"Highwire" is an anti-war song by English rock band the Rolling Stones, featured on their 1991 live album, ''Flashpoint (album), Flashpoint''. Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, the song is one of the rare examples of the Stones taking on political issues—in this case, the fall-out from Gulf War, Persian Gulf War. "Highwire" was released as ''Flashpoint''s first single on 1 March 1991. It reached number four in Finland, Norway, and Portugal, number six in the Netherlands, number 10 in Canada, and number 57 in the United States. In the latter country, the single peaked at number one on the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' Mainstream Rock (chart), Album Rock Tracks chart for three weeks. An accompanying video directed by Julien Temple was released and depicts the Stones in an industrial set performing the song.

Background

On the song, Jagger said at the time of its release, "It's not about the war. It's about how it started." His brother Chris Jagger noted "it is a sideways swipe at the policies surrounding the Gulf War". Richards continued, saying, "This is not about the war. It's about how you build up some shaky dictator. You can't build them up, 'cause then you've got to slam them down." The song's lyrics deconstructs the build-up to the war and criticises the politics behind it:

Critical reception

Pan-European magazine ''Music & Media'' wrote, "Still controversial after all these years -- that is a compliment in itself. This antiwar song sounds as if it was recorded in the days of ''Exile On Main Street''. Keith Richards, Richards's mean guitar riff underpins Jagger's biting vocals. No DJ can possibly deny the strong impact of it."

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Highwire" shows the band members performing against an industrial backdrop. The video did not feature Bill Wyman, leading to speculation that he had left the band. "Highwire" proved to be his last single release with the band, although his departure was not confirmed until 1993.

Personnel

* Mick Jagger – vocals * Keith Richards – guitar * Ron Wood – guitar, pedal steel guitar * Bill Wyman – bass guitar * Charlie Watts – drums

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

{{Authority control The Rolling Stones songs 1991 singles 1991 songs Music videos directed by Julien Temple Protest songs Song recordings produced by Jagger–Richards Songs written by Jagger–Richards