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The Who - Pure And Easy
The Who - Pure And Easy


The Who - Pure And Easy Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: Who's Next
Released: 1971

Pure And Easy Lyrics


There once was a note, Pure And Easy,
Playing so free, like a breath rippling by
The note is eternal, I hear it, it sees me,
Forever we blend it, forever we die

I listened and I heard music in a word,
And words when you played your guitar,
The noise that I was hearing was a million people cheering,
And a child flew past me riding in a star

As people assemble,
Civilization is trying to find a new way to die,
But killing is really merely scene changer,
All men are bored with other men's lies

I listened and I heard music in a word,
And words when you played your guitar,
The noise that I was hearing was a million people cheering,
And a child flew past me riding in a star

Gas on the hillside, oil in the teacup,
Watch all the chords of life lose their joy,
Distortion becomes somehow pure in it's wildness,
The note that began all can also destroy

We all know success when we all find our own dreams,
And our love is enough to knock down any walls,
And the future's been seen as men try to realize,
The simple secret of the note in us all, in us all

I listened and I heard music in a word,
And words when you played your guitar,
The noise that I was hearing was a million people cheering,
And a child flew past me riding in a star

There once was a note, listen
There once was a note, listen
There once was a note, listen
There once was a note, listen
There once was a note, listen
There once was a note, listen
There once was a note, listen
There once was a note, listen
There once was a note, listen
There once was a note, listen
There once was a note, listen
There once was a note, listen
There once was a note, listen

Writer/s: PETER DENNIS BLANDFOR TOWNSHEND
Publisher: EMI Music Publishing, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Spirit Music Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Pure And Easy
  • At the end of this song, Pete Townshend says, "Put away the girly magazine!"

  • The Who - Trick Of The Light
    The Who - Trick Of The Light


    The Who - Trick Of The Light Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: Who Are You?
    Released: 1978

    Trick Of The Light Lyrics


    Trick Of The Light
  • Who bass player John Entwistle wrote this song about a man who believes a hooker loves him, at least until his time is up.
  • The guitar-like assault throughout is actually Entwistle's heavily distorted eight-string Alembic bass.

  • The Who - The Real Me
    The Who - The Real Me


    The Who - The Real Me Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: Quadrophenia
    Released: 1973

    The Real Me Lyrics


    Can you see The Real Me?
    Can ya?
    Can ya?

    I went back to the doctor
    To get another shrink
    I sit and tell him bout my weekend
    But he never betrays what he thinks

    Can you see the real me, Doctor?
    Doctor?
    Can you see the real me, Doctor?
    Woah, Doctor!

    I went back to my mother
    I said "I'm crazy ma, help me"
    She said "I know how it feels son
    Cause it runs in the family"

    Can you see the real me, Mama?
    Mama?
    Can you see the real me, Mama?
    Woah, Mama!

    Can you see
    Can you see
    Can you see the real me?
    Can you see
    Can you see the real me
    The real me
    The real me

    The cracks between the paving stones
    Look like rivers of flowing veins
    Strange people who know me
    Peeping from behind every window pane
    The girl I used to love
    Lives in this yellow house
    Yesterday she passed me by
    She doesn't want to know me now

    Can you see the real me?
    Can ya?
    Can ya?
    Can you see the real me?
    Can ya?
    Woah, yeah!

    I ended up with a preacher
    Full of lies and hate
    I seemed to scare him a little
    So he showed me to the golden gate

    Can you see the real me, preacher?
    Preacher?
    Can you see the real me, preacher?
    Preacher?

    Can you see
    Can you see
    Can you see
    Woah

    Can you see the real me, Doctor?

    Can you see the real me, Ma?

    Can you see the real me?

    Writer/s: PETER TOWNSHEND
    Publisher: ABKCO MUSIC INC PETE TOWNSHEND CATALOG, FABULOUS MUSIC LTD, SPIRIT MUSIC GROUP
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    The Real Me
  • This is about how a Mod can't see who he really is. "Mods" were British youth who kept up with the latest music and fashion trends. Pete Townshend was a champion of Mod culture, and the rock opera Quadrophenia told the story of a Mod named Jimmy.
  • John Entwistle gave what many consider one of his greatest bass performances on this song. In a 1996 interview with Goldmine magazine, Entwistle explained that he recorded it in one take. He was just "joking around" when he played it, but the band thought it was great and used it in the final version.

  • The Who - A Quick One While He's Away
    The Who - A Quick One While He's Away


    The Who - A Quick One While He's Away Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: A Quick One
    Released: 1966

    A Quick One While He's Away Lyrics


    Her mans been gone, for nigh on a year
    He was due home yesterday, but he ain't here
    Her mans been gone, for nigh on a year
    He was due home yesterday, but he ain't here
    Down your street, your crying is a well known sound
    Your street is very well known. throughout your town
    Your town is very famous for the little girl
    Whose crying can be heard all around the world
    We have a remedy, you'll appreciate
    No need to be so sad, he's only late
    We'll bring you flowers and things
    Help pass your time
    We'll give him eagles wings
    Then he can fly to you
    La la la la la la
    La la la la la
    La la la la la la
    La la la la la
    La la la la la la
    La la la la la
    La la la la la la
    La la la la la
    We have a remedy
    Fa la la la la la la
    We have a remedy
    Fa la la la la la la
    We have a remedy
    Fa la la la la la la
    We have a remedy
    Fa la la la la la la
    We have a remedy?
    We have!
    Little girl guide
    Why don't you stop your crying
    Here comes Ivor the dirty old sooty engine driver to make you feel all right
    Yeah, yeah!
    My name is Ivor, I'm an engine driver
    I know him well, I know why you feel blue
    Just cause he's late, don't mean he'll never get through
    He told me he loved you
    He ain't no liar, I ain't either
    So let's have a smile for an old engine driver
    Let's have a smile for an old engine driver
    Soon be home
    Soon be home
    We'll soon,
    We'll soon, soon, soon be home
    Soon be home
    Soon be home oh yeah
    We'll soon,
    We'll soon, soon, soon be home
    Soon be home
    Soon be home
    Dang, dang, dang, dang
    Dang, dang, dang, dang
    Cello, cello, cello, cello
    Cello, cello, cello, cello
    Cello, cello, cello, cello
    Cello, cello, cello, cello
    I can't believe it
    Do my eyes deceive me
    Am I back in your arms
    Away from all harm
    It's like a dream to be with you again
    Aw!
    Can't believe that I'm with you again
    Ba ba, bo bo ba ba, ba ba
    I missed you and I must admit
    I've kissed a few and once did sit
    On Ivor the engine driver's lap
    And later with him had a nap
    You are forgiven
    You are forgiven
    You are forgiven
    You are forgiven
    Know you're forgiven
    Come on baby, baby forgiven
    Know that you lied
    Know you're forgiven
    Know that you made me cry
    Baby
    You are forgiven
    You know you're forgiven
    You're all forgiven!

    Writer/s: PETER TOWNSHEND
    Publisher: T.R.O. INC.
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    A Quick One While He's Away
  • The Who had 10 minutes left to fill on the LP. Kit Lambert, The Who's manager, suggested to Pete Townshend that he write "something linear... perhaps a 10 minute song." Townshend responded by saying that rock songs are "2:50 by tradition!" Lambert then told Townshend that he should write a 10 minute story comprised of 2:50 songs.
  • The song was a "mini-opera," paving the way for the other mini-opera "Rael" and eventually full length rock operas Tommy and Quadrophenia.
  • The plot of the story is simple. A girl is sad that her boyfriend is away. Her friends suggest that she take a substitute lover, Ivor The Engine Driver. When the boyfriend returns, she confesses her infidelity and is forgiven.
  • The Who performed this on the Rolling Stones Rock And Roll Circus, which was going to be a TV special. It never aired on television but it was released on VHS in 1996 and DVD in 2004. The Who's performance of this was included in The Kids Are Alright, a 1979 film about The Who.
  • According to legend, Rock And Roll Circus didn't air because the Rolling Stones felt that they were showed up by The Who. Jethro Tull, Taj Mahal, Marianne Faithful, John Lennon, Eric Clapton, and Mitch Mitchell all appeared on Rock And Roll Circus.
  • A live version of this song appears on Live At Leeds and the soundtrack for The Kids Are Alright.
  • The Who wanted to put Cellos on the track but Kit Lambert said they couldn't afford it. So they sang "cello, cello, cello, cello," where the Who thought they should go.
  • This was used in the Wes Anderson film Rushmore starring Jason Shwartzman and Bill Murray.

  • The Who - I'm Free
    The Who - I'm Free


    The Who - I'm Free Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: Tommy
    Released: 1969

    I'm Free Lyrics


    [Tommy:]
    I'm Free- I'm free,
    And freedom tastes of reality,
    I'm free-I'm free,
    AN' I'm waiting for you to follow me.

    If I told you what it takes
    to reach the highest high,
    You'd laugh and say 'nothing's that simple'
    But you've been told many times before
    Messiahs pointed to the door
    And no one had the guts to leave the temple!

    I'm free-I'm free
    And freedom tastes of reality
    I'm free-I'm free
    And I'm waiting for you to follow me.

    [Chorus:]
    How can we follow?
    How can we follow?

    Writer/s:
    Publisher: ABKCO MUSIC INC, FABULOUS MUSIC LTD, SPIRIT MUSIC GROUP
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    I'm Free
  • This was part of The Who's Rock Opera Tommy. Tommy is free because his mother smashed the mirror that he was kind of trapped in. He always gazed at his reflection and this was the only thing he could really see. Now Tommy wants his disciples to follow him ("How can we follow?") and says he's their Messiah.
  • Pete Townshend wrote Tommy, but their manager, Kit Lambert, deserves some of the credit for the idea. Lambert's father was a conductor and fairly well known in the world of Classical Music. Kit helped come up with the idea of a Rock Opera, which incorporated many elements of a Classical piece.

  • The Who - My Wife
    The Who - My Wife


    The Who - My Wife Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: Who's Next
    Released: 1971

    My Wife Lyrics


    My Wife
  • This was written by bassist John Entwistle - his only contribution to the album. It was probably written as an exaggeration of personal experience; he'd been out partying and had gotten in trouble with the wife.
  • Entwistle re-recorded this song for his third solo album, Rigor Mortis Sets In (1973).

  • The Who - I'm A Boy
    The Who - I'm A Boy


    The Who - I'm A Boy Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: Meaty, Beaty, Big And Bouncy
    Released: 1966

    I'm A Boy Lyrics


    One girl was called Jean Marie
    Another little girl was Felicity
    Another little girl was Sally Joy
    The other was me, and I'm A Boy

    My name is Bill, and I'm a head case
    They practice making up on my face
    Yeah, I feel lucky if I get trousers to wear
    Spend evenings taking hairpins from my hair

    I'm a boy, I'm a boy
    But my ma won't admit it
    I'm a boy, I'm a boy
    But if I say I am, I get it

    Put your frock on, Jean Marie
    Plait your hair, Felicity
    Paint your nails, little Sally Joy
    Put on this wig, little boy

    I'm a boy, I'm a boy
    But my ma won't admit it
    I'm a boy, I'm a boy
    But if I say I am, I get it

    Want to play cricket on the green
    Ride my bike across the street
    Cut myself and see my blood
    Want to come home all covered in mud

    I'm a boy, I'm a boy
    But my ma won't admit it
    I'm a boy. I'm a boy
    But if I say I am, I get it

    Writer/s: PETER TOWNSHEND
    Publisher: T.R.O. INC.
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    I'm A Boy
  • This is about a boy whose mother wants him to be a girl, while the boy longs to assert his real sexual identity. The controversial subject of cross-dressing was probably the reason why this failed to reach the American Top 100.
  • Pete Townshend wrote this for a Rock Opera he was composing called "Quads," which was about a future where parents could choose the sex of their children. That opera never happened. It is possible that Townshend had his old title in mind when a few years later he came up with the title for "Quadrophenia."
  • Roger Daltrey in Q magazine March 2008: "I always thought The Who went through a weird period after 'My Generation' (November 1965) that lasted until we did 'Magic Bus' (October 1968). I thought it all went a bit sloppy. But 'I'm A Boy' and 'Pictures Of Lily' were from that period when I'd been allowed back into the band (Daltrey had been asked to leave after beating up Keith Moon over his heavy use of amphetamines). My ego had been crushed. I was insecure and it showed in my voice. When I first heard those songs, I was like, 'Oi, what's this all about?' I didn't think I could find the right voice for them. You can hear it when you listen to them now, but my insecurity made those songs sound better. It was a happy accident."
  • Daltrey told Uncut magazine: "On 'I'm A Boy', I tried to sing it like a really, really young kid, like an eight-year-old. Not the voice of an eight-year-old but the sentiment – and I think that came across."

  • The Who - Dogs
    The Who - Dogs


    The Who - Dogs Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: 30 Years of Maximum R&B
    Released: 1968

    Dogs Lyrics


    The first time we met you were a kennel maid,
    You gave me a tip I got me forecast paid,
    You were holding a greyhound in trap number one,
    Your white coat was shining in the afternoon sun.

    Now we're both together,
    We're never gonna break apart, no no,
    'Cause we're a happy couple you and me,
    With a greyhound at either knee.

    I'll have ten shillings to win on Camera Flash, young man,
    What dog's that, it's a deuce, look at it.

    There was nothing in my life bigger than beer,
    There was nothing in my life bigger than beer,
    'Ceptin' you, little darling,
    'Ceptin' you, little darling,
    We're a happy couple you and me,
    With a greyhound at either knee.

    We go to the dog track on Saturday night,
    We put all our money on a dog that we like,
    A kiss and a cuddle, a hot meat pie,
    Two dollar tickets and a starry sky.

    There was nothing in my life bigger than beer,
    There was nothing in my life bigger than beer,
    'Ceptin' you, little darling,
    'Ceptin' you, little darling,
    We're a happy couple you and me,
    With a baby on either knee.

    Yes it's you little darling,
    Yes it's you little darling,
    Now it's you little darling,
    Now it's you.

    Girl, where's me wage packet ?????,
    Ah I'll put twenty-five knicker please on Gallop Printer,
    Oh, I hope the wife don't find out,
    Yes, it's sure to win, isn't it,
    Yes, I know, it's a good dog, I saw it run at White City,
    Just last week, broke the record, Gallop Printer,
    Nice dog, yes, lovely form, lovely buttocks.

    Writer/s: PETE TOWNSHEND
    Publisher: SPIRIT MUSIC GROUP
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    Dogs
  • This tribute to White City's dog track was inspired by Pet Townshend's friend Chris Morphet, who had a fascination with greyhound racing. Morphet contributed harmonica and backing vocals to the tune.
  • The song was not a major commercial success at the time of its release and has been virtually disowned by the group since. According to Roger Daltry, Townshend had Small Faces bassist Ronnie Lane in mind when he wrote it. The vocalist told Uncut magazine: "He was such a lovely geezer, Ronnie, they were great guys, The Faces, all of them. But I think it'd have been better if Pete had just given the song to Ronnie in the first place. As a Who record, it was all a bit frivolous for me."
  • A musically unrelated sequel "Dogs Part 2" was later released as the B-side of "Pinball Wizard" in 1969.

  • The Who - Let's See Action
    The Who - Let's See Action


    The Who - Let's See Action Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: Rarities, Vol. 1/Vol. 2
    Released: 1971

    Let's See Action Lyrics


    Let's See Action
    Let's see people
    Let's see freedom
    Let's see who cares

    Take me with you when you leave me
    And my shell behind us there
    I have learned it known who burned me
    Avatar has warmed his feet

    Take me with you
    When you leave me
    Time and life can meet

    Rumor has it minds are open
    Then rumors fill them up with lies
    Please the people, audiences
    I try to scream, 'cause nothing dies

    Let's see action
    Let's see people
    Let's see freedom
    In the air

    Let's see action
    Let's see people
    Let's be free
    Let's see who cares

    Let's see action
    Let's see people
    Let's see freedom
    In the air

    Let's see action
    Let's see people
    Let's be free
    Let's see who cares

    Give me a drink boy, wash my feet
    I'm so tired of running from my own heat
    Take this package and here's what you do
    You gonna get this information through

    I don't know where I'm going
    I don't know what I need
    But I'll get to where I'm gonna end up
    And that's alright by me

    I've been running from side to side
    Now I know for sure that both sides lied
    It's got so hard but we gotta keep trying
    I can't stand to see my people crying

    I don't know where I'm going
    I don't know what I need
    I'm gonna get to where I'm gonna end up
    And that's alright by me

    Let's see action
    Let's see people
    Let's see freedom
    In the air

    Let's see action
    Let's see people
    Let's be free
    And see who cares

    Let's see action
    Let's see people
    Let's see freedom
    In the air

    Let's see action
    Let's see people
    Let's be free
    Let's see who cares

    Nothing is everything
    Everything is nothing is
    Please the people, audiences
    Break the fences, nothing is

    Let's see action
    Let's see people
    Let's see freedom
    In the air

    Let's see action
    Let's see people
    Let's be free
    Let's see who cares

    Nothing is everything
    Everything is nothing
    Nothing is everything
    Everything is nothing

    Writer/s: TOWNSHEND, PETE
    Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group, ABKCO MUSIC INC PETE TOWNSHEND CATALOG, FABULOUS MUSIC LTD, SPIRIT MUSIC GROUP
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    Let's See Action
  • This was originally written by Pete Townshend for his aborted Lifehouse project, which was intended to be a Rock Opera similar to The Who's Tommy and Quadrophenia. Many of the songs Townshend wrote for Lifehouse ended up on the 1971 Who's Next album. "Let's See Action" was recorded for the album, but didn't make the cut. Instead, it was released as a single in the fall of 1971 in the UK peaking at #16. In the US it remained unreleased until its inclusion on the Hooligans compilation album in 1981.
  • Roger Daltrey recalled to Uncut magazine October 2001: "Pete was going through a terrible bitterness about the fact that Kit Lambert and Chris Stamp hadn't got behind making Lifehouse as a film. But the reason they didn't get behind it was because they couldn't get to grips with the narrative, and I still feel to this day – even though Pete's done his Lifehouse Chronicles box and done it as a radio play – well, I'm sorry but though there's some incredible music in there and some sparks of theoretical and theological ideas, I think the narrative thread of the story is about as exciting as a f---ing whelk race! But I always liked 'Let's See Action.' It's got that texture of explosive rock'n'roll bits mixed in with a laid-back, almost country feel. I still love the sentiment behind it, too."

  • The Who - Wasp Man
    The Who - Wasp Man


    The Who - Wasp Man Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: Two's Missing
    Released: 1969

    Wasp Man Lyrics


    Sting Sting ha ha
    Bzzzzzzzz
    Sting sting
    Bzzzzzzzz

    Waspman, you're gonna get buzzed
    Waspman, you're gonna get stung
    Sting
    Waspman, you're gonna get stung

    Sting, sting
    Waspman
    Sting, sting, sting
    Sting, sting, sting

    Waspman, gonna get buzzed
    Waspman, buzz
    Waspman, you're gonna get stung
    Sting, sting, sting

    Waspman, get on runnin'
    Sting, sting, sting
    Bzzzzzzzz
    Sting, sting, sting

    Bzzzzzzzz
    Sting, sting, sting

    Writer/s: KEITH MOON
    Publisher: GOWMONK, INC.
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    Wasp Man
  • This Keith Moon penned song was the B- side to the band's single "Relay." The origins of the track lay in a late-1960s incident aboard a plane flight. Roger Daltrey recalled to Uncut magazine October 2001: "It all happened on a flight from Copenhagen back to London. We hit some bad weather and, my god, I've been in some planes that have done some things in my time but this f---ing plane was like a rollercoaster ride, it almost flipped over."

    "We'd got through this weather and it all sort of leveled out and everybody was puking and sitting in almost total silence," Daltrey continued. "Now, meantime, Moon's disappeared. He was sat with this groupie bird who had this tiger-skin coat which he's taken, and her bra. Needless to say this girl had very large mammaries. So he disappears up the back of the plane to the bog. Everybody's still puking and the captain's come out and he's standing there apologising, saying it's the worst weather he'd ever been through."

    "Then from the back suddenly there came this 'bzzzzzzzzz!' We looked round and it was Moon stood with the two bits of her bra over his eyes like big fly eyeballs and he's got her tiger-skin coat tied round his neck like a cape," Daltrey added. "And he shouted, 'Don't worry, folks – Waspman's here to save you!' And he did this thing up and down the plane buzzing away as Waspman, kissing all the women and just f---ing around in general. By the end of it everybody was just rolling about laughing. He'd taken the edge off that hairy situation and cheered everyone up."

    "So that's how 'Waspman' was created," he concluded. "We'd already done 'Batman' a few years before so we said, 'OK, we'd better write a theme for Waspman!'"

  • The Who - Behind Blue Eye
    The Who - Behind Blue Eyes


    The Who - Behind Blue Eyes Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: Who's Next
    Released: 1971

    Behind Blue Eyes Lyrics


    No one knows what it's like
    To be the bad man
    To be the sad man
    Behind Blue Eyes

    No one knows what it's like
    To be hated
    To be fated
    To telling only lies

    But my dreams
    They aren't as empty
    As my conscience seems to be

    I have hours, only lonely
    My love is vengeance
    That's never free

    No one knows what it's like
    To feel these feelings
    Like I do
    And I blame you

    No one bites back as hard
    On their anger
    None of my pain and woe
    Can show through

    But my dreams
    They aren't as empty
    As my conscience seems to be

    I have hours, only lonely
    My love is vengeance
    That's never free

    When my fist clenches, crack it open
    Before I use it and lose my cool
    When I smile, tell me some bad news
    Before I laugh and act like a fool

    And if I swallow anything evil
    Put you're finger down my throat
    And if I shiver, please give me a blanket
    Keep me warm, let me wear you're coat

    No one knows what it's like
    To be the bad man
    To be the sad man
    Behind blue eyes

    Writer/s: PETE TOWNSHEND
    Publisher: SPIRIT MUSIC GROUP
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    Behind Blue Eyes
  • Pete Townshend originally wrote this about a character in his "Lifehouse" project, which was going to be a film similar to The Who's Tommy and Quadrophenia. Townshend never finished "Lifehouse," but the songs ended up on the album Who's Next. (thanks, Brian - Paoli, IN)
  • Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey both have blue eyes, but the song is not autobiographical. Townshend has said that he wrote it to show "How lonely it is to be powerful."
  • Townshend was going to use this as the main song in the Lifehouse film for the villain, Jumbo.
  • Pete Townshend has explained that he never behaved like a typical rock star when he was on tour, especially when it came to groupies, which he tried to avoid. He says it was a run-in with a groupie that was the impetus for this song. Townshend, who got married in 1968, was tempted by a groupie after The Who's June 9, 1970 concert in Denver. He says that he went back to his room alone and wrote a prayer beginning, "If my fist clenches, crack it open..." The prayer was more or less asking for help in resisting this temptation. The other words could be describing Townshend's self-pity and how hard it is to resist. (thanks, Geoff Morgan - Brookfield, WI)
  • The original demo version is a lot quieter and stripped-down. Townshend released this version on his 1983 album Scoop.
  • Roger Daltrey did a new version of this song with the Irish group The Chieftains, which was released on the group's 1992 album An Irish Evening. This rendition, which was recorded live at the Grand Opera House in Belfast, features traditional Irish instruments, including fiddle and bodhrán.
  • The lyrics are based on Townshend's own feeling of angst - that no one knows what it's like to be him, with high expectations and pressure to be someone he's not. Knowing what a miserable sod he can be, he's telling us not to let himself enjoy it because he doesn't want to enjoy making us (the fans) happy. It'll mean we will ask for more!
  • This is one of the most popular live songs from The Who, played at the majority of their concerts. Pete Townshend has said at various stages of his career that while he believes it's a great song, he doesn't get any satisfaction performing it, as he feels it is out of context of his Lifehouse project.
  • To the horror of many Who fans who turned up their noses at nu-metal, Limp Bizkit covered this song on their 2003 on their album Results May Vary, taking it to #18 UK and #71 US (the only cover version to chart). This version was used in the Halle Berry movie Gothika. Berry appeared in the video, which was directed by Bizkit frontman Fred Durst. Conveniently enough, Durst included a scene where he kisses Berry in the video.

  • The Who - Who Are You
    The Who - Who Are You?


    The Who - Who Are You? Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

    Album: Who Are You?
    Released: 1978

    Who Are You? Lyrics


    Who Are You?
    Who, who, who, who?
    Who are you?
    Who, who, who, who?
    Who are you?
    Who, who, who, who?
    Who are you?
    Who, who, who, who?

    I woke up in a Soho doorway
    A policeman knew my name
    He said "You can go sleep at home tonight
    If you can get up and walk away"

    I staggered back to the underground
    And the breeze blew back my hair
    I remember throwin' punches around
    And preachin' from my chair

    [Chorus]
    Well, who are you? (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)
    I really want to know (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)
    Tell me, who are you? (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)
    'Cause I really want to know (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)

    I took the tube back out of town
    Back to the Rollin' Pin
    I felt a little like a dying clown
    With a streak of Rin Tin Tin

    I stretched back and I hiccupped
    And looked back on my busy day
    Eleven hours in the Tin Pan
    God, there's got to be another way

    Who are you?
    Ooh wa ooh wa ooh wa ooh wa

    Who are you?
    Who, who, who, who?
    Who are you?
    Who, who, who, who?
    Who are you?
    Who, who, who, who?
    Who are you?
    Who, who, who, who?

    [Chorus]

    I know there's a place you walked
    Where love falls from the trees
    My heart is like a broken cup
    I only feel right on my knees

    I spit out like a sewer hole
    Yet still receive your kiss
    How can I measure up to anyone now
    After such a love as this?

    [Chorus]

    Writer/s: PETE TOWNSHEND
    Publisher: SPIRIT MUSIC GROUP
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    Who Are You?
  • This song is based on a day in the life of Pete Townshend. It began with a very long meeting dealing with royalties for his songs: "Eleven hours in the Tin Pan, God, there's got to be another way." The "Tin Pan" he is referring to is "Tin Pan Alley" which is the name given to the collection of New York City-centered music publishers and songwriters who dominated the popular music of the United States. After this excruciating meeting he received a large check for royalties, left and went to a bar and got completely drunk. In that bar he encountered Paul Cook and Steve Jones of The Sex Pistols, who thought very highly of Pete for paving the way for Punk rock music. Townshend was conflicted because he feared The Who had sold out, and seeing The Sex Pistols, who were icons of rebellion, exasperated him even more. Pete left that bar and passed out in a random doorway in Soho (a part of New York). A policeman recognized him ("A policeman knew my name") and being kind, woke him and and told him, "You can go sleep at home tonight (instead of a jail cell), if you can get up and walk away." Pete's response: "Who the f--k are you?" (thanks, Tim - Waterloo, Canada)
  • According to the 1985 Pete Townshend "My Generation" radio special, the song came out different than intended when Roger Daltrey sang it. Townshend said the song became a prayer from a destitute man. The man is on the street, looking up to the sky and asking God, "Who are you?"
  • The cover picture on the album features the band with drummer Keith Moon sitting on a chair that has the words "Not to be taken away" on the back of it. Moon passed away weeks after the photo was taken, and this was his last album. (thanks, Frank - Brandon, Canada)
  • Daltrey says the F-word twice in this song: "Who the f--k are you." It can still be heard today with the expletive in it on many Classic Rock stations. (thanks, Conrad - Los Angeles, CA)
  • This is the theme song for the TV show CSI (although when the huge "YEAAAHHH!!!!" is heard it's actually from "Won't Get Fooled Again," also by the Who, which was is spliced in). When CBS created spin-off shows, they used more Who songs: CSI New York uses "Baba O'Riley" and CSI Miami uses "Won't Get Fooled Again." The Who performed at a presentation for CBS executives and advertisers in 2004. (thanks, Mason - San Antonio, TX)
  • The documentary The Kids Are Alright shows The Who in a studio recording this song. John, Keith, and Pete do the clapping part, but John comes in early, which leads the rest of the group to laugh hysterically. John also amuses Keith by twirling his hands between claps. Pete mocks Keith fixing his hair, and at the end holds his hand out for a high five, and you can hear a smack and him screaming, "OW!"
  • Townshend has only vague memories of writing this song, as he composed it with a hangover. He explained: "I'd like to think that where the song came from wasn’t the feet that I was drunk when I did the demo, but the fact that I was f--king angry with [manager] Allen Klein, and that the song was an outlet for that anger."
  • Roger Daltrey recalled to Uncut magazine: "We were getting incredible accolades from some of the new Punk bands. They were saying how much they loved The Who, that we were the only band they'd leave alive after they'd taken out the rest of the establishment! But I felt very threatened by the Punk thing at first. To me it was like, 'Well, they think they're f---ing tough, but we're f---ing tougher.' It unsettled me in my vocals. When I listen back to 'Who Are You?' I can hear that it made me incredibly aggressive. But that's what that song was about. Being pissed and aggressive and a c---!"

    "It was only a few years after that I realized what a great favor Punk did the business," Daltrey added. "We toured with The Clash in 1982, we took them to the US with us, and I used to f---ing love watching 'em. I'm still a huge Joe Strummer fan."

  • The Who - Won't Get Fooled Agai
    The Who - Won't Get Fooled Again


    The Who - Won't Get Fooled Again Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

    Album: Who's Next
    Released: 1971

    Won't Get Fooled Again Lyrics


    We'll be fighting in the streets
    With our children at our feet
    And the morals that they worship will be gone
    And the men who spurred us on
    Sit in judgment of all wrong
    They decide and the shotgun sings the song

    I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
    Take a bow for the new revolution
    Smile and grin at the change all around
    Pick up my guitar and play
    Just like yesterday
    Then I'll get on my knees and pray
    We don't get fooled again

    The change, it had to come
    We knew it all along
    We were liberated from the fold, that's all
    And the world looks just the same
    And history ain't changed
    Cause the banners, they are flown in the next war

    I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
    Take a bow for the new revolution
    Smile and grin at the change all around
    Pick up my guitar and play
    Just like yesterday
    Then I'll get on my knees and pray
    We don't get fooled again
    No, no!

    I'll move myself and my family aside
    If we happen to be left half alive
    I'll get all my papers and smile at the sky
    Though I know that the hypnotized never lie
    Do ya?

    There's nothing in the streets
    Looks any different to me
    And the slogans are replaced, by-the-bye
    And the parting on the left
    Are now parting on the right
    And the beards have all grown longer overnight

    I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
    Take a bow for the new revolution
    Smile and grin at the change all around
    Pick up my guitar and play
    Just like yesterday
    Then I'll get on my knees and pray
    We don't get fooled again
    Don't get fooled again
    No, no!

    Yeah!

    Meet the new boss
    Same as the old boss

    Writer/s:
    Publisher: ABKCO MUSIC INC PETE TOWNSHEND CATALOG, FABULOUS MUSIC LTD, SPIRIT MUSIC GROUP
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    Won't Get Fooled Again Song Chart
  • Pete Townshend wrote this song about a revolution. In the first verse, there is an uprising. In the middle, they overthrow those in power, but in the end, the new regime becomes just like the old one ("Meet the new boss, same as the old boss"). Townshend felt revolution was pointless because whoever takes over is destined to become corrupt. In Townshend: A Career Biography , Pete explained that the song was antiestablishment, but that "revolution is not going to change anything in the long run, and people are going to get hurt."
  • The synthesizer represents the revolution. It builds at the beginning when the uprising starts, and comes back at the end when a new revolution is brewing.
  • Townshend wrote this as part of his "Lifehouse" project. He wanted to release a film about a futuristic world where the people are enslaved, but saved by a rock concert. Townshend couldn't get enough support to finish the project, but most of the songs he wrote were used on the Who's Next album.
  • Roger Daltrey's scream is considered one of the best on any rock song. It was quite a convincing wail - so convincing that the rest of the band, lunching nearby, thought Daltrey was brawling with the engineer.
  • The album version runs 8:30. The single was shortened to 3:35 so radio stations would play it.

    Daltrey was unhappy about the editing. He recalled to Uncut magazine: "I hated it when they chopped it down. I used to say 'F--k it, put it out as eight minutes', but there'd always be some excuse about not fitting it on or some technical thing at the pressing plant."

    "After that we started to lose interest in singles because they'd cut them to bits," Daltrey added. "We thought, 'What's the point? Our music's evolved past the three-minute barrier and if they can't accommodate that we're just gonna have to live on albums.'"
  • In a 1985 "My Generation" radio special, Pete Townshend said he wrote the song as a message to the supposedly "new breed" of politicians who came around in the early '70s.
  • This is the last song on the album. It was also the last song they played at their concerts for many years.
  • This was one of the first times a synthesizer was used in the rhythm track. When they played this live, they had to play the synthesizer part off tape.
  • Townshend (from Rolling Stone magazine): "It's interesting it's been taken up in an anthemic sense when in fact it's such a cautionary piece." (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)
  • Pete Townshend lived on Eel Pie Island in Richmond, London, when he wrote this song. There was an active commune on the Island at the time situated in what used to be a hotel. According to Townshend, this commune was an influence on the song. "There was like a love affair going on between me an them," he said. "They dug me because I was like a figurehead in a group, and I dug them because I could see what was going on over there. At one point there was an amazing scene where the commune was really working, but then the acid started flowing and I got on the end of some psychotic conversations."
  • This song was played by the remaining members of the band at "The Concert for New York City," a fundraising concert in the wake of the devastating attacks on September 11, 2001. Daltrey omitted the last line of the song: "Meet the new boss, Same as the old boss." (thanks, Chris - Philadelphia, PA)
  • Part of this is used in the opening sequence of the CBS TV show CSI Miami.
  • This was played in Super Bowl XLI (2007) as the Indianapolis Colts came out of the locker room. The Colts won the game. (thanks, Colin - New Egypt, NJ)
  • In The Simpsons episode "A Tale of Two Springfields," Homer forms "New Springfield" and gets The Who to play there. Pete Townshend blasts the wall between old and new Springfield by blasting the guitar riff from this song. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)
  • In its May 26, 2006 issue, the conservative National Review magazine published a list of "The 50 greatest conservative rock songs." "Won't Get Fooled Again" was ranked song number one. Pete Townsend responded on his blog as follows:
    "It is not precisely a song that decries revolution - it suggests that we will indeed fight in the streets - but that revolution, like all action can have results we cannot predict. Don't expect to see what you expect to see. Expect nothing and you might gain everything.'' Townsend then goes on to explain that the song was simply ''Meant to let politicians and revolutionaries alike know that what lay in the center of my life was not for sale, and could not be co-opted into any obvious cause.'' (thanks, Dale - Laguna Niguel, CA)
  • Pete Townshend refused Michael Moore permission to use this song in his 2004 anti-George W. Bush documentary, Fahrenheit 9/11, citing the left wing filmaker as a "bully."
  • This was used in commercials for the 2000 Nissan Maxima. Some people considered this the biggest sellout in rock, but The Who made lots of money in the deal. The same year, Nissan used The Who's "Baba O'Reily" in an ad for their Pathfinder.
  • DJs like to play this as their last song before leaving a particular radio station because of the line "meet the new boss, same as the old boss" - a snub directed at station management because they might not be leaving on the friendliest terms. (thanks, Kelly - San Luis Obispo, CA)

  • The Who - See Me, Feel M
    The Who - See Me, Feel Me


    The Who - See Me, Feel Me Youtube Music Videos and Lyrics

    Album: Tommy
    Released: 1969

    See Me, Feel Me Lyrics


    See Me
    Feel Me
    Touch Me
    Heal Me
    See Me
    Feel Me
    Touch Me
    Heal Me
    Listening to you, I get the music
    Gazing at you, I get the heat
    Following you, I climb the mountain
    I get excitement at your feet
    Right behind you, I see the millions
    On you, I see the glory
    From you, I get opinion
    From you, I get the story
    Listening to you, I get the music
    Gazing at you, I get the heat
    Following you, I climb the mountain
    I get excitement at your feet
    Right behind you, I see the millions
    On you, I see the glory
    From you, I get opinion
    From you, I get the story

    Writer/s: PETER TOWNSHEND
    Publisher: ABKCO MUSIC INC PETE TOWNSHEND CATALOG, FABULOUS MUSIC LTD, SPIRIT MUSIC GROUP
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    See Me, Feel Me Song Chart
  • This is the last song on Tommy, the first "Rock Opera." It tells the story of a deaf, dumb, and blind kid who becomes a pinball champion and is idolized by his followers. This was a very uplifting song to end the rock opera. The show got mostly good reviews.
  • The Who performed the album from start to finish on their tour. Roger Daltrey sang this as the character Tommy.
  • The message of unification and hope in this song was inspired by Meher Baba, a guru Pete Townshend was following. Townshend wrote Tommy in an attempt to bring people together through rock music.
  • Tommy was made into a play as well as a movie. The 1975 movie starred Jack Nicholson, Ann Margaret, Tina Turner and Elton John. Daltrey played Tommy and Keith Moon was the evil Uncle Ernie.
  • On Tommy, this is played as one song with "We're Not Gonna Take It," which follows this on the single release.
  • Some of the names Townshend considered before settling on "Tommy" were "Deaf, Dumb and Blind Boy," "The Amazing Journey," and "Brain Opera."
  • The Who played all of Tommyat Woodstock, and they performed this song just as the sun was rising on the third morning of the festival in 1969. That image from Woodstock helped launch Roger Daltrey's career as a sex symbol and The Who's success in America.
  • This title of this song is also the title of a Biopic about Who drummer Keith Moon. The full title of the movie is See Me, Feel Me: Keith Moon Naked for Your Pleasure. It is produced by Who frontman Roger Daltrey and Mike Myers plays Moon. (thanks, Mike - Syracuse, NY)

  • The Who Songs - Boris The Spider
    The Who - Boris The Spider


    The Who - Boris The Spider Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: Happy Jack
    Released: 1966

    Boris The Spider Lyrics


    Look, he's crawling up my wall
    Black and hairy, very small
    Now he's up above my head
    Hanging by a little thread

    Boris The Spider
    Boris the spider

    Now he's dropped on to the floor
    Heading for the bedroom door
    Maybe he's as scared as me
    Where's he gone now, I can't see

    Boris the spider
    Boris the spider

    Creepy, crawly
    Creepy, crawly
    Creepy, creepy, crawly, crawly
    Creepy, creepy, crawly, crawly
    Creepy, creepy, crawly, crawly
    Creepy, creepy, crawly, crawly

    There he is wrapped in a ball
    Doesn't seem to move at all
    Perhaps he's dead, I'll just make sure
    Pick this book up off the floor

    Boris the spider
    Boris the spider

    Creepy, crawly
    Creepy, crawly
    Creepy, creepy, crawly, crawly
    Creepy, creepy, crawly, crawly
    Creepy, creepy, crawly, crawly
    Creepy, creepy, crawly, crawly

    He's come to a sticky end
    Don't think he will ever mend
    Never more will he crawl 'round
    He's embedded in the ground

    Boris the spider
    Boris the spider

    Writer/s: JOHN ENTWHISTLE
    Publisher: T.R.O. INC.
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    Boris The Spider Song Chart
  • This was the first Who song written by their bass player, John Entwistle. Pete Townshend ordered him to write a song for their second album. To encourage the band to write their own songs, their record company offered them a £500 advance if each member wrote a song on the album.
  • Entwistle was afraid of spiders as a kid. He wrote this about seeing a spider crawling from the ceiling and squishing it.
  • Entwistle wrote this as a joke, but it became a concert favorite. It is a fun song that offset many of the more serious Who songs.
  • This was the only song from the album that they continued to play live.
  • In the UK, the album was called A Quick One. It was changed to Happy Jack in the US to avoid being offensive.
  • After he wrote this, Entwistle started wearing a spider medallion at concerts.

  • The Who Songs - The Ox
    The Who - The Ox


    The Who - The Ox Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: My Generation
    Released: 1965

    The Ox Lyrics


    The Ox Song Chart
  • An instrumental studio jam at the end of the album, this song was titled for The Who's bass player John Entwistle, who was nicknamed "The Ox" for his strong constitution and ability to out-eat and out-drink the other band members. Considering that this song is both powerful and features an amazing bass lead, it is fitting that it's named after him.
  • Session man Nicky Hopkins played the piano. Because it was an improvised jam, he got a writing credit along with Pete Townshend, Keith Moon and John Entwistle.
  • Bass player John Entwistle named his side band The Ox.
  • John Atkins' book The Who on Record: A Critical History, 1963-1998 describes this song as "put together in the studio as an instrumental blowout. Every instrumental and surf artist from the Ventures to Sandy Nelson and Link Wray are simultaneously acknowledged and overpowered by the heavy barrage of heavy riffing, machine-gun drumming, distortion, and feedback.
  • This instrumental was also the basis for a later song titled "Top Gear" on The Who's 1967 album The Who Sell Out.
  • On the final bars of the riff, Townsend seems to have sacrificed yet another guitar. Listen amid the acoustic feedback and you'll hear the crackle and buzz of the guitar lead shorting out.
  • Other instrumentals named after an animal include Fleetwood Mac's "Albatross," Bent Fabric's "Alley Cat," Weather Report's "Birdland," Radiohead's "Hunting Bears," Allman Brothers' "Kind Of Bird, Led Zeppelin's "Moby Dick," Cole Porter's "Song Of The Birds," Herb Alpert's "Spanish Flea," and Yes' "The Fish." To name some of them.

  • The Who Songs - My Generation
    The Who - My Generation


    The Who - My Generation Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: My Generation
    Released: 1965

    My Generation Lyrics


    People try to put us d-down (Talkin' 'bout My Generation)
    Just because we get around (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
    Things they do look awful see-see-cold (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
    I hope I die before I get old (Talkin' 'bout my generation)

    This is my generation
    This is my generation, baby

    Why don't you all f-fade away (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
    And don't try to dig what we all s-s-say (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
    I'm not trying to cause a big s-s-sensation (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
    I'm just talkin' 'bout my g-g-g-generation (Talkin' 'bout my generation)

    This is my generation
    This is my generation, baby

    Why don't you all f-fade away (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
    And don't try to d-dig what we all s-s-say (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
    I'm not trying to cause a be-big s-s-sensation (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
    I'm just talkin' 'bout my g-g-generation (Talkin' 'bout my generation)

    This is my generation
    This is my generation, baby

    People try to put us d-down (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
    Just because we g-g-get around (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
    Things they do look awful see-see-cold (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
    Yeah, I hope I die before I get old (Talkin' 'bout my generation)

    This is my generation
    This is my generation, baby

    Writer/s: PETER TOWNSHEND
    Publisher: T.R.O. INC.
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    My Generation Song Chart
  • Roger Daltrey sang the lead vocals with a stutter, which was very unusual. After recording two takes of the song normally, their manager Kit Lambert suggested to Daltrey that he stutter to sound like a British kid on speed. Daltrey recalled to Uncut magazine October 2001: "I have got a stutter. I control it much better now but not in those days. When we were in the studio doing 'My Generation', Kit Lambert came up to me and said 'STUTTER!' I said 'What?' He said 'Stutter the words – it makes it sound like you're pilled' And I said, 'Oh… like I am!' And that's how it happened. It was always in there, it was always suggested with the 'f-f-fade' but the rest of it was improvised."
  • Pete Townshend wrote this on a train ride from London to Southampton on May 19, 1965 – his 20th birthday. In a 1987 Rolling Stone magazine interview, Townshend explained: "'My Generation' was very much about trying to find a place in society. I was very, very lost. The band was young then. It was believed that its career would be incredibly brief." (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)
  • Townshend wrote this for rebellious British youths known as "Mods." It expressed their feeling that older people just don't get it.
  • Back in 1967, Pete Townshend called this song "The only really successful social comment I've ever made." Talking about the meaning, he explained it as "some pilled-up mod dancing around, trying to explain to you why he's such a groovy guy, but he can't because he's so stoned he can hardly talk."
  • This contains the famous line, "I hope I die before I get old." The Who drummer Keith Moon did, dying of a drug overdose in 1978 at age 32.
  • A Singapore magazine called BigO is named for the famous line in this song - it's an acronym for "Before I Get Old."

    In 1993, the publication interviewed a then-48-year-old Pete Townshend and immediately asked if the line still resonated with him. "I think it does," Townshend replied. "The line actually came from a time when I was living in a really wealthy district of London, just by accident. I didn't really understand quite where I was living at the time. And I was treated very strangely on the street, in an imperious way by a lot of people, and it was that that I didn't like. I didn't like being confronted with money and the class system and power. I didn't like being in a corner shop in Belgravia and some woman in a fur coat pushing me out of the way because she was richer. And I didn't know how to deal with that. I could've, I suppose, insisted on my rights and not written the song. But I was a tucked-up little kid and so I wrote the song."
  • This song went through various stages as they tried to perfect it. It began as a slow song with a blues feel, and at one point had hand claps and multiple key changes. The final product was at a much faster tempo than the song was conceived; it was Kit Lambert's idea to speed it up.
  • This is the highest charting Who song in the UK, but it never cracked the Top 40 in America, where they were less known. In the UK the album was also called My Generation, but in America it was titled The Who Sing My Generation.
  • This features one of the first bass solos in rock history. John Entwistle used a new-on-the-market Danelectro bass to play it, but he kept breaking strings trying to record it. A bit of a bummer that replacement strings weren't available, as he had to go out and buy an entire new bass.

    Entwistle was the least visible member of the band, and his bass solos on this song threw off directors when The Who would perform the song on TV shows. When it got to his part, the cameras would often go to Pete Townshend, and his fingers wouldn't be moving. Entwistle played the solos using a pick, since their manager Kit Lambert didn't think fingers recorded well. Most of Entwistle's next recordings were done with fingers.
  • The BBC refused to play this at first because they did not want to offend people with stutters. When it became a huge hit, they played it.
  • In 1965, Roger Daltrey stood by this song's lyric and claimed he would kill himself before reaching 30 because he didn't want to get old. When he did get older, he answered the inevitable questions about the "hope I die before I get old" line by explaining that it is about an attitude, not a physical age.
  • On September 17, 1967, The Who performed this song on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. Keith Moon set his drums to explode after the performance, but the technical crew had already done so. The resulting explosion burned Pete Townshend's hair and permanently damaged his hearing.

    Also of note during this performance was Moon's total disregard for the illusion of live performance. The band was playing along to a recorded track (common practice on the show), and while his bandmates synched their movements to the music, Moon made no effort to keep time, even knocking his cymbal over at one point.
  • Shel Talmy, who produced this track, was fired the next year. Talmy filed a lawsuit and won extensive royalties from future albums.
  • The ending of this song is electric mayhem, with Keith Moon pounding anything he can find on his drum kit and Townshend flipping his pickups on an off, something he also did on the album opener "Out in the Street." Townshend and Daltrey go back and forth on the vocals, intentionally stomping on each other to add to the chaos.
  • This was covered by Iron Maiden, who was usually the Who's polar opposite both musically and lyrically. One connection they share is the BBC-TV series Top of the Pops. Performances on the show were customarily lip-synched, but The Who performed live on the show in 1972. In 1980, Iron Maiden also performed live, and was the first band to do so since The Who. Maiden put their version of "My Generation" on the B-side to the single for "Lord of the Flies." (thanks, Brett - Edmonton, Canada)
  • Green Day recorded this for their 1992 album Kerplunk!. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)
  • When teen pop singer Hilary Duff covered this as a B-side for her 2005 single "Someone's Watching Over Me," she made the curious decision to rewrite some of the lyrics. "I hope I don't die before I get old," doesn't really have the same rock 'n' roll attitude as Townshend's original words, and her rendition caused some consternation among Who fans.
  • The Who Songs - Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere
    The Who - Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere


    The Who - Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: Meaty, Beaty, Big And Bouncy
    Released: 1965

    Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere Lyrics


    Can go anyway, way I choose
    I can live anyhow, win or lose
    I can go anywhere, for something new
    Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere I choose

    I can do anything, right or wrong
    I can talk anyhow, and get along
    Don't care anyway, I never lose
    Anyway, anyhow, anywhere I choose

    Nothing gets in my way
    Not even locked doors
    Don't follow the lines
    That been laid before
    I get along anyway I dare
    Anyway, anyhow, anywhere

    I can go anyway, way I choose
    I can live anyhow, win or lose
    I can go anywhere, for something new
    Anyway, anyhow, anywhere I choose

    Anyway
    Anyway I choose, yeah
    Anyway I want to go, I want to go 'n do it myself,
    Do it myself
    Do it myself, yeah
    Anyway, way I choose
    Anyway I choose
    Yeah, yeah
    Ain't never gonna lose the way I choose
    The way I choose
    The way I choose

    Writer/s: PETER TOWNSHEND, ROGER DALTRY
    Publisher: T.R.O. INC.
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere Song Chart
  • Townshend described this as "Anti-middle age, anti-boss class, and anti-young marrieds."
  • This was The Who's second single. It was the follow-up to "I Can't Explain."
  • When this was sent to their American record label to distribute, they sent it back, assuming the feedback meant there was something wrong with it.
  • This was a collaboration between Pete Townshend and singer Roger Daltrey. It was one of the only times they worked together on a song. (thanks, Derek - Raleigh, NC)
  • Nicky Hopkins played piano. A session man at the time, he would go on the work with The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.
  • Townshend got the idea for this during a soundcheck.
  • This contains one of the first uses of feedback on a record. Roger Daltrey recalled to Uncut magazine October 2001: "We were doing this feedback stuff, even before that. We'd be doing blues songs and they'd turn into this freeform, feedbacky, jazzy noise. Pete was getting all these funny noises, banging his guitar against the speakers. Basically, the act that Hendrix is famous for came from Townshend, pre-'I Can't Explain.'"

    "'Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere' was the first song when we attempted to get that noise onto a record and that was a good deal of time before Hendrix had even come to England," Daltrey continued. "The American pressing plant sent it back thinking it was a mistake. We said, 'No, this is the f---ing noise we want. CUT IT LOUD!'"
  • The Who Songs - I Can't Explain
    The Who - I Can't Explain


    The Who - I Can't Explain Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

    Album: Meaty, Beaty, Big And Bouncy
    Released: 1965

    I Can't Explain Lyrics


    Got a feeling inside (Can't explain)
    It's a certain kind (Can't explain)
    I feel hot and cold (Can't explain)
    Yeah, down in my soul, yeah (Can't explain)

    I said (Can't explain)
    I'm feeling good now, yeah, but (Can't explain)

    Dizzy in the head and I'm feeling blue
    The things you've said, well, maybe they're true
    I'm gettin' funny dreams again and again
    I know what it means, but

    Can't explain
    I think it's love
    Try to say it to you
    When I feel blue

    But I Can't Explain (Can't explain)
    Yeah, hear what I'm saying, girl (Can't explain)

    Dizzy in the head and I'm feeling bad
    The things you've said have got me real mad
    I'm gettin' funny dreams again and again
    I know what it means but

    Can't explain
    I think it's love
    Try to say it to you
    When I feel blue

    But I can't explain (Can't explain)
    Forgive me one more time, now (Can't explain)

    I said I can't explain, yeah
    You drive me out of my mind
    Yeah, I'm the worrying kind, babe
    I said I can't explain

    Writer/s: TOWNSHEND, PETER DENNIS BLANDFOR
    Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

    I Can't Explain Song Chart
  • The Who guitarist Pete Townshend wrote this song when he was 18 years old. He described it as being about a guy who "can't tell his girlfriend he loves her because he's taken too many Dexedrine tablets."

    Dexedrine is an amphetamine, which explains why the guy is "dizzy in the head" and "hot and cold." It's not just love that he's feeling.
  • This was the first single from The Who, which had recently changed their name from The High Numbers. It was one of the first original songs The Who performed; they played mostly covers of American R&B songs to that point.
  • This song is about what it is like to be young and unable to express your feelings. The guy in the song can't find a way to tell his girlfriend he loves her. Roger Daltrey told Uncut magazine: "Well, it's that thing – 'I got a feeling inside, I can't explain' – it's rock'n'roll. The more we try to explain it, the more we crawl up our own arses and disappear! I was very proud of that record. That was us, y'know – it was an original song by Pete and it captured that energy and that testosterone that we had in those days."
  • The Who performed this on the popular British TV show Ready, Steady, Go! Their manager, Kit Lambert, invited all of their friends to the performance, ensuring a hip, young audience for the cameras.
  • This was the song that introduced audiences to the powerful drumming of Keith Moon. He became one of the first high-profile drummers in rock, and quickly earned a reputation as a wild man. After many incidents involving drugs, alcohol and mangled hotel rooms, Moon died in 1978 of an overdose.
  • This was not released on an album until 1971. It is the first song on their popular compilation album, Meaty, Beaty, Big And Bouncy.
  • This was produced by an American named Shel Talmy. He was famous for putting loud, powerful guitar on the songs he produced, and had recently worked with The Kinks on their first hit, "You Really Got Me." Talmy produced this in a similar style.
  • Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin fame was a session musician at the time and was brought in to play guitar on this track. The Who producer Shel Talmy knew the guitar would be very prominent on this song and had Page ready in case Townshend couldn't handle it. Pete did just fine, and quickly established himself as a premier rock guitarist.

    Roger Daltrey recalled to Uncut: "When we turned up to record it there was this other guitarist in the studio – Jimmy Page. And he'd brought in three backing vocalists, which was another shock. He must have discussed it with our management, but not with us, so we were thrown at first, thinking, 'What the f--k's going on here?' But it was his way of recording."

    As for Page's contribution to the song, he says he's on it, but barely. Page says he played the riff in the background.
  • John Carter, Perry Ford and Ken Lewis provided the background vocals. The trio were popular session singers in England, where they were known for their harmony vocals. For session work, they called themselves The Ivy League, but they went on to have a hit called "Let's Go To San Francisco" as The Flower Pot Men. Perry Ford also played piano on this track.
  • The Who made their first US television appearance performing this on the ABC show Shindig. The program aired from 1964-1966 and featured many popular musicians performing their hits. The Everly Brothers, Glen Campbell, and Sonny and Cher were all frequent guests on the show.
  • Meaty, Beaty, Big And Bouncy was a 1971 compilation of The Who's early hits, many of which did not appear on albums and could only be purchased as singles. In 1966, The Who broke their contract with manager and producer Shel Talmy. As part of the deal, Talmy got royalties from Who records over the next five years. By 1971, the band was able to release the compilation album without giving the royalties to Talmy.
  • The Who played this at the Woodstock festival in 1969. It was the second of 24 songs in their set, which ended with a performance of all the songs from their rock opera Tommy. The Who went on at 3 a.m. the second night of Woodstock and played until the sun came up the next day.
  • The Kinks song "You Really Got Me" was released the previous year and was also produced by Shel Talmy. If you hear similarities in the guitar riffs, you're not along. Dave Davies of The Kinks says that when he heard "I Can't Explain," he thought those "cheeky buggers" from The Who were copying them.
  • This was a staple of the band's setlists throughout their career. When The Who toured in 2015 for their 50th anniversary, it was the opening number. Promoting (sort of) the tour in a Rolling Stone interview, Pete Townshend said that he didn't like performing, partly because songs like this one have no meaning for him anymore. "The first chord of 'I Can't Explain' for me kind of sets the tone for the evening," he said. "Is this going to be an evening in which I spend the whole evening pretending to be the Pete Townshend I used to be? Or do I pretend to be a grown-up? In both cases, I think I'm pretending."
  • Lyrics

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