For this week’s Thursday Inspiration prompt, Jim Adams said we could respond to this challenge by either using the prompt word “know,” or going with the above picture, any by means of a song that is about emancipation freeing someone from the control of another, or by going with anything else we think fits.

I’m responding to this prompt in two ways. First, I’m focusing on the title, “Feeling Good,” and the line in the image, “A man’s got to know his limitations.”

We are one-third of the way through April, a month that I have dubbed my recuperation month. So far, all things considered, I am feeling pretty good. At the same time, I need to be cognizant of my limitations. I’m still under restrictive movement guidelines known colloquially as “No BLT,” where B stands for bending, L for lifting, and T for twisting. Unfortunately, the better I feel, the harder it is for me to remember to not bend, lift, or twist.

I have an appointment with the surgeon’s physcian’s assistant (PA) tomorrow. I will be getting x-rays and am hoping that the “No BLT” restrictions will be lifted and that I’ll be approved to get behind the wheel of the car and drive again, which I haven’t done since early November of last year.

No matter what the PA says, I will still have some limitations on what I can and can’t do as long as I’m undergoing physical therapy for the next few months. And I can deal with that.

Jim also talked about responding with a song about freeing someone from the control of another. And the song that popped into my head was the classic from the Rolling Stones, “Under My Thumb.”

Being “under one’s thumb” means to be under someone else’s control. This song is an examination of a sexual power struggle, in which the lyrics celebrate the success of finally having controlled and gained leverage over a previously pushy, dominating woman. Now, she is under his thumb and referred to as the “sweetest pet in the world.”

Some feminist groups found the song quite offensive. In a 1984 interview, Jagger explained: “The whole idea was that I was under HER thumb; she was kicking ME around. So the whole concept is absurd; all I did was turn the tables around. Women interpreted that as being against femininity, while in reality, it was meant to convey a sense of ‘getting back’ against being a repressed male.”

Here are the lyrics to “Under My Thumb.”

Under my thumb
The girl who once had me down
Under my thumb
The girl who once pushed me around

It's down to me
The difference in the clothes she wears
Down to me, the change has come
She's under my thumb

And ain't it the truth babe?

Under my thumb
It's a squirmin' dog who's just had her day
Under my thumb
A girl who has just changed her ways

It's down to me
Yes it is
The way she does just what she's told down to me
The change has come
She's under my thumb
Ah, ah, say it's alright

Under my thumb
It's a Siamese cat of a girl
Under my thumb
She's the sweetest, hmmm, pet in the world

It's down to me
The way she talks when she's spoken to
Down to me, the change has come
She's under my thumb
Ah, take it easy babe
Yeah

It's down to me, oh yeah
The way she talks when she's spoken to
Down to me, the change has come
She's under my thumb
Yeah, it feels alright

Under my thumb
Her eyes are just kept to herself
Under my thumb, well I
I can still look at someone else

It's down to me, oh that's what I said
The way she talks when she's spoken to
Down to me, the change has come
She's under my thumb
Say, it's alright

Say it's all
Say it's all

Take it easy babe
Take it easy babe
Feels alright
Take it, take it easy babe