Travellin' Man: The Rolling Stones' lost Exile outtake about a wandering musician

Recorded during the chaotic 1971–72 sessions at Nellcôte in the South of France, “Travellin’ Man” was one of dozens of outtakes left off Exile on Main St. The lyrics paint a wandering musician moving from town to town — “I’m a travellin’ man, I’ve made a lot of stops / I’m a travellin’ man, I’ve played a lot of spots” — a theme that didn’t fit the album’s denser, more gnarled narratives about dope, exile, and redemption.

The track stayed in the vaults until 2010, when the Stones assembled a deluxe edition of Exile on Main St. for its 40th anniversary (released May 2010). Alongside ten other unreleased songs, “Travellin’ Man” was dusted off, remixed, and sequenced into the bonus disc. It’s a loose, piano-driven shuffle with Mick Jagger’s vocal slightly off-mic, capturing the raw, boozy atmosphere of those sessions.