When the Rolling Stones recorded As Tears Go By, as iconic a Stones song as they come, they were actually covering their on song. It was written by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and Andrew Loog Oldham in the early 1960s. However, The group was then mainly focused on blue-based music. They wrote the song for Marianne Faithfull to record. Faithfull was an off and on romantic interest of Mick Jagger. Her version was a Top 40 hit on the pop charts but didn’t quite reach the Top 20, peaking at #22. The Stones released their version a year later as part of the album December’s Children (and Everybody’s). The Stones version, darker than Faithfull’s, became very popular on radio stations across the states and it reached no. 9 on The Billboard Hot 100 in 1965.
As Tears Go By: The Original
- The Origin: Written by Jagger, Richards, and Oldham specifically for Marianne Faithfull because the Stones were “too bluesy” for it.
- The Name Change: Originally titled “As Time Goes By,” but changed to avoid a legal clash with the Casablanca classic.
- The Message: A melancholy reflection on aging and the loss of innocence, seeing the world through “tears” instead of “time.”
- The Verdict: While the Stones’ version is more famous, Faithfull’s version captures the “airy” folk-pop vibe that defined the era.
From “As Time Goes By” to a British Invasion Hit
The song was originally meant to be called “As Time Goes By” but the name was changed to As Tears Go By to avoid confusion with the iconic song of the same name in Casablanca, the one that inspired the quote “Play it again, Sam” (even though that was never actually said in the movie.
Marianne Faithfull was not just some woman who Mick Jagger decided to gift a song. She was as big as star as anyone in her own right and an important part of the “British invasion” of the 1960s. She was first discovered by Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham, which is what lead to Jagger, Richards, and Oldham writing the song for her. Her first two albums were both tremendous successes.
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Marianne Faithfull: Beyond the “Jagger’s Muse” Label
Faithfull’s version of “As Tears (Time) Goes By” was more folksy and airy, think Joan Baez meets the Stones and you owe it to yourself to listen to her other material if you are not familiar. Recommended are In My Time of Sorrow, written by Jimmy Page and Jackie DeShannon, This Little Bird, Summer Nights, and Sister Morphine, another one co-written by the Stones. The latter was released two years later by the Stones on their Sticky Fingers album. Her music career came to abrupt halt in the 1960s as she was plagued by drug addiction and severe voice problems.
Faithfull revived her music career in 1979 and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Performance for her album Broken English in 1981, now regarded as her “definitive” recording. She followed up with several more albums and was honored with a Lifetime Achievement award at the 2009 Women’s World Awards. She also had a successful acting career in film, television, and theater, beginning in the late 1960s on until 2023. She died on January 30, 2025 at the age of 78.
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Quick Facts: As Tears Go By
- First Released By: Marianne Faithfull (1964)
- Rolling Stones Version: Released in 1965 on December’s Children (And Everybody’s).
- Songwriters: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Andrew Loog Oldham.
- Chart Peak: #22 (Faithfull), #9 (The Rolling Stones).
- Key Musical Detail: One of the first Stones tracks to feature a string arrangement, marking a shift toward “Baroque Pop.”
🕵️ Frequently Asked Questions: As Tears Go By
Did Marianne Faithfull write “As Tears Go By”?
No, the song was written by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, and their manager Andrew Loog Oldham. While Faithfull didn’t write it, she was the first to record and release it in 1964. She did, however, co-write other Stones classics like “Sister Morphine.”
Is “As Tears Go By” a cover of “As Time Goes By”?
No. While the original title was “As Time Goes By,” the name was changed to avoid confusion with the famous song from the film Casablanca. The two songs are entirely different in both lyrics and melody.
Who is the girl in the “As Tears Go By” video?
The girl in the original 1964 music video and on the single’s cover is Marianne Faithfull herself. At just 17 years old, her “angelic” look and airy vocals were the perfect match for the song’s melancholic tone.
Why did the Rolling Stones give the song away?
In 1964, the Rolling Stones were established as a “tough” R&B and blues group. Jagger and Richards felt the song was too much of a “pretty” ballad for their image at the time, so they gave it to Faithfull to help launch her career.
Did Jimmy Page play on the original version?
Yes. A young Jimmy Page—years before founding Led Zeppelin—was a highly sought-after session musician in London. He played the acoustic 12-string guitar on Marianne Faithfull’s 1964 recording.
Further Reading
- Who Did Hooked on a Feeling First?
- The Arrows: The Original I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll
- Tom Cochrane’s Original Life Is a Highway
- Who Did Unchained Melody First?
- The 1920s Roots of Going Up The Country