The lyrics to the song, difficult to hear since the vocals were mixed very low, describe subjective dissociation, as if from intravenous drug injection.

The song features a sudden divergence near the two minute fifteen second mark into a psychedelic jam of sorts, with Mick Jagger's vocals electronically distorted and phased, and the guitar chords stretched.

I feel so hypnotized, can't describe the scene It's all mesmerized, all that inside me The sunshine bores the daylights out of me Chasing shadows, moonlight mystery The song also contained an early use of the word "fuck" in recorded popular music, with the lyric: "Plug in, flush out and fight and fuck and feed", a reference to the four Fs.

Jimmy Miller produced the track, and it features session men Nicky Hopkins on piano, Jim Price on brass, and Bobby Keys on saxophone, as well as regular band members Jagger (lead vocals), Richards (backing vocals, guitar), Charlie Watts (drums), Mick Taylor (guitar), and Bill Wyman (bass).

AllMusic critic Jason Ankeny claims that the song "perfectly sets the mood for what's to follow – murky, gritty, and menacingly raw, its strung-out incoherence captures the record's debauched brilliance with marble-mouthed eloquence.