Re: Dr Jimmy

On Tue, 30 Jul 1996, "Janice K. Marini" wrote:

> Many thanks to Stacey for her Dr. Jimmy comments.  She explains very well 
> how those lyrics aren't disturbing when seen in context. There is a big 
> difference between the character of Jimmy attempting to assume a mask of 
> swaggering bravado and PT endorsing violence or exploiting women. 

Yes, definitely. I think Townshend's style of writing has got him into 
trouble on a few occasions. He often develops a "character" (in this case 
Jimmy) and the song is sung from that person's point of view; not always 
Townshend's own opinion. The same thing happened with the line "hope I 
die before I get old" from MG, which again is sung from the viewpoint of a 
pilled-up mod. Many people heard the song and took this line as 
Townshend's personal statement.....something which he has had to live 
with ever since.

Cheers,

Dave