Jagger sings in first person narrative as the Devil, who boasts of his role in each of several historical atrocities and repeatedly asks the listener to "guess my name."

In the 2012 documentary Crossfire Hurricane, Jagger stated that his influence for the song came from Baudelaire and from the Russian author Mikhail Bulgakov's novel The Master and Margarita (which had just appeared in English translation in 1967).

The book was given to Jagger by Marianne Faithfull and she confirmed the inspiration in an interview with Sylvie Simmons for the magazine Mojo in 2005.

"[2] It was Keith Richards who suggested changing the tempo and using additional percussion, turning the folk song into a samba.

"[2] By the time Beggars Banquet was released, the Rolling Stones had already caused controversy for sexually forward lyrics such as "Let's Spend the Night Together"[5] and their cover of the Willie Dixon's blues "I Just Want to Make Love to You".

"Sympathy" brought these concerns to the fore, provoking media rumors and fears among some religious groups that the Stones were devil worshippers and a corrupting influence on youth.

Marianne Faithfull, Anita Pallenberg, Brian Jones, Charlie Watts, photographer Michael Cooper, Wyman, and Richards performed backup vocals.

"[12] Hunter S. Thompson and his attorney Oscar Zeta Acosta kept replaying the song hundreds of times during their drug-induced road trip to Las Vegas in 1971 to maintain focus whilst high.

[13] Contrary to a widespread misconception, it was "Under My Thumb" and not "Sympathy for the Devil" that the Stones were performing when Meredith Hunter was killed at the Altamont Free Concert.

[6] Rolling Stone magazine's early articles on the incident typically misreported that the killing took place during "Sympathy for the Devil",[14] but the Stones in fact played "Sympathy for the Devil" earlier in the concert; it was interrupted by a fight and restarted, Jagger commenting, "We're always having – something very funny happens when we start that number."

[9] "Sympathy for the Devil" is considered the band's "ode to madness" by The Washington Post's Paul Schwartzman.

[15] According to authors Philippe Margotin and Jean-Michel Guesdon,[10] except where noted: The Rolling Stones Additional personnel

A depiction of the late 1960s American counterculture, the film primarily featured the Rolling Stones in the process of recording the song in the studio.

However, the song's tapes were saved by Miller before he fled the studio, and Godard kept his cameras rolling capturing the fire on film as it roared on.

Guns N' Roses recorded a cover in 1994 which reached number 55 on the Billboard Hot 100; it was featured in the closing credits of Neil Jordan's film adaptation of Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire and was included on their Greatest Hits album.

[55]This was the band's final single until 2018's "Shadow of Your Love" to feature guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan.