Rolling Stones Release New Song, "Living in a Ghost Town"

The COVID-19 quarantine has led many artists to postpone the release of forthcoming albums, but today the Rolling Stones surprised us by doing the opposite and giving us an early peek at new music with the aptly titled “Living in a Ghost Town.”

The song, which was written over a year ago by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, is the band’s first original material since 2012. (In 2016, they released the blues cover album Blues & Lonesome.) Jagger told Zane Lowe that once the pandemic hit, he knew he had to tweak the song.

“Keith Richards and I both had the idea that we should release it,” he said. “But I said, ‘Well I’ve got to rewrite it.’ Some of it is not going to work and some of it was a bit weird and a bit too dark. So I slightly rewrote it. I didn’t have to rewrite very much, to be honest. It’s very much how I originally did it.”

“So the Stones were in the studio recording some new material before the lockdown and there was one song we thought would resonate through the times that we’re living in right now,” the frontman added in a press release. “We’ve worked on it in isolation. And here it is – It’s called ‘Living in Ghost Town’ – I hope you like it.”

Keith Richards issued a statement about the track as well, saying, “So, let’s cut a long story short. We cut this track well over a year ago in L.A. for part of a new album, an ongoing thing, and then shit hit the fan Mick and I decided this one really needed to go to work right now and so here you have it , ‘Living in a Ghost Town.’ Stay safe!”

“I enjoyed working on this track,” drummer Charlie Watts — ever to-the-point — added. “I think it captures a mood and I hope people who listen to it will agree.”

You can listen to “Living in a Ghost Town” below and see whether or not you agree.