She’s A Rainbow by The Rolling Stones Lyrics Meaning – Unraveling the Chromatic Mystique
Lyrics
She combs her hair
She’s like a rainbow
Coming, colors in the air
Oh, everywhere
She comes in colors
She comes in colors everywhere
She combs her hair
She’s like a rainbow
Coming, colors in the air
Oh, everywhere
She comes in colors
Have you seen her dressed in blue?
See the sky in front of you
And her face is like a sail
Speck of white so fair and pale
Have you seen a lady fairer?
She comes in colors everywhere
She combs her hair
She’s like a rainbow
Coming, colors in the air
Mmm, everywhere
She comes in colors
Have you seen her all in gold?
Like a queen in days of old
She shoots colors all around
Like a sunset going down
Have you seen a lady fairer?
She comes in colors everywhere
She combs her hair
She’s like a rainbow
Coming, colors in the air
Oh, everywhere
She comes in colors
She’s like a rainbow
Coming, colors in the air
Oh, everywhere
She comes in colors
The Rolling Stones have a storied history of penetrating the zeitgeist with their music, delivering tracks that meld the grit of blues with the heart of rock ‘n’ roll. Amidst their discography of hard-hitting songs lies a tune that shines with a different hue: ‘She’s A Rainbow.’
Laced with a baroque pop sensibility that was atypical for the Stones, ‘She’s A Rainbow’ offers a kaleidoscopic view into not just a woman’s allure but reflects the psychedelic era’s fascination with the vibrant and the transcendent. Let’s peel back the layers of this colorful masterpiece.
Spectral Seduction: ‘She Comes in Colors Everywhere’
The refrain ‘She comes in colors everywhere’ is not just a recurring line; it’s an incantation, invoking the very essence of the song’s subject. The imagery is vivid, painting the woman not just as visually striking, but as a being whose presence is as elemental and varied as color itself.
The repetition becomes a mantra, and we, the listeners, are serenaded into a world where the muse, shrouded in spectral allure, serenely dominates every inch of the environment. It isn’t merely a description; it’s an elevation of the feminine to something near cosmic in its scope.
The Psychedelic Palette: A Symphony of Color
The musical arrangement of ‘She’s A Rainbow’ is its own prismatic display, with a mellotron and piano crafting an ebullient and almost whimsical atmosphere. This mix of orchestral and rock elements taps into the zeitgeist of the ’60s, where experimentation with different sounds paralleled the era’s quest for new experiences and perception expansion.
The Stones managed to distill the ethos of psychedelia — not through distortion and electric frenzy, but through melody, harmony, and a delicate dabbing of classical influence. It’s a departure that turned the usual Rolling Stones’ canvas into something more Pierre-Auguste Renoir than Pablo Picasso.
Veiled Virtue: Seeking the Hidden Meaning
Is ‘She’s A Rainbow’ merely an innocent celebration of a vibrant woman, or is there an underlying depth? Some have posited that the ‘colors’ represent different facets of femininity or perhaps different emotions that she inspires. Others perceive it as a song veiled in drug euphoria — with ‘colors’ representing psychedelic experiences.
There might also be an allegory at play, where the woman symbolizes the era’s burst of creativity and liberation. She is a walking canvas, a representation of the freedom that was pushed forward by the sexual revolution and the counterculture’s rainbow flag of diversity and acceptance.
Lyrical Canvas: The Song’s Most Memorable Lines
When the Stones inquire, ‘Have you seen her all in gold? Like a queen in days of old,’ they’re not conjuring the image of a distant monarch but rather pointing to timeless beauty. This lends the woman an eternal quality, placing her beyond contemporary understanding and into the realm of legend.
And as ‘she shoots colors all around, like a sunset going down,’ one can’t help but surrender to the image of an ephemeral beauty that, while it may fade with the day, promises to return with just as much majesty. These lines etch indelible colors onto the canvas of listeners’ imaginations.
A Chromatic Narrative: Interpreting Through the Decades
With its release in 1967, ‘She’s A Rainbow’ tapped into the variegated tapestry of an evolving cultural narrative. Over the decades, it has been reinterpreted through the lenses of evolving gender roles, the passage of the torch from one generation to another, and the changing complexion of pop culture itself.
In today’s digital age, where the personal is broadcasted and curated in dazzling filters and hues, ‘She’s A Rainbow’ resonates as a prescient anthem of our times — honoring the multifaceted individual who paints their own world with the bold strokes of identity and self-expression.
