"Paint It Black" is one of those great singles that hooks you in the first 10 seconds. Brian Jones's opening sitar lines are so distinctive, then the pounding Charlie Watts drum lines come in with Keith Richards' acoustic guitar strum, and then you get the provocative first line from Mick Jagger "I see a red door and it want it painted black." Boom that's a great rock song, both in 1966 and today.
Reportedly Richards wrote the music and Jagger the lyrics, which were about a girl's funeral.
The song went to number 1 on the charts and has stood the test of time well in my opinion.
I found a well recorded live version from 1990. Richards does a good job recreating the drama of the opening without the sitar, but overall this version sounds less sinister to me, which I always found a major part of the song's appeal. Still, a good version:
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