Re: Has Pete lost it?

[thewho rocks <leb905@yahoo.com>]

>  A hell of a lot of Pete's songs are open to interpretation. What do
> the lyrics to "Pure And Easy" mean? I sure as hell don't know, but
> it's still a fantastic song! And in a lot of instances the lyrics
> don't have to come out and say something point blank in black and
> white. The very way that the words flow is like an oral painting.
> It may be abstract, but it's still colorful and beautiful. That sums
> up "Pure And Easy's" lyrics to me in a nut shell.

Several people have worked around to something similar to this, and it
is the right answer.  There's more to the lyrics in these songs than
meets immediate analysis.  (More on that later.)  My point is, though,
that Pete isn't a very good lyricist.  He's depending on something else
to carry these songs.  

About the mid-seventies he must have looked at what he was doing and
thought, "Oh, I need to learn to write lyrics," and he started trying
to work out songs in a different style.  These lyrics below read pretty
well, for example, but this song was NOT a hit.  So, he puts out
nonsense and gets a fantastic response, and then he writes something
thoughtful and straightforward and it tanks.  What's the difference
here?

I've known no war
And if I ever do I won't know for sure
Who'll be fighting whom
For the soldiers lonely tomb
Now opens as soon as the referee's gun starts to roar
I'll know no war

War - I've known no war
I'll never know war
And if I ever know it
The glimpse will be short
Fireball in the sky
No front line battle cries
Can be heard as the button is pushed by a soul that's been bought
And the armies remaining will judge without people or courts
And there's no point pretending that knowing will help us abort
I'll know no war   

Actually, Pete did continue to work on the lyrics thing, and he does
have a few songs around where he manages to construct lyrics with
something of the same feel as the earlier Who hits--but they're very
cool and intellectual observations.  There's a marked difference
between the styles.


LB

=====
Don't meddle in the affairs of dragons, because you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.
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