I saw her today at the reception 
glass of wine in her hand 
I knew she was gonna meet her connection 
At her feet was a footloose man 

You can't always get what you want 
You can't always get what you want 
You can't always get what you want 
But if you try sometimes well you might find 
You get what you need 

And I went down to the demonstration 
To get my fair share of abuse 
Singing, "We're gonna vent our [bad word] 
If we don't we're gonna blow a 50-amp fuse" 

You can't always get what you want 
You can't always get what you want 
You can't always get what you want 
But if you try sometimes well you just might find 
You get what you need 

I went down to the Chelsea [bad word] 
To get your prescription filled 
I was standing in line with Mr. Jimmy 
And man, did he look pretty ill 
We decided that we would have a soda 
My favorite flavor, cherry red 
I sung my song to Mr. Jimmy 
Yeah, and he said one word to me, and that was "dead" 
I said to him 

You can't always get what you want 
You can't always get what you want 
You can't always get what you want 
But if you try sometimes you just might find 
You get what you need 

You get what you need--yeah, oh baby 

I saw her today at the reception 
In her glass was a bleeding man 
She was practiced at the art of deception 
Well I could tell by her blood-stained hands 

You can't always get what you want 
You can't always get what you want 
You can't always get what you want 
But if you try sometimes you just might find 
You just might find 
You get what you need 

You can't always get what you want 
You can't always get what you want 
You can't always get what you want 
But if you try sometimes you just might find 
You just might find 
You get what you need