How Bob Dylan inspired the Who to write their landmark hit ‘My Generation’
The Who became the voice of angsty teenagers everywhere when they released ‘My Generation’ in 1965. Featuring energetic call-and-response lyrics, the song was a chart hit, reaching number two in the UK The track even boasts one of rock music’s first bass solos, performed by John Entwistle on his Fender Jazz Bass.
Discussing the creation of the iconic song, guitarist Pete Townshend revealed that he was inspired to pen the song after an incident involving the Queen Mother. He claims that he wrote the track on a train after she had his 1935 Packard hearse towed from a Belgravia street which she passed on her daily drives. Apparently, the Queen Mother found the sight of Townshend’s car too unsightly.
The lyrics of ‘My Generation’ attack the criticisms the older generation wielded against their younger counterparts during the 1960s. Lyrics such as “People try to put us down/ Just because we get around” refer to the sexual revolution of the decade and the new opportunities that the older generation never got to experience as youngsters. Townshend shared, “‘My Generation’ was very much about trying to find a place in society. I was very, very lost. The band was young then. It was believed that its career would be incredibly brief.”
Both the rebellious lyrics and aggressive instrumentals have led the song to be considered an early precursor to the punk movement. This can be partly owed to Bob Dylan. Although he might not seem like a conventional punk, the folk artist truly embodied the movement’s ideals through his carefree attitude and honest social commentary, inspiring some of the biggest punk and artists soon to come, including Patti Smith and Iggy Pop. Even actor Edward Norton once declared that Dylan “was more punk rock than anybody.”
Townshend has frequently praised Dylan throughout his career, referring to him as a “master.” He said, “Not just because of the use of words in a creative sense but as a folk singer. A folk singer is someone with a good memory, basically. He had a wealth of American folk songs and Irish, Scottish folk songs. If you’re an expert folkologist it’s infuriating to be a Dylan fan. You know, someone like Roy Harper is always banging his head against the wall saying that” Masters Of War’ was written in Scotland in 1706!”
Furthermore, Townshend also revealed that Dylan inspired ‘My Generation’, saying, “[He] definitely created a new style of writing. Dylan was the one who I think got the message across to The Beatles. (That) was that you can write songs about subjects other than falling in love.”
“When I started to work on ‘My Generation’, I started working on a Mose Allison and Bob Dylan hybrid of a talking Folk song. But you can take any song of his and find something in it that is pertinent to today.”
Revisit the Who’s classic track below:
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