Labeled a muse, no longer faithful she left a husband to live with the stars, becoming the fifth among four.
Was it sympathy for the devil,
or sex, drugs and rock’n’roll?
She looked like an angel, she sang like an angel, and they spent their nights together.
But… you can’t always get what you want, after five years she was married to drugs. Penniless, left to herself.
I remember her voice. Broken, her English had deepened, and emerging from darkness I imagined her driving through Paris, in a sport car with the warm wind in her hair.
Rising to stardom.
© Rochelle Wisoff-Fields
This image brought me some problems but after reading Rochelle’s entry I thought about the road-kills left in the wake of all successful musicians. Often the women who where said to be muses. I actually listened to Marianne Faithful before I listened to Rolling Stones, and reading her story and her comeback is a great story, but I wanted to share an old video when she was still almost like the fifth member of the famous band. I have weaved in some lyrics and titles into this piece.
Friday Fictioneers is a wonderful group of writers who write 100 word stories to the same picture each week. Rochelle selects the picture and writer the story. Join the fun if you dare.
June 27, 2018
Björn Rudbergs writings 
I think I spotted the lyrics, nicely weaved through a good story.
Thank you… I think I love her versions more actually
When I read that she had gone to live among stars, I thougt at first this was allegorical, and in a way it is
At least it almost became so…
Such a sad story. Roadkill says it well. She has a lovely, soothing voice.
I love that she came back… but with a totally different voice….
Lessons learned, I suppose.
Lovely, I don’t know much about Marianne Faithful but did catch some of the lyrics you wove in.
Truly tragic….
Good post! So sad that they are like shooting stars crashing and burning! One of my favorite songs!
Dwight
Nice Guitars!!
“Roadkill.” What a perfect word choice! It’s heartbreaking how many talented musicians are mowed down on the road to stardom.
So many musicians rose and crashed, still do. Watching the video you attached, one can see the uncertainty in her eyes. I love your references to the songs.
Brilliantly done, Bjorn!
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
“emerging from darkness I imagined her driving through Paris, in a sport car with the warm wind in her hair”
I love that part.
I “stole” that part from The Ballad of Lucy Jordan… text written by Shel Silverstein.
It reminds me of a couple of love songs I like involving a Parisian setting.
Ah that warm wind in the hair in Paris is an image that has stayed with me all these years too. You put it to good use in your poem.
What a vivid image of a rise, fall and re-rise. Lovely!
Clever idea, Bjorn
I loved her work. Particularly the ballad of Lucy Jordan. Thanks for a clever piece involving a trip down memory lane.
“No longer faithful” — nicely done. I especially like the phrasing in your note, of road-kills left behind by successful musicians.
So very well done, Björn. I love how you wove the lyrics in (I recognised them) and didn’t know that Marianne Faithful spent so much time with the Fab Four… Roadkill… an apt description of those used and discarded.
I’m relieved to hear she made a come back, though frankly I know nothing about her.
You have probably heard her version of “the ballad of Lucy Jordan”
Beautifully done!
She is one of the few, very few. A thought-provoking piece indeed.
Click to read my FriFic tale
Dear Björn,
A lyrical and well woven tale. Loved her and that song.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Sad story. I liked the way you weaved Rolling Stones references into it
I never followed the Stones–your piece has made me curious about them and about Marianne.
Excellent. Love the poetic sound and the lyrics woven throughout and the dreamy ending.
The tragedy of success.
A truly great artist and a very interesting take.
A heartfelt beautiful piece. I love her fashion/style but I don’t know much about her music. I must listen to some her stuff sometime. Great read.
I felt Rolling Stones lyrics – and loved the piece even without the fun song connections
🙂 well done
I don’t know Marianne at all. But it’s intriguing. Scary too to think it could end so badly.
What a lovely, if sad, piece. I loved the interwoven lyrics.
she did it. at the end of the day, that was all that mattered.
Marianne Faithfull became an extremely good actress. I saw her in a film not so long ago. And she is immortalised in The Beatles’ “And Your Bird Can Sing”. You don’t get much cooler than that, surely.
Bittersweet. This has a lovely lilting and lyrical quality as she rises, falls and rises again.
There is a lot of tradegy and lost in music. Well told. Loved the way you inserted lines from songs within the piece. Very clever
Very clever to weave lyrics into your story. I really like that idea and enjoyed your bittersweet story.
I guessed who you were talking about as I read the story and recognised the song titles but you did this very well – it wasn’t forced or clunky at all, read very smoothly. You’re right, she had a rough ride with the Stones, especially after that infamous drug raid – she was vilified and as you say, had drug problems, lived rough for a while. A survivor though and I loved your hopeful ending. Great tale Bjorn