Sweet Black Angel (2:58)

“Sweet Black Angel” (sometimes known as “Black Angel”) is a song by The Rolling Stones, featured on their 1972 album Exile on Main St. It was also released on single as the b-side to “Tumbling Dice” prior to the album.
Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, “Sweet Black Angel” is one of the few outright political songs written by the Rolling Stones. A country-blues ballad, the song was written about civil rights activist Angela Davis, who was facing murder charges at the time. Steve Kurutz says in his review, “Having never heard of Angela Davis, a listener could easily overlook the political lyrics and get lost in the circular acoustic plucking or the washboard rhythm that propels the song so well. Yet, by knowing the case history one realizes how deft and clever Mick’s lyrics could be, even if he hides behind his best backwoods diction and garbled annunciation obscure the point.”