Friday, July 25, 2008

The Who - My Generation (Woodstock 1969)



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 c-c-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 b-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 c-c-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

Song Notes : Pete Townshend wrote this while The Who were on their first tour. 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."

"Townshend wrote this for rebellious British youths known as "Mods." It expressed their feeling that older people just don't get it"

"This contains the famous line, "I hope I die before I get old." Who drummer Keith Moon did, dying of a drug overdose in 1978"

"This was the title track to the first Who album. In America, where they were less known, the album was titled The Who Sing My Generation"

"Roger Daltrey sang the lead vocals with a stutter, which was very unusual. After recording 2 takes of this normally, manager Kit Lambert suggested to Daltrey that he stutter to sound like a British kid on speed"

"Shel Talmy, who produced this, was fired the next year. Talmy filed a lawsuit and won extensive royalties from future albums"

"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, Daltrey claimed he would kill himself before reaching 30 because he didn't want to get old. He still performs this, explaining that the song is about an attitude, not a physical age"

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