Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, "Dancing with Mr. D." is a brooding rocker in line with much of the Stones' funk inspired recordings from the Goats Head Soup era.
[1] Jagger's lyrics allude to either dalliance with a succubus or Death; Down in the graveyard where we have our tryst, The air smells sweet, the air smells sick; He never smiles, his mouth merely twists, The breath in my lungs feels clinging and thick; But I know his name, he's called Mr. D, And one of these days, he's going to set you freeJagger's lyrics are somewhat more self reflective than the devil imagery he adopted since "Sympathy for the Devil".
Billy Preston, who had contributed on a few songs with the Stones in the past, would become a heavy collaborator over the next few albums and here performs clavinet.
Tom Maginnis of Allmusic said of the song that it "can only be viewed as mediocre by the Stones' impossibly high standards by this point.
"[1] Bud Scoppa of Rolling Stone was more critical, calling the song "hopelessly silly" as well as "the weakest opener ever so positioned on one of their albums, and they’ve never performed with less conviction.