Cat Power's 'Satisfaction' — The Misunderstood Lyric That Became a Slow-Burn Classic

Chan Marshall admitted she originally misheard the lyrics of the Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction” — she thought the line was about being unable to get satisfaction with a partner, not about advertising and consumer frustration. That misconception led her to record it as a wounded, almost whispered lament on The Covers Record (2000).

Critics praised the reinvention. Pitchfork called it “a masterclass in deconstruction,” while AllMusic noted that Marshall’s version “drains the song of its righteous anger and replaces it with a hollow, personal ache.” Where the Stones were snarling, Cat Power is simply exhausted — and that difference made the cover a definitive statement of her artistic voice.