‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’: the song that confirmed The Who as the most daring band on the planet
It doesn’t matter what rock band you speak to, such as Led Zeppelin, Guns N’ Roses, or The Who; when you talk about money, listening numbers, and album sales, they will all likely respond with something similar. It’s become a common mantra among rockers that they don’t do it for money; they do it because they just wanna make rock music, and they don’t care who they offend in the process. This means that rock has become the music of rebellion for decades, and there are a number of tracks that personify as much.
One of the biggest protest tracks in rock music was The Who’s ‘My Generation’. While it may not be considered a protest track in the traditional sense, as it doesn’t openly critique societal or political injustices, it does speak out against those who may oppose the rock movement and the youth’s desire to have fun.
Pete Townshend has spoken at length about the song, saying, “’My Generation’ was very much about trying to find a place in society.”
He added, “I was very, very lost. The band was young then. It was believed that its career would be incredibly brief.”
Townsend also said that the song was “The only really successful social comment I’ve ever made.” He tried to explain the song and called it “Some pilled-up mod dancing around, trying to explain to you why he’s such a groovy guy, but he can’t because he’s so stoned he can hardly talk.”
Rock music is filled with songs like this, which take aim at older generations who may not have associated with the genre and praise the longevity of rock music and partying. While having these kinds of songs in a catalogue might help back up a band’s claims that they don’t care about who they offend and just wanna rock, it’s all rather fickle, as even the most stubborn of bands will always have one eye on money and album sales. The difference is they just know they will get those album sales from people whose views align with theirs, the Woodstock generation, who also love rock ‘n’ roll and partying.
The Who managed to cement themselves as the rock band that genuinely only cares about making music and doesn’t care who they upset with their song ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’, as with this track, they went against the very people that ‘My Generation’ was supposed to appeal to.
The Who performed at Woodstock festival and said that this made them want to write ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’. They were privy to drug and love-induced hippies who believed that a weekend of music would change the world for the better; however, they weren’t buying it, and the song was a jab at these naïve rockers.
“I wrote ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’ as a reaction to all that – ‘Leave me out of it: I don’t think you lot would be any better than that other lot!’” said Townshend, “All those hippies wandering about thinking the world was going to be different from that day. As a cynical English arsehole I walked through it all and felt like spitting on the lot of them, and shaking them and trying to make them realize that nothing had changed and nothing was going to change.”
Very few rock bands stand by their claims that they don’t care who they offend when they make music, but The Who took the risk of almost alienating their entire audience by releasing ‘My Generation’ and ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again’.
