Artist: The Rolling Stones Album: Aftermath Song: Paint It Black Year: 1966 Top Chart Position: #1

I see a red door and I want it painted black, No colors anymore I want them to turn black. I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes, I have to turn my head until my darkness goes. I see a line of cars and they're all painted black, With flowers and my love, both never to come back. I see people turn their heads and quickly look away, Like a new born baby it just happens ev'ry day. I look inside myself and see my heart is black, I see my red door and I want it painted black. Maybe then I'll fade away and not have to face the facts, It's not easy facing up when your whole world is black. No more will my green sea go turn a deeper blue, I could not forsee this thing happening to you. If I look hard enough into the setting sun, My love will laugh with me before the morning comes. I see a red door and I want it painted black, No colors anymore I want them to turn black. I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes, I have to turn my head until my darkness goes. I wanna see your face painted black, black as night. Don't wanna see the sun flyin' high in the sky. I wanna see it painted, painted, painted, painted black, yeah!

Paint It Black, amidst the British Music Invasion of the mid-1960’s, is one of the best known examples of artists taking new instruments into the rock-and-roll studio. Normally, when rock-and-roll is mentioned, people automatically think: guitar, bass, drums, maybe a keyboard of some kind. However, when The Stones and The Beatles got into their famous bouts of rivalry, some interesting things happened. Paint It Black was one of the first interesting result of their rivalry. In this song, The Stones took the Indian sitar into the studio with them. Immediately, The Fab Four had a sitar of their own, and tunes to match. Before long, they, and many other bands, were taking in oboes, violins, and other exotic instruments to produce a different sound amidst the flurry of new artists cropping up.