Re: Baba O'Riley

[Jim Topp <jtopp@indiana.edu>]

>No, no!  Really I'm serious!!!  The man never makes any sense.  :)  For
>example, here's "Baba." <snip>
>
>Okay, so this is pretty much a total loss.  I've got a farmer and a woman,
>and they're going on a journey south through a land of wasted teenagers.
>Yeah, right.  Great song.  ;)

keets,

I think some (certainly not all) of the answers can actually be found 
in the Lifehouse radio play. Ray is the unsuccessful farmer. Sally is 
his wife. Mary, their daughter, is part of the exodus and teenage 
wasteland headed to the Lifehouse. Ray travels south cross land (to 
London?) to find Mary.

The fact that there is some clarification of the song lyrics in the 
play is a bit surprising, since the play doesn't seem to clarify any 
other songs. Also the LH story has certainly changed from what it was 
or might have been in '71.

I do agree with your larger point that Pete's lyrics can often be 
inscrutable and vague. I can think of a number of other songs that 
make little or no sense: "Is It In My Head," "5:15," "Slip Kid," 
"Keep Me Turning," "Cat's In The Cupboard," "Mary," "Face The Face," 
and "After The Fire," to name a few. The list would be longer ("Pure 
And Easy," "Who Are You," "Cache, Cache") if I hadn't read interviews 
that sort of explained certain songs.

I also agree with your analysis of "Eminence Front." Maybe sometimes 
there is less meaning in the lyrics than you expect.

Jim

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