Lyrics for Gimme Shelter as interpreted by spliphstar

Gimme Shelter Lyrics
Oh, a storm is threat'ning
My very life today.
If I don't get some shelter
Oh yeah, I'm gonna fade away.

War, children, it's just a shot away
It's just a shot away.
War, children, it's just a shot away
It's just a shot away.

Ooh, see the fire sweepin'
Our very street today.
Burns like a red coal carpet
Mad bull lost its way.

War, children, it's just a shot away
It's just a shot away.
War, children, it's just a shot away
It's just a shot away.

The floods is threat'ning
My very life today.
Gimme, gimme shelter
Or I'm gonna fade away.

War, children, it's just a shot away
It's just a shot away
It's just a shot away
It's just a shot away
It's just a shot away
I tell you love, sister, it's just a kiss away
It's just a kiss away
It's just a kiss away
It's just a kiss away
It's just a kiss away
Kiss away, kiss away

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Gimodon
02-09-2007

Rated 0 
I think this song is about how even though people are capable of great violence they are capable of love also an d which one you choose makes all the differnce

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cjhasfallen22
02-10-2007

Rated 0 
ive heard this song in goodfellas and the departed.AMAZING song

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FoleyUK
02-19-2007

Rated 0 
i think its about war and the war at home, f*ckin brilliant song

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GimmeShelter
03-21-2007

Rated 0 
Well, as you can see from my username, I obviously liek this songs. One of my favorites. I remember hearing it for the first time on the radio and it just blew me away...still does to this day.

Richard's guitar licks are jaw dropping, what a classic.

Check out Wikipedia for an interesting story on the backup singer.

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GimmeShelter
03-21-2007

Rated 0 
EDIT to my last post : Wikipedia.org actually just gives a footnote link to another story that explains what happened to backup singer Merry (not Mary) Clayton.

Legend has it, and I've read this in various places, magazines, articles, etc....that Clayton was pregnant at the time her vocals were recorded. Soon after returning home from the recording session, completely exhausted, she had a miscarriage.

The miscarriage was attributed to the extreme physical and emtotional output during the session. (again...legend has it).

Just adds to mystical nature of this song.

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killmel
03-23-2007

Rated 0 
isn't this one about the Hell's Angel's stabbing?

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staremastrtohevn320
03-27-2007

Rated 0 
Hey lostinspace, I know exactly what movie you mean. The kids are all throwin molotov cocktails and what not, with the lip nickys( dirty kids) and it starts playin.

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:)4thecamera
04-05-2007

Rated 0 
um these lyrics may b the cleaner (song not explicit) version or maybe a diferent album version, but in the Let It Bleed version the 3rd chorus is:
Rape, Murder, its just a shot away its just a shot away
Raape Muuurder Yeaaah, its just a shot awat shot away
i say loove sistaa its just a kiss away just a kiss away yeah...

anyway just wanted to clear that up

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socrtwo
06-09-2007

Rated 0 
Awesome song. To me (without having read the lyrics) it meant that even Mick Jagger the devil, was very human and needed shelter. It's a masterpiece, perhaps one of the few songs where he shows his vulnerability.

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feelfree82
06-25-2007

Rated 0 
Its a kick ass song... specially I love the tune, one of their best for sure.

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12Monkeys
07-02-2007

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This song is too kick ass for words to des cribe.

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12Monkeys
07-02-2007

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This song is too kick ass for words to des cribe.

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mobileinfantry
07-15-2007

Rated 0 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7P0NG4wcxEg

PERFECT video to the song...

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dazedandconfused91
07-23-2007

Rated 0 
love this song. very classic. pretty sure it was in the movie casino (awesome) and the departed (freakin awesome)

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The Dead Boy
08-03-2007

Rated 0 
WOW! this is, besides Sympathy..., possibly the greatest Stones track ever. First heard this when I was very little, probably as young as about 5, as my dad is a massive Stones fan, and being very scared of it! i didn't actually realy know the lyrics until later on as Jagger slurs alot, and when realized what they were for the first time, it sent a chill down my spine, and i felt how I did when I first heard it all over again. love it to death now though!

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ZEPPO
09-05-2007

Rated 0 
i'm not going to bother saying what i think this song means, only that i'm in perfect relaxation blasting this in my dorm.

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*xmusicfreakx*
10-16-2007

Rated 0 
mick jagger..is a butt u kno? he takes so much credit for things he hasnt done all on his own. keith richards does so much more than mick and yet mick is the most credited stone..buncha bull. this song is their best btw

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the scenic world
10-29-2007

Rated 0 
this is my second favorite opening track on any album. My first being sympathy for the devil. But this is a very close second.

It's about the
The Vietnam War and so is everything else on let it bleed.

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riegekn
11-06-2007

Rated 0 
This song just sends shivers down my spine. I mean, when Merry Clayton does her solo, it's pretty much amazing. You can tell she had a lot of heart and soul in that solo... Her voice even cracked because she was singing with such fervor and spirit, you know?

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edemaagd
11-30-2007

Rated 0 
Not that it's terribly significant, but the song intro plays on Adventures in Babysitting when they all go to pick up Chris' car at Dawson's Garage

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myamericanheartx3
12-08-2007

Rated 0 
When I was younger I always thought the lyrics were " go on, kill her. its just a shot away, its just a shot away". I always thought that because during Merry Clayton's solo she sings "rape, murder. its just a shot away" I always interpreted the main chorus as someone had raped a woman and now he was deciding whether or not to kill her. So you can understand how the difference between rape and murder is just one fatal "shot away". Its funny how wrong I was. Love this song though.

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sproutboy
12-30-2007

Rated 0 
In fact, so good is this song that I think it's played twice in The Departed... not to mention the CD cover of Exile On Main Street being used in the film as well. Martin Scorsese really loves the Stones!

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crazyclaire2200
04-16-2008

Rated 0 
ok camel690 idk what the hell you are smoking. this song is not about heroin users. its acutally about war smart one. its about the Vietnam war, its a protest song. why the fuck would they use war in describing heroin. maybe that its a war to quite but no, this song is not about heorin. why would they be talking about love is just a kiss away? hmm?

anyway this song is amazing and i am writing a paper on it. it is amazing. fallonyourknees is dram right!

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zaqwert777
04-19-2008

Rated 0 
Quite possibly the coolest song that's ever been recorded.

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zaqwert777
04-19-2008

Rated 0 
Quite possibly the coolest song that's ever been recorded.

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