Music Blog, Song, Theme Prompt, Writing Prompts

Satisfaction

Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

Written for Song Lyric Sunday –
“The Psychic Apparatus”
This is my response to the challenge.

This week at Jim Adams’ Song Lyric Sunday, the theme is “The Psychic Apparatus”. Our challenge is to write about a song related to Freud’s id exhibiting instinctual drives that seek immediate pleasure or gratification without regard for reality. Talk about a can of worms! There are so many different topics that fit this theme, from the salacious and sexual to the sentimental and saccharine. Here’s the direction I took.

Image by Me & ChatGPT

“Under My Thumb” is a song by the Rolling Stones, written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, and released on their 1966 studio album Aftermath. The track marked a shift toward the band’s original compositions, as Aftermath was their first album featuring entirely self-written material. Though not issued as a single in the UK or US, the song became a concert staple and is ranked among the Rolling Stones’ most enduring tracks for its raw energy and rhythmic drive.

The lyrics describe the narrator’s satisfaction in gaining dominance over a previously assertive female partner, whom he likens to a “Siamese cat” and “squirming dog,” reflecting themes of relational power reversal drawn from Jagger’s own sexual experiences. This perspective has sparked ongoing debate, with critics labeling it misogynistic for endorsing control over women, while Jagger has rejected such readings, stating that “the whole idea [of feminist uproar] is absurd” and emphasizing the song’s basis in personal dynamics rather than advocacy. Despite the controversy, the song’s musical innovation and cultural impact have sustained its legacy, influencing covers by artists like the Who and Del Shannon, and cementing its place in rock history as a provocative piece of 1960s counterculture.

During the Stones’ performance at the Altamont Free Concert on December 6, 1969, at Altamont Speedway in Livermore, CA, “Under My Thumb” was playing when 18-year-old attendee Meredith Hunter, who was there with his girlfriend Patty Bredehoft, was fatally stabbed by Hells Angels member Alan Passaro. The event, intended as a West Coast counterpart to Woodstock with an estimated 300,000 attendees, devolved into chaos due to inadequate organization, overcrowding, and the decision to hire Hells Angels as security in exchange for $500 worth of beer, leading to widespread violence throughout the day. As the band took the stage around 8:00 p.m. amid escalating fights near the stage, Mick Jagger attempted to address the crowd’s aggression by urging everyone to “sit down, relax and be cool”. Hunter’s stabbing was captured in the documentary “Gimme Shelter” and shows Hunter …. described in autopsy reports as under the influence of methamphetamines …. approaching the stage, pulling a .22-caliber revolver from his jacket, and being tackled and stabbed by Passaro. Passaro claimed self-defense and was acquitted on August 12, 1971. The timing of the incident during “Under My Thumb” has since been invoked in analyses of Altamont as emblematic of the counterculture’s collapse, though links to the song’s lyrics remain interpretive rather than evidentiary, with violence predating and outlasting the performance.

An article in the Courier-Journal in 1971 considered the song among the “worst picture[s] of women … where sexual exploitation reaches unique heights.” Writing for the Lincoln Gazette in 1972, musician/journalist Dave Downing noted the concerns raised but considered stereotyping and oversimplification to be “very difficult to avoid” in rock music, calling “Under My Thumb” a “piece of art, not social doctrine”.

This is “Under My Thumb” by the Rolling Stones

“Under My Thumb” live from Altamont

The Psychic Apparatus

Big thanks to Jim Adams for hosting another great Song Lyric Sunday this week and every week. Be sure to follow the link and check out Jim’s site.

Thanks for stopping by and listening to some great music. I hope you enjoyed the theme for this week as well as the information and song I featured.

That’s all she wrote, kids. See you on the flip side. 😎

NAR©2026

Everything on The Elephant’s Trunk was created by me, unless otherwise indicated. Thank you for your consideration. NAR©2017-present.

32 thoughts on “Satisfaction”

  2. I hadn’t heard this one in a long time, so it was good to hear today. Good music, kind of sad though the lyrics are saying it’s good to have such control over another person. I do remember hearing about the Altamont concert back then. So terrible that things like this happen, even more recently when there are mass shootings, or crowds crushing others. Concerts are fun, but dangerous places sometimes. 🙂

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    1. Very true Barbara, and this kind of thing can happen in the blink of an eye. I remember being a little afraid the next time we went to a concert; something like that can stay with people for a while. Yes, the the lyrics are harsh, but I think a lot of songwriters do that intentionally …. the shock and awe mentality. It’s a great Stones’ song and I’m really glad you enjoyed hearing it again. Thanks very much.

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  3. “Under My Thumb” is one of my favorite early Rolling Stones songs. I won’t get into the lyrics – let’s just say they probably would generate a firestorm nowadays. The Altamont incident is horrible and it bordered on a near-miracle that nothing more happened. You also have to wonder whether the organizers were on drugs when they asked the Hells Angels to provide security!

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    1. I guess $500 in beer was quite the incentive back in 1969! You raise some valid points, Christian. As avid concert goes back then, we were understandably concerned about the Altamont incident escalating. This song has always been one of my favorite Stones’ tunes, regardless of the lyrics. Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts today; I’m glad to know you enjoyed my SLS post.

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    1. Yes, one really needs to question the judgment call regarding security! It’s true ….. You can always count on the Stones; they are the “bad boys of R&R” and the masters of the provocative. Thanks very much, Marina.

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  5. I remember the first time I heard this song I loved it. To me, even though in this case it is a guy singing about a girl, it can easily be adapted to the other way around, with same sex relationships, etc. It’s a power dynamic that shifts. I think most people can connect to situations like this in their own lives, and it doesn’t even have to be sexual.

    Great choice, and excellent write-up, Nancy! I knew Jim’s prompt would be bringing out some good tunes.

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  6. What a great pick Nancy! I have always loved this song and I am happy to hear it today. At first glance I thought you’d picked Satisfaction. Although it matched the prompt it was too easy. So you were most clever in going with this one. It so fits the prompt. You are always entertianing my friend 🥰 ❤️

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    1. Thank you so much for your delightful and complementary comments, Christine. I’m so glad you enjoyed my song choice; I have always loved this song and I’ve never been put off by the topic! I guess you could say this is my MO, or what I like to call the Sicilian Curveball, where I keep my friends on their toes by using one song as my title and another as my response. It’s great fun as well as a challenge for me. Thanks again, my friend; I value your opinions and always appreciate your comments. ❤️ 🎵

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  7. Male chauvinism is a learned behavior and not a primal impulse, but I loved your choice today, Nancy and it was great to be able to hear this again. As you pointed out in your post, this song should not be stereotyped or oversimplified, as Mick probably didn’t write it that way. No song wants to be associated with the Altamont concert as this was the end of the love and peace that was prevalent at the Monterey Pop Festival, and Woodstock.

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    1. Don’t tell anybody, Jim, but I had two very different posts ready to go today. The second one is still sitting in my drafts. I didn’t think the response to this theme had to be of a sexual nature and I was undecided which post to go with. I literally did a coin toss and “Under My Thumb” won. Maybe later today I’ll publish the other post; still undecided. I may be wrong, but I have a feeling today’s turn out may not be as a great as other SLS challenges as I believe it may be a touchy or confusing theme for some. We’ll see. Thanks for sharing your thoughts; I appreciate you.

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  11. Altamont was such a rock tragedy. I am so glad it wasn’t the beginning of a trend. On that sad note. I love what you have done here- the song the backstory and the amazing graphic! It makes me think Women in the 80’s we might have been wearing the collar- but you better damn believe we were also calling the shots! hehehe

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    1. Altamont was very scary for us and it didn’t matter that it was on the other side of the country. A terrible footnote in music history. The 80s were “interesting”; funny how I just remembered having an outfit just like that one! Fun times 🤣.

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