I remember being moved close to tears the first time I heard that (as a bonus new track on a then current greatest hits anthology) but it had totally dropped off my radar since what feels like forever until I stumbled across it online over the weekend. And got misty all over again.
Apart from being a really smart, well-written record, with typically cool Townshend guitar flourishes, that's gotta be one of Roger's finest vocal performances, no?
POSTSCRIPT: A coveted PowerPop No-Prize© will be awarded to the first reader who gleans its relevance to the theme of tomorrow's Weekend Essay Question.
maybe tomorrow's theme will be the contrast between outer appearance and the reality within
ReplyDeletei am reminded of a verse from the utopia song "shinola"
everyone's talking but few of them know
the rest are pretending - they put on a show
and if there's a lesson, i guess this is it
truth isn't easy - the easy part's shit
later in his career rundgren returned to the theme in "sweet"
I've been living with a lie for so long now, baby
I gotta set my soul free, I can't take it no more
That's why I gotta
Sing and shout it, tell the world about it
The truth is sweet
I made a promise to myself not to let nobody else
Have any sway on the way I lived my life
I didn't see the need to compromise but now I've come to realize
That living is more than just surviving
And I've been lying to myself, I gotta cover up what I feel
But now it's time I must admit this is real, this is real
The truth is sweet
Just like honey from a bee, the truth is sweet
So many people in the world let it all pass them by
They won't admit they need rescued from their lonely lives
That's why we gotta sing and shout it tell the world about it
The truth is sweet
When you've been hurt so many times it's enough to make you blind
To anything that feels like true happiness
Nobody wants to be the foolish one but after all is said and done
You constantly settle for less
It's like a broken carousel, it just goes round & round & round
But now it's time you admit you've lost ground
Hear that sound?
The truth is sweet
Just like a baby's kiss, the truth is sweet
Go on admit it, you know you want it to be true
Go on admit it, you say you don't but you know you do
Go on admit it, you've been disguising what you feel
You could be living in a fantasy
But then that fantasy could turn out to be real
Sweet and true like my love for you
And everybody in the world's gonna wake up some day
Singing love is the answer, love is the answer
What's left to say?
um maybe' children or relatives of famous musicians who have become famous and successful on their own' ?
ReplyDeleters
Great recordings by musical acts considered long beyond their prime! Example: The Weasels! :-)
ReplyDeleteStill Good Looking Captain Al
Ooh, I’m gonna use those last two nominees. But no…..😎
ReplyDeletePossibly - tomorrows query -
ReplyDeleteLive Fast, Die Young, Leave A Beautiful Corpse. ;-)
rob
In same vain (and another Who song with "boy" in title)...Listening to The Who Sell Out the other day and the Entwistle song "When I Was a Boy" really grabbed me. Don't know why it never registered with me before.
ReplyDeleteSaw a really goid "making of" documentary about the recording of that song. Worth looking for whenever I have a spare few minutes
ReplyDelete