Undercover (Of The Night)
'Undercover Of The Night' was largely a Mick Jagger composition. In the liner notes to the 1993 best of 'Jump Back', guitarist Keith Richards say: "Mick had this one all mapped out, I just played on it. There were a lot more overlays on this track, because there was a lot more separation in the way we were recording at that time. Mick and I were starting to come to loggerheads".
The song was likely written in Paris in late 1982, where recording began on the album. Guitarist Ronnie Wood described the fractious writing in 2003 as, "...just me, Mick and Charlie [Watts]... [We] took it up into some wonderful adventures with all these different changes... There was a great percussive and acoustic version, which is the kind of song it should be. The final polished, glossed-up version may have been Mick's vision of the song..."
The lyrics see Jagger explore the then-ongoing political corruption in Central and South America; Jagger said, in those same liner notes to 'Jump Back', that the song was heavily influenced by William Burroughs' 'Cities of the Red Night'.
Recording began in early 1983 and was resumed later that summer at New York City's famed Hit Factory.
Of note are the two versions of this song, one featuring usual Rolling Stones bassist Bill Wyman and the other featuring guest Robbie Shakespeare.
'Undercover Of The Night' was released as the first single taken from the album on November 1, 1983. Initial reception was warm with the song reaching number 9 in the US and number 11 on the UK Singles Chart.
An elaborate music video was made for the song, featuring Jagger as detective helping a woman follow her boyfriend's kidnappers and Richards as the leader of the kidnappers who eventually shoots Jagger.
On the B-side of the single was 'All The Way Down', a track on which Ron Wood would simply say in 2003: "it could have been a better song - we didn't explore its full potential".
North America used a different sleeve than the rest of the world for this single.
12" in PS containing extended dance and dub versions were also issued.
Note that a live version
of 'Undercover (Of The Night)' from the Steel Wheels tour in 1989 would be issued on the B-side of the single 'Sex Drive' in 1991.
![The Rolling Stones: Undercover (Of The Night), Canada [1983] ,7"](../../countries/ca/emi/img/underc_roundTop_s.jpg "The Rolling Stones: Undercover (Of The Night), Canada [1983] ,7\"")
![The Rolling Stones: Undercover (Of The Night), France [1983] ,7"](../../countries/france/emi/img/1654427_s.jpg "The Rolling Stones: Undercover (Of The Night), France [1983] ,7\"")
![The Rolling Stones: Undercover (Of The Night), Mexico [1983] ,7"](../../countries/mx/emi/img/under_s.jpg "The Rolling Stones: Undercover (Of The Night), Mexico [1983] ,7\"")
![The Rolling Stones: Undercover (Of The Night), Japan [1983] ,7"](../../countries/jp/emi/img/under_s.jpg "The Rolling Stones: Undercover (Of The Night), Japan [1983] ,7\"")
53 editions worldwide include 'Undercover (Of The Night)' on the 7" format.
[Mick Jagger / Keith Richards]
I was 21, naive, not cynical, I tried to please
Her wit, her speech, her repartee impressed me almost instantly
She went all the way
All the way (down)
She showed me sex a hundred ways and how she pimped 'em, how she paid 'em
And all the daughters, all the sons, all were welcome, all would come
Yeah
We went all the way
All the way (down)
I was being Mr. Cool, just a snotty little fool, like kids are now
I dreamed of reaching greater heights, I raved about it every night, and talked
She's there when I close my eyes
How the years rush on by, birthdays, kids and suicides
But still I play the fool and strut, still you're a slut
Hey baby
All the way...
Down, down, down
You give me back my time up now, I can see it if I close my eyes
Was every minute just a waste? Was every hour a foolish chase?
No, I don't believe you slipped all the way...
Produced by the 'Glimmer Twins'
Associate producer & engineer: Chris Kimsey
Keith Richards: acoustic guitar, electric guitar, backing vocals
Ron Wood: electric guitar, backing vocals
Bill Wyman: bass
Charlie Watts: drums
Chuck Leavell: piano
Produced by the 'Glimmer Twins' & Chris Kimsey
Engineer: Chris Kimsey
Keith Richards: electric guitar
Ron Wood: electric guitar
Charlie Watts + Sly Dunbar: drums, percussions
Robbie Shakespeare: bass
Chuck Leavell: keyboards
| charts | peak | release date | 7" single | B-side |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
11 | November 1, 1983 | RSR 113 | All The Way Down
[Mick Jagger / Keith Richards] |
 |
9 | RS 7-99813 |
Undercover (Of The Night)
[Mick Jagger / Keith Richards]
Hear the screams in Center 42
Loud enough to bust your brains out
The opposition's tongue is cut in two
Keep off the street 'cause you're in danger
One hundred thousand "disparus"
Lost in the jails in South America
Curl up, baby, curl up tight
Cuddle up, baby, keep all I say
Undercover, keep all I say
Undercover of the night
The sex police are out there on the streets 
Make sure the passed laws are not broken
The race militia has got itchy fingers
All the way from New York back to Africa
Curl up, baby, keep all I say
Cuddle up, baby, keep all I say
Undercover, undercover
Undercover, keep all I say
Undercover of the night
All the young men, they've been rounded up
And sent to camps back in the jungle
And people whisper, people double-talk
Once proud fathers act so humble
All the young girls they have got the blues
They're heading on back to Center 42
Keep it undercover, keep all I say
Undercover, keep all I say
Undercover
Keep all I say
Undercover of the night
Down in the bars, the girls are painted blue
Done up in lace, done up in rubber
The Johns are jerky little G.I. Joes
On R&R from Cuba and Russia
The smell of sex, the smell of suicide
All these dream things I can't keep inside
Undercover, keep all I say
Undercover of the night
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