoustic guitars are played not by him but by Mick and/or Ronnie. The latter plays a good pedal steel guitar, very much in the country style, as are (although belonging to a different national tradition) the mariachi trumpets arranged by Jack Nitzsche (returning to the fold for the first time since Sticky Fingers) and conducted by Arif Mardin, who had contributed to “Melody” on Black and Blue. Bill is probably the one doubling some of the horn parts and accompanying the track on synthesizer, but this is not always either in tune (2:57) or in good taste. Finally, Mick displays some emotion in his voice in a performance that comes across as relatively refreshing.