My Generation (song)
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"My Generation" was one of the biggest early hits of the British rock group The Who, and quickly became their anthem. Written by Pete Townshend in 1965 for rebellious British youths called Mods, it expressed their feeling that older people "just don't get it". He reportedly wrote the song on a train and is said to have been inspired by the Queen Mother who is alleged to have had Townshend's 1935 Packard hearse towed off a street in Belgravia because she was offended by the sight of it during her daily drive through the neighbourhood. [link]
It has entered the rock and roll pantheon as one of the most celebrated, cited, and referenced songs in the idiom; it was recently named the eleventh greatest song in rock history by Rolling Stone magazine. Perhaps the most striking element of the song is the lyrics, considered one of the most distilled statements of youthful rebellion in rock history. The "attitude" of the track alone helped make it an acknowledged forebear of the punk rock movement. One of the most quoted--and patently rewritten--lines in rock history is I hope I die before I get old, famously sneered out by lead singer Roger Daltrey.
Like many of The Who's earlier "mod" output, the song boasts clear influences of American R&B, most explicitly in the call and response form of the verses; Daltrey would sing a line, and the backing vocalists Townshend and John Entwistle would respond with the refrain "Talkin' 'bout my generation":
- People try to put us down
- (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
- Just because we get around
- (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
is an example of the shout-and-fall modal frame. (Middleton 1990, p.207)
Another salient aspect of "My Generation" is Daltrey's delivery: an angry and frustrated stutter. Various stories exist as to the reason for this distinct delivery. One is that the song began as a slow "talking" blues number without the stutter, but after being inspired by John Lee Hooker's "Stuttering Blues", Townshend reworked the song into its present form. Another reason is that it was suggested to Daltrey that he stutter to sound like a British mod on speed. It is also proposed, albeit less frequently, that the stutter was introduced to give the group a framework for implying the expletive "fuck" in the lyrics: "Why don't you all fu.. fu.. fade away!" However, Producer Shel Talmy insisted it was simply one of those "happy accidents" that he thought they should keep. The BBC initially refused to play "My Generation" because they did not want to offend people who stutter, but they reversed their decision after it became a huge hit.
The instrumentation of the song duly reflects the lyrics: fast, aggressive, and laced with attitude. Significantly, "My Generation" also featured one of the first bass solos (by John Entwistle) in rock history. The song's coda features an explosive burst of drumming from Keith Moon, whereupon the song breaks down somewhat awkwardly in spurts of guitar feedback from Pete Townshend, rather than fading out or ending cleanly on the tonic.
The song was released as a Single in November 1965, reaching number two in the UK and number 74 in America. [link] "My Generation" also appeared on The Who's 1965 debut album, My Generation (known as The Who Sings My Generation in the USA), and in greatly extended form on their live album Live At Leeds (1970).
The song in pop culture
- "My Generation" was covered by Green Day on their album Kerplunk and by Gorky Park on their album Gorky Park.
- Oasis released the track as a B-side on UK single "Little by Little" / "She is Love" and have closed their live shows with this track for several years.
- "My Generation" was Patti Smith's standard set-closer from 1974-1978, and a live version appeared on record as the B-side of her 1975 single "Gloria" (with John Cale guesting on bass). This recording has since appeared as a bonus track on some CD re-issues of her album Horses. A live version with Michael Balzary (Flea) from Red Hot Chili Peppers playing bass appears on the 2005 30th Anniversary CD release Horses Horses.
- "My Generation" was covered by The Sweet on their 1974 album Desolation Boulevard. This version is said to be Pete Townshend's favorite cover of the song.
- "My Generation" was covered by Iron Maiden as a b-side.
- "My Generation" was covered by Phish as part of one of their Halloween concerts and is availble on the live album "Live Phish Volume 14."
- "My Generation" was covered by Chapeaumelon in French and appears on the Eurotrip soundtrack.
- Punk band Generation X, fronted by a young Billy Idol, released a riposte in 1978 entitled "Your Generation" as their debut single.
- Teen pop singer Hilary Duff released the song as a b-side to Someone's Watching Over Me, somewhat infamously changing the most celebrated line in the song to I hope I don't die before I get old, proving to many her lack of understanding, or perhaps qualification of performing the song.
- Daltrey has recorded the same track with British Band McFly on September 3rd, 2005, to launch HMV's download site.
- The Who also performed the song in the film
- Danny Tanner performed the song on the TV show Full House.
- "My Generation" was also covered by the German hard rock band Böhse Onkelz as a b-side on their Single Onkelz vs. Jesus
- The line "I hope I die before I get old" was the inspiration for They Might Be Giants' 1985 song "I Hope I Get Old Before I Die", a reaction against the stereotypical values of rock and roll in the 1960's
- The artist MC Lars parodied the line "I hope I die before I get old" in his single iGeneration, with the line "I hope I die before I get sold".
- A clip of the song was played in an episode of The Simpsons in Marge vs. Singles, Seniors, Childless Couples and Teens, and Gays.
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