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Rolling Stones Quotes: Keith Richards and Mick Jagger on Under My Thumb and songs putting girls down

Keith: “Songs like Under My Thumb and Stupid Girl were all a spin-off from our environment… hotels, and too many dumb chicks. Not all dumb, not by any means, but that’s how one got. Brian was still fantastic making records, because he was so versatile. I mean, he’d have marimbas – which is why you have marimbas on Under My Thumb – or dulcimer, sitar. He kind of lost interest in guitar, in a way. But at the same time he added all of that other color, those other instruments and other ideas. He was an incredibly inventive musician.”

Mick: “There was one song that was particularly chosen as an anti-women thing, which was Under My Thumb. And actually Under My Thumb – how does it go… (sings) ‘Under my thumb, there’s a girl who once had ME down’. So the whole idea was that she – that I was under HER, she was kicking ME around. So the whole idea is absurd, all I did was turn the tables around. So women took that to be… against femininity where in reality it was… trying to ‘get back’, you know, against being a ‘repressed male’. This was a long time ago… (laughs)”

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Flipping the Script: Jagger’s Under My Thumb Defense

Mick Jagger offers a surprising take on Under My Thumb, a song often slammed as anti-female. He argues it’s actually about turning the tables on a woman who previously had him “down.” According to Jagger, the lyrics reflect a man trying to “get back” against feeling repressed. This flips the usual interpretation, suggesting the song isn’t misogynistic, but a playful reversal of power dynamics from a long-ago perspective.

Behind the Riff: Keith on Under My Thumb and “Dumb Chicks“

Keith Richards sheds light on the origins of songs like Under My Thumb and Stupid Girl, attributing them to the band’s environment of hotels and, occasionally, “too many dumb chicks.” While acknowledging not all women fit that description, he admits to the prevailing sentiment. This raw, unvarnished insight paints a picture of the Stones’ world at the time, offering a gritty context to some of their more controversial lyrics.

Brian Jones’ Genius: Adding Color and Invention

Beyond the lyrical controversies, Richards also celebrates Brian Jones’s inventive genius during these recording sessions. Jones, known for his incredible versatility, brought a wealth of unconventional instruments to the studio – from marimbas (the distinctive sound on Under My Thumb) to dulcimers and sitars. Richards notes that while Brian’s interest in guitar waned, his knack for adding unique sonic textures and innovative ideas was “fantastic” and “incredibly inventive,” enriching the Stones’ sound in unexpected ways.

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