About the song, Bill Janovitz says in his review, "Here they were in sunny Jamaica, and the Stones were writing and recording an entirely convincing and evocative picture of a Northern Hemisphere winter.
"[2] It's sure been a hard, hard winter; My feet, they're draggin' 'cross the ground; And I hope it's gonna be a long, hot summer; And the light o' love will be burnin' brightAnd I wish I'd been out in California, When the lights on all the Christmas trees went out; But I been burnin' my bell, book and candle, And the Restoration plays have all gone 'roundRecording began at Kingston's Dynamic Sounds studio in November and continued into December 1972.
Jagger opens the song with the rhythm guitar piece and is accompanied by Taylor's "country-like licks"[2] on lead.
[3] In 2004, British actor Bill Nighy picked "Winter" as his favourite track on the BBC's radio show, Desert Island Discs.
The Rolling Stones Additional personnel Carla Olson and Mick Taylor recorded two versions of "Winter".