The Who

I have been a fan of The Who for many years now. Been listening to them on iTunes for a good chunk of the evening. Here are some lyrics from some of my favorite songs.

"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 wanna know (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)
Tell me, who are you? (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)
'Cause I really wanna know (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)"
Who Are You
(My 8th grade history teacher used to sing this to us all the time)

"Out here in the fields
I farm for my meals
I get my back into my living
I don't need to fight
To prove I'm right
I don't need to be forgiven

Don't cry
Don't raise your eye
It's only teenage wasteland"
Baba O'Riley
(This is one those anthem type songs that you sing/shout with your friends from the back of a convertible.)

"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 your finger down my throat
And If I shiver, please give me a blanket
Keep me warm, let me wear your coat

No one knows what it's like
To be the bad man
To be the sad man
Behind blue eyes"
Behind blue eyes
(Somewhere the 19 year-old version of me still listens intently to this song)

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

My favourite band … not even the Beatles compete with Townshend in my affections. What a great songwriter!

Jack Steiner said...

He is fabulous.

benning said...

I enjoy "The Who" but "The Beatles" are my band!

Eric Riback said...

I just saw The Who for the second time (first time was 1969 at Fillmore East) and they killed. Townsend still has it.

I take back what I wrote a while back, especially since I didn't know Ringo's son was drumming for them -- and he was sharp.

Still Driving Traffic

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