Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, "Rip This Joint" is one of the fastest songs in the Stones' catalogue, with a pronounced rockabilly feel.
Jagger's breakneck delivery of the song's lines spells out a rambling tale set across America from the perspective of a foreigner.
Though the band most likely did not sit down and preconceive it as such, the record seems to set out to cover nothing less than the wide-open spaces of America itself via the nation's music – from urban soul to down-home country to New Orleans jazz.
[2]Recording began in late 1971 at Richards' rented home in France, Villa Nellcôte, using the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio.
American pop punk band Green Day has performed the song on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.