<P> In his review of the song, Richie Unterberger of AllMusic said: "If you buy John Lennon's observation that the Rolling Stones were apt to copy the Beatles' innovations within a few months or so,' You Can't Always Get What You Want' is the Rolling Stones' counterpart to' Hey Jude' ." Jagger said in 1969, "I liked the way the Beatles did that with' Hey Jude' . The orchestra was not just to cover everything up--it was something extra . We may do something like that on the next album ." </P> <P> The three verses (and the varied theme of the fourth verse) address major topics of the 1960s: love, politics, and drugs . Each verse captures the essence of the initial optimism and eventual disillusion, followed by the resigned pragmatism of the chorus . </P> <P> Unterberger ebalorated: </P> <P> Much has been made of the lyrics reflecting the end of the overlong party that was the 1960s, as a snapshot of Swinging London burning out . That's a valid interpretation, but it should also be pointed out that there's also an uplifting and reassuring quality to the melody and performance . This is particularly true of the key lyrical hook, when we are reminded that we can't always get what we want, but we'll get what we need . </P>

Who sing you can't always get what you want