If any other Dopers are piqued, please post in… otherwise, in the words of both Yeats’s tombstone inscription and the title of an astonishly good novel by Larry McMurty, “Horseman Pass By.”
I’m 45 years old, and this one still has the appeal it had when it was in heavy rotation 30 years ago when I was in the throes of adolescence (try and say that about “Stairway to Heaven”).
If I swallow anything evil
Put your finger down my throat
If I shiver, please give me a blanket
Keep me warm, let me wear your coat
Yes, I know this song has long since become such a cliche that it was an overdub a decade ago when the Brain was kicked out of “the Real World” parody house on Pinky and the Brain. Still, whatever I retained from when my Catholicism & Liberalism were mutually sustainable are surmised in the lyric above.
Although not a fan of covers, and with all due respect for Pete Townshend’s authorship, I perfer what Rodger Daltrey brought as a middle-age man to the Chieftans’ version; but then as both a middle-age man and a Celt, I have my prejudices (that is to say, in all candor, my own “issues;” an altogether full topic which I hope to live to address for their own sake here on St. Pats day)
Although I often listen to stuff that’s a bit before my time (e.g., Pink Floyd, Led Zepelin, Nancy Sinatra), I had never heard much from The Who. I can thank Limp Biscuit (or however they spell it) for introducing me to this one, and as is often the case, the orignal holds a lot over the remake.
All the “classic” threads that show up on this board, Who’s Next never gets enough props. If my fist clenches crack it open before I use it and lose my cool And if I smile tell me some bad news before I laugh and act like a fool
“Behind Blue Eyes” was written by Pete Townsend as part of a larger project that never did get finished, entitled Lifehouse. Here’s Pete himself (from the liner notes of the Who’s Next Deluxe Edition):
Most (if not all) of the songs from Who’s Next were actually composed for Lifehouse; the album was released when the project was abandoned. Pete later “completed” the project on his own; it’s a six-disc set available exclusively on his site, Eelpie.com, though Amazon has an abridged single-disc version. Pete says he’s not finished with it as of yet (well, as of 2003 when the liner notes were written):
I came in to post exactly that. When I saw the Chieftains tour with Roger Daltrey and Nanci Griffiths, it was astounding. I had always love TC and The Who, but together they made magic.
A number of people I know seriously questioned the lyrics of BBE when Pete Townsend was arrested for viewing child pronography on his computer. The conspiracy theory was that the lyrics to BBE “proved” that he was a conflicted pedophile. I disagree- it seems much more an “angry young man trying hard to fit in” type of song.
Newsflash! Pete’s just completed his blog-story “The Boy Who Heard Music”, which was an extension of the ideas from Lifehouse and Psychoderelict.
A major componet is the concept of “The Grid”, a type of internet that he invisioned, where people experience the lives of others.
The real revelation that came out of Pete’s final blog entry is the realization of one of his dreams–to incorporate the listener into the songs themselves:
That does sound interesting, though I must admit I have not followed Pete’s solo efforts much, and was not at all aware he had a blog.
The song was written for the antagonist of the Lifehouse story, so it’s not a Townsend confessional at all. Although, it’s always been my impression that much of Pete’s writing was very personal; this probably contributes to the conspiracy theories.
I think the “angry young man” aspect fits, but I think being misunderstood is a key component of the song. Lord knows we’ve all been pissed off and misunderstood, I think that’s why the song resonates with so many people.
I don’t really think the song is among the Who’s best, or even one of the best songs of the album (which does set the bar pretty high). Looking at the original playlist, I’d say it’s only better than “Love Ain’t for Keeping.” Not bad, but nowhere near as good as most of the rest of the album.
It’s clearly written for and about Roger Daltry, however. Not just the blue eyes, but also his violence – he evidently was quite a bully. He insisted on being the leader of the group – enforced by his fists – until the rest of the group kicked him out of the band until he promised to behave himself and let Townshend be in charge.
