Under My Thumb
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"Under My Thumb" is a song written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards for The Rolling Stones. Though its first appearance was as an album track on 1966's Aftermath, and it was never released as a single, it is was one of the band's more popular songs from the period and probably the most well-known Aftermath track, appearing frequently on best-of compilations.
Lyrics
The song's lyrics, an examination of a sexual power struggle, were very much in tune with the rebellious, vaguely misogynistic attitude that the mid-'60s Stones had cultivated, though the concept of "Under My Thumb" is arguably more sophisticated--even psychological--than any of the other sexist, put-down songs the Stones had released up to that point.
Jagger's lyrics celebrate the satisfaction of finally having controlled and gained leverage over a previously pushy, dominating woman. The lyrics, which savor the successful "taming of the shrew" with glee (comparing the woman in question to a "pet" and a "cat"), definitely provoked negative reactions among some listeners, especially feminists, who objected to the suppressive sexual politics of the male narrator. It can be reasonably argued, however, that the song is a vignette, or simply an examination of sexual malevolence and tension, and that the maliciousness of both the lyrics and Jagger's performance is theatrical and doesn't seriously advocate male domination. Many listeners also note that the woman who is the subject of the song was previously the dominant figure in the relationship, and that the narrator was originally submissive to her, making the implications of the song more complicated than simple chauvinism. Jagger later reflected on the track in a 1995 interview: "It's a bit of a jokey number, really. It's not really an anti-feminist song any more than any of the others.... Yes, it's a caricature, and it's in reply to a girl who was a very pushy woman."
Music
Like many of songs from the Aftermath period, "Under My Thumb" uses more novel instrumentation than had featured on previous Stones records, including swishing fuzz bass lines (probably played by Bill Wyman), and, more notably, the Brian Jones-played marimba riffs, which provide the song's most prominent hook and underscore the tune's inescapable groove. Melodically, the song--like the Aftermath album as a whole--shows the Stones incorporating pop and early psychedelic influences while remaining grounded in black, moody R&B.External links
- [Lyrics]
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