"Saint of Me" is a song by English rock band

the Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the album era, rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the g ...

, released as the third single from their 21st British and 23rd American studio album, ''

Bridges to Babylon ''Bridges to Babylon'' is the 21st British and 23rd American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released by Virgin Records on 29 September 1997. Released as a double album on vinyl and as a single CD, it was supported by t ...

'' (1997). It reached number 26 in the UK and number 94 in the US, where it also reached number 13 on ''Billboard'''s Mainstream Rock Tracks. To date, "Saint of Me" is the Rolling Stones' last original song to chart on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. A recording from the Bridges to Babylon Tour can be found on the 1998 live album, ''

No Security ''No Security'' is a live album by the Rolling Stones released by Virgin Records in 1998. Recorded over the course of the band's 1997–1998 worldwide Bridges to Babylon Tour, it was the band's eighth official full-length live release. Not ...

''. The B-side, "Anyway You Look at It", is a ballad and appears on the compilation ''

Rarities 1971–2003 ''Rarities 1971–2003'' is a compilation album by The Rolling Stones that was released in 2005 worldwide by Virgin Records – as well as by the coffee-chain Starbucks in North America – and features a selection of rare and obscure materia ...

'', released in 2005.

Recording and composition

The song is notable for its performers, with

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

on vocals, acoustic guitar and keyboards,

Waddy Wachtel Robert "Waddy" Wachtel (born May 24, 1947) is an American musician, composer and record producer, most notable for his guitar work. Wachtel has worked as session musician for other artists such as Linda Ronstadt, Stevie Nicks, Kim Carnes, Randy ...

and

Ron Wood Ron is a shortening of the name Ronald. Ron or RON may also refer to: Arts and media * Big Ron (''EastEnders''), a TV character * Ron (''King of Fighters''), a video game character *Ron Douglas, the protagonist in '' Lucky Stiff'' played by Joe ...

on electric guitars (

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

is notably absent),

Me'Shell Ndegéocello Michelle Lynn Johnson, better known as Meshell Ndegeocello (; born August 29, 1968), is a German-born American singer-songwriter, rapper, and bassist. She has gone by the name Meshell Suhaila Bashir-Shakur which is used as a writing credit on so ...

and Pierre de Beauport on bass and six-string bass, respectively, and Billy Preston on organ. Lyrically, the song mentions various people in history who had converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

, notably

St. Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

and St. Augustine; Jagger sings that they will never make a saint out of him.

Critical reception

Alan Jones from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' viewed the song as "a fine latterday example of the group which only takes on a heavyweight quality in house mixes by Deep Dish, who retain enough of Jagger's vocals to distinguish it." He added, "With blistering Armand Van Helden mixes of the Stones' last single Anybody Seen My Baby, this will likely augment the usual Stones audience with large numbers of dance fans, ensuring the oldest regularly-charting rock band in the world continue to pass chart muster."

Track listing

#"Saint of Me" (Radio edit) – 4:11 #"Anyway You Look at It" – 4:30 #"Gimme Shelter" (live) – 6:54 #" Anybody Seen My Baby" (Bonus Roll) – 5:59

Charts

References

{{Authority control The Rolling Stones songs 1997 songs 1998 singles Songs critical of religion Songs written by Jagger–Richards Song recordings produced by Don Was Music videos directed by Samuel Bayer Song recordings produced by Jagger–Richards Song recordings produced by Dust Brothers Virgin Records singles