[MD Expat in PA]

Since the song Under My Thumb was written in 1966, Mick may very well have no mental or emotional association with that song to his late girlfriend L'Wren Scott or to anyone in particular at this point in time anymore. If the Stones were to have removed the song from their concert playlist, it might make more sense (although not much more IMO) to remove it because that was the song they were playing when Meredith Hunter was stabbed to death by the Hells Angels at Altamont.

Yes his late girlfriend was a fashion designer but the lyrics in question say:

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

I take that as being the girl in question wears the clothes he tells her to wear because “she’s under his thumb”. If the lyrics said the “the difference in the clothes she designs” you might have more of a point.

Jagger once said, "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".

I always heard the lyrics to that song as a guy who is more fantasizing about getting a girl under his thumb than actually having one under his thumb, and in a rather sad and pathetic way BTW.

That is the thing about songs and song lyrics, we often put into them our own point of view and view and hear them in terms of our own life experiences which sometimes are vastly different from that of the song writer.

[Albion Wilde]

Since the song Under My Thumb was written in 1966, Mick may very well have no mental or emotional association with that song to his late girlfriend L'Wren Scott...

Of course. But if I, who has followed his career since 1966, could have that kind of visceral reaction to hearing it again, maybe it would be wise for him to avoid the stress of stepping into this particular emotional arena by editing the playlist for the upcoming tour to which he is under contract on pain of forfeiting $10 million if he does not appear.

I was at a Randy Newman concert once, sitting in the front row, when he broke into tears after starting to sing "I Think It's Going to Rain Today." I heard that he had a friend who had recently died. He had to leave the stage for a few moments, during which the audience murmered and grew restless.

That is the thing about songs and song lyrics, we often put into them our own point of view and view and hear them in terms of our own life experiences which sometimes are vastly different from that of the song writer.

True. And that is why controversy often arises when none was intended. So it would be good to steer clear of unintended ghoulishness for the sake of his own peace of mind. He's not a young guy any more. The concert tour will be grueling enough without stirring the pot unnecessarily. Then there is the stress of rehearsing the song with no audience present, but one's best friends are there. And then there is the temptation of his being a recovering drug/alcohol abuser, which grief can resurrect.