Why is the Rolling Stones song 'Brown Sugar' 'stunningly offensive'?

Guitarist Keith Richards said he isn't sure why people want to 'bury' the song

The Rolling Stones have dropped their hit 1971 song 'Brown Sugar' from their US tour following controversy. AP

The Rolling Stones have phased out their hit Brown Sugar from the set list of their US tour, after controversy about the song’s references to slavery.

Brown Sugar has one of the most recognisable guitar riffs in rock history, and has been a set list staple for the band for five decades.

The song’s lyrics, however, have long been slammed by critics for being “gross, sexist and stunningly offensive towards black women,” as Lauretta Charlton wrote for Vulture in 2015.

“Ostensibly the song is about Africans who were sold to New Orleans plantations and raped by their white masters,” wrote critic Tom Taylor for the UK’s Far Out magazine last month.

Mick Jagger said the band had performed 'Brown Sugar' every night since it was written. AFP

“The connotations of this horrific overture were then played upon to impart the metaphorical double meaning of being a slave to the narcotic demands of brown heroin.”

“The subject matter is two-fold, and neither brings any light to the other.”

Brown Sugar has come under scrutiny again as The Rolling Stones started performing live again for the first time in two years. While guitarist Keith Richards confirmed the band’s decision to temporarily do away with the song, he said he was confused as to why people want to “bury” it.

"I don't know. I'm trying to figure out with the sisters quite where the beef is. Didn't they understand this was a song about the horrors of slavery?" he told the LA Times.

Singer Mick Jagger told the newspaper that the band has been performing Brown Sugar “every night since 1970”.

“So sometimes you think, ‘we’ll take that one out for now and see how it goes’. We might put it back in," he said.

In a 1995 interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Jagger admitted he wouldn’t be able to “write that song now”.

“I would probably censor myself. I'd think, 'oh God, I can't. I've got to stop. I can't just write raw like that'."

Rolling Stones through the years - in pictures

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  The Rolling Stones mess about on a wall at Embankment, London, in 1963. Getty Images

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  The Rolling Stones are seen outside St George's church, Hanover Square, London, in January, 1964. Getty Images

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  From left: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones (1942 - 1969), Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones pose for a photo in a New York street, while a policeman holds back some curious spectators, in June 1964. Getty Images

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  From left: Charlie Watts, Mick Jagger, Bill Wyman, Keith Richards and Brian Jones take a stroll in a London park in January 1967. Getty Images

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  The Rolling Stones perform "She Smiled Sweetly" on the Eamonn Andrews show, on February 5, 1967. Getty Images

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  Bill Wyman, Keith Richards and Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones record their hit "Sympathy For The Devil" in 1968. Getty Images

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  The Rolling Stones perform at the Roundhouse, London, on March 14, 1971. The band features Bobby Keys on saxophone, left, and Mick Taylor on guitar, centre. Getty Images

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  Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones performs in concert at Knebworth on August 21, 1976. Getty Images

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  The Rolling Stones in 1977. Getty Images

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  Mick Jagger performs with his band in Glasgow in May 1982. AFP

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  Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger performs in front of a crowd of 70,000 at Wembley Stadium, London, on June 25, 1982. Getty Images

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  Rolling Stones lead singer Mick Jagger performs on September 8, 1994 at the MTV Video Music Awards in New York. The Stones were honoured with a Special Recognition ward for setting the standard of rock 'n' roll excellence. AFP

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  Mick Jagger, Mick Taylor, Ron Wood and Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones get together on January 18, 1989 in New York as thy are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. AFP

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  Keith Richards, Ron Wood, Mick Jagger and Charlie Watts arrive by yacht at Chelsea Piers on May 3, 1994 in New York to kick off their "Voodoo Lounge " world tour. It is also the first time the Stones have toured without their bass player Bill Wyman, who left the group in 1993. AFP

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  Ronnie Woods, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards perform live on stage at the Sydney Superdome on February 22, 2003 in Sydney, Australia. Getty Images

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  The Rolling Stones attend a photocall ahead of their concert, which marks the start of the band's European leg of their 'A Bigger Bang' World Tour, at Hotel Principe di Savoia on July 10, 2006 in Milan, Italy. Getty Images

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  Keith Richards and Mick Jagger perform on stage at San Siro Stadium on July 11, 2006 in Milan, Italy. Getty Images

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  Ronnie Wood, Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts and Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones perform during a concert at Saitama Super Arena on April 2, 2006 in Saitama, Japan. Getty Images

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  Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards on guitar as The Rolling Stones perform live at Mt Smart Stadium on November 22, 2014 in Auckland, New Zealand. Getty Images

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  The Rolling Stones are seen performing live on screen as One World Together At Home is streaming live on a computer on April 19, 2020 in Hong Kong, China. Getty Images