Thursday, March 11, 2010

Stairway to Heaven

There's a lady who's sure
All that glitters is gold
And she's buying a stairway to heaven
When she gets there she knows
If the stores are all closed
With a word she can get what she came for
And she's buying a stairway to heaven

There's a sign on the wall
But she wants to be sure
'Cause you know sometimes words have two meanings
In a tree by the brook
There's a songbird who sings
Sometimes all of our thoughts are misgiven
It makes me wonder

There's a feeling I get
When I look to the west
and my spirit is crying for leaving
In my thoughts I have seen
Rings of smoke through the trees
And the voices of those who stand looking
And it makes me wonder

And it's whispered that soon
If we all call the tune
Then the piper will lead us to reason
And a new day will dawn
For those who stand long
And the forest will echo with laughter

If there's a bustle in your hedgerow
Don't be alarmed now
It's just a spring clean for the May queen
Yes there are two paths you can go by
But in the long run
There's still time to change the road you're on
And it makes me wonder

Your head is hummin' and it won't go
In case you don't know
The piper's calling you to join him
Dear lady can you hear the wind blow
And did you know
Your stairway lies on the whisperin' wind

And as we wind on down the road
Our shadows taller than our souls
There walks a lady we all know
Who shines white light and wants to show
How everything still turns to gold
And if you listen very hard
The tune will come to you at last
When all are one and one is all
To be a rock and not to roll

And she's buying a stairway to heaven...



- Released November 8, 1971

- The song was voted #3 in 2000 by VH1 on its list of the 100 Greatest Rock Songs.

- In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine put it at number 31 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

- It was the most requested song on FM radio stations in the United States in the 1970s, despite never having been released as a single there.

- The song's opening guitar arpeggios are strikingly similar to the guitar line from the instrumental track "Taurus" by the American band Spirit, for whom Led Zeppelin toured as support act in 1968.

Spirit Taurus



- British antiquarian Lewis Spence's Magic Arts in Celtic Britain is one of the sources for the lyrics to the song.

- "Stairway to Heaven" was performed at almost every subsequent Led Zeppelin concert, only being omitted on rare occasions when shows were cut short for curfews or technical issues.

- Although the song was released in 1971, it took until 1973 before the song's popularity ascended to truly "anthemic" status.

- In 1990 a St Petersburg, Florida station kicked off its all-Led Zeppelin format by playing "Stairway to Heaven" for 24 hours straight.

- The song's length precluded its release in full form as a single. Despite pressure from Atlantic Records the band would not authorize the editing of the song for single release, making "Stairway to Heaven" one of the most well-known and popular rock songs never to have been released as a single.

- In the early 1980s, some Christian evangelists in the US alleged that hidden messages were contained in many popular rock songs through a technique called backward masking. One example of such hidden messages that was often prominently cited was in "Stairway to Heaven." The alleged message, which occurs during the middle section of the song ("If there's a bustle in your hedgerow, don't be alarmed now...") when played backwards, was purported to contain the Satanic references "Here's to my sweet Satan" and "I sing because I live with Satan"

- Example of the song in baskmasking

http://jeffmilner.com/backmasking.htm

- The band itself has for the most part ignored such claims; in response to the allegations, Swan Song Records issued the statement: "Our turntables only play in one direction—forwards". Led Zeppelin audio engineer Eddie Kramer called the allegations "totally and utterly ridiculous."

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Immigrant Song

Ah, ah,
We come from the land of the ice and snow,
From the midnight sun where the hot springs blow.
The hammer of the gods
Will drive our ships to new lands,
To fight the horde, singing and crying:
Valhalla, I am coming!
On we sweep with threshing oar,
Our only goal will be the western shore.
Ah, ah,
We come from the land of the ice and snow,
From the midnight sun where the hot springs blow.
How soft your fields so green,
Can whisper tales of gore,
Of how we calmed the tides of war.
We are your overlords.
On we sweep with threshing oar,
Our only goal will be the western shore.
So now you'd better stop and rebuild all your ruins,
For peace and trust can win the day
Despite of all your losing.



- Released November 5, 1970

- The song is famous for its distinctive, wailing cry from vocalist Robert Plant at the beginning of the song.

- There is a very faint count-off the beginning of the track with lots of hiss which appears on the album version, but is trimmed from the single version. The hiss is feedback from an echo unit.

- The song was written during Led Zeppelin's tour of Iceland in June 1970.

- The song is dedicated to the Icelander Leif Ericson, and is sung from the perspective of Vikings rowing west from Scandinavia in search of new lands. The lyrics make explicit reference to Viking conquests and the Old Norse religion

- It is one of the band's few single releases, having been released in November 1970 by their record label, Atlantic Records, against the band's wishes. It reached #16 on the Billboard charts.

- To get permission to use this song in the movie School Of Rock, the star of the movie, Jack Black, videotaped himself singing in front of a huge crowd of people, begging for Led Zeppelin to let them use the song in the movie. They succeeded. Reference

- The Minnesota Vikings play this song during their team introductions and before kickoffs.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Whole Lotta Love

You need coolin, baby, I'm not foolin,
I'm gonna send you back to schoolin,
Way down inside honey, you need it,
I'm gonna give you my love,
I'm gonna give you my love.

Wanna whole lotta love [X4]

You've been learnin, baby, I been learnin,
All them good times, baby, baby, I've been yearnin,
Way, way down inside honey, you need it,
I'm gonna give you my love... I'm gonna give you my love.

Wanna whole lotta love [X4]

You've been coolin, baby, I've been droolin,
All the good times I've been misusin',
Way, way down inside, I'm gonna give you my love,
I'm gonna give you every inch of my love,
Gonna give you my love.

Wanna whole lotta love [X4]

Way down inside... woman... you need... love.

Shake for me, girl. I wanna be your backdoor man.
Keep it coolin, baby.



- Released October 22, 1969

- This was Led Zeppelin's first US single. The single entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart on 22 November 1969. It remained on the chart for 15 weeks, peaking at #4 and becoming the band's only top 10 single in the US.

- In 1962, Muddy Waters recorded "You Need Love" written for him by peer Willie Dixon. In 1966 British mod band the Small Faces recorded the song as "You Need Loving". Some of the lyrics of Led Zeppelin's version were borrowed from the Willie Dixon song, a favorite of Robert Plant's. Plant's phrasing is particularly similar to that of Steve Marriott's in the Small Faces' version. Similarities with "You Need Love" would lead to a lawsuit against Led Zeppelin, settled out of court in favour of Dixon in 1985. Strangely, the Small Faces were never sued by Dixon, even though "You Need Loving" still only credits Ronnie Lane and Steve Marriott. Reference

Muddy Waters "You Need Love"



Small Faces "You Need Loving"



- "Whole Lotta Love" was the last song Led Zeppelin ever played live in their original lineup.

- The song includes a sound effect called "Reverse Echo" or "Backward Echo" Jimmy Page lays claim to the invention of this effect, stating that he originally developed the method when recording the single "Ten Little Indians" with The Yardbirds in 1967. He later used it on a number of Led Zeppelin tracks, including "You Shook Me" and "Whole Lotta Love"

The Yardbirds "Ten Little Indians"



Led Zeppelin "You Shook Me"



- In 2004, "Whole Lotta Love" was ranked number 75 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and in March 2005, Q magazine placed "Whole Lotta Love" at number three in its list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks. It was placed 11 on a similar list by Rolling Stone. In 2009 it was named the third greatest hard rock song of all time by VH1.

- Jimmy Page played the loose blues riff for the intro, on a Sunburst 1958 Les Paul Standard through a 100W Marshall "Plexi" head amp with distortion from the EL34 output valves, which ascends into the first chorus. Then, beginning at 1:24 (and lasting until 3:02) the song dissolves to a free jazz-like break involving a theremin solo and a drum solo and the moans of Robert Plant (sometimes called the "orgasm section".

- Robert Plant did this song in one take.

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Thank You

If the sun refused to shine
I would still be loving you
If mountains crumble to the sea
There would still be you and me

Kind woman, I give you my all
kind woman, nothing more

Little drops of rain
Whisper of the pain
Tears of love lost in the days gone by
My love is strong
With you there is no wrong
Together we shall go until we die

My my my

An inspiration's what you are to me
Inspiration, look and see

And so today, my world, it smiles
Your hand in mine, we walk the miles
Thanks to you, it will be done
For you to me, are the only one

All right, yeah

Happiness, no more be sad
Happiness, I'm glad

If the sun refused to shine
I would still be loving you
Mountains crumble to the sea
There will still be you and me




- Released October 22, 1969

-
"Thank You" signaled a deeper involvement in songwriting by singer Robert Plant, being the first Led Zeppelin song that he wrote all the lyrics for.

- Robert Plant dedicated the song to his wife, Maureen Wilson Plant.

- The song features some delicate Hammond organ playing by John Paul Jones, and ends with the organ fading into near-silence before coming back about 10 seconds later. This has created a problem for radio stations wishing to play the track, which must decide whether to accept the dead air or cut it off. Some stations typically run edited versions with the silence eliminated, while others play "Thank You" together with "The Lemon Song", because there's no pause between them on the album.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Ramble On

Leaves are falling all around,
It's time I was on my way.
Thanks to you, I'm much obliged
For such a pleasant stay.
But now it's time for me to go,
The autumn moon lights my way.
For now I smell the rain,
And with it pain,
And it's headed my way.
Ah, sometimes I grow so tired,
But I know I've got one thing I got to do,

*Ramble On,
And now's the time, the time is now
To sing my song.
I'm goin' 'round the world,
I got to find my girl, on my way.
I've been this way ten years to the day, Ramble On,
Gotta find the queen of all my dreams.

Got no time to for spreadin' roots,
The time has come to be gone.
And tho' our health we drank a thousand times,
It's time to Ramble On.

* Chorus

I ain't tellin' no lie.
Mine's a tale that can't be told,
My freedom I hold dear;
How years ago in days of old
When magic filled the air,
T'was in the darkest depths of Mordor
I met a girl so fair,
But Gollum, and the evil one crept up
And slipped away with her.
Her, her....yea.
Ain't nothing I can do, no.

* Chorus

Gonna ramble on, sing my song
Gotta keep-a-searchin' for my baby...
Gonna work my way, round the world
I can't stop this feelin' in my heart
Gotta keep searchin' for my baby
I can't find my bluebird!
I'd listen to my bluebird sing but I can't find my blue bird
A-keep-a ramblin' baby...




- Released October 22, 1969

-
The song's lyrics were heavily influenced by the timeless classic, The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.

- The opening line ("Leaves are falling all around") is probably a paraphrase of the opening line of Tolkien's poem "Namárië"also called "Galadriel's Lament". The poem may also be the inspiration for the entire first verse. "Namárië" is Quenya for "farewell."

-
Donald Swann's version of Tolkien's Quenya poem.



-
"Mine's a tale that can't be told, my freedom I hold dear; How years ago in days of old when magic filled the air, T'was in the darkest depths of Mordor..." refers to the adventures of either Frodo Baggins as he travels to Mordor, or that of Aragorn as he has to choose between staying with his love Arwen (Elrond's daughter) or going to destroy the Ring in Mordor:

- Often mistaken for bongos, drummer John Bonham is actually hitting a plastic rubbish bin throughout the song.








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Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Dazed and Confused

Been dazed and confused so long it's not true
Wanted a woman never bargained for you
Lots of people talk and few of them know,
Soul of a woman was created below.

You hurt and abuse tellin' all of your lies.
Run around sweet baby, Lord how they hypnotize.
Sweet little baby, I don't know where you've been.
Gonna love you baby, here I come again.

Every day I work so hard, bringin' home my hard earned pay
Try to love you baby, but you push me away.
Don't know where you're goin', only know just where you've been,
Sweet little baby, I want you again.

Been dazed and confused for so long, it's not true.
Wanted a woman, never bargained for you.
Take it easy baby, let them say what they will.
Will your tongue wag so much when I send you the bill?




- Released 1967

-
During The Yardbirds 1967 American tour, Jake Holmes performed as the opener at the Village Theater in Greenwich Village on August 25, 1967. The Yardbirds were inspired by his performance and decided to work up their own arrangement for a new song.

- Jake Holmes "Dazed and Confused"



- Folk singer Jake Holmes wrote and recorded "Dazed and Confused" for his debut solo album "The Above Ground Sound" of Jake Holmes", released in June 1967. Like the other tracks on the album, the song does not include any drums. It was recorded entirely with the trio of Holmes on guitar, keyboard and vocals, Ted Irwin on guitar and Lee Underwood on bass. The song has been incorrectly mislabeled as a tale about a bad acid trip. Holmes himself has confirmed that this is not the case. In 2001 he gave an interview to Shindig! magazine and said this about "Dazed and Confused": "I never took acid. I smoked grass and tripped on it, but I never took acid. I was afraid to take it. The song's about a girl who hasn't decided whether she wants to stay with me or not. It's pretty much one of those love songs."
Reference

- When the Yardbirds disbanded in 1968, the song "Dazed and Confused" was re-worked by Page yet again, this time while as a member of Led Zeppelin. Page took the title, came up with a new set of lyrics, and changed enough of the melody to escape a plagiarism lawsuit from Jake Holmes.

- Jimmy Page performed this with The Yardbirds with different lyrics as "I'm Confused." It appears on the album Live Yardbirds.

- The Yardbirds "I'm Confused"



- The Led Zeppelin version was not credited to Jake Holmes, and they also had a different ASCAP code asigned to it.

- Led Zeppelin recorded their version in October 1968 at Olympic Studios, London, and the song was included on their 1969 debut album Led Zeppelin. It begins with a slow-tempo bluesy rhythm, propelled by John Paul Jones' descending bass line. It then changes to a faster tempo during the darkest part of the song, again featuring bowed guitar by Page, followed by a furious guitar solo (similar to Page's solo from the Yardbirds' "Think About It"), before finally returning to the initial rhythm. John Bonham's sporadic, explosive drumming throughout helped define the song's power and intensity. Reference

- The Yardbird's "Think About it"



- The song is included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.

- The song was also used as the basis for the title of the 1993 film Dazed and Confused, which chronicled the lives of various American youths on their last day of high school in 1976. However, it is not found on the film's soundtrack. The film's director Richard Linklater appealed to Led Zeppelin band members to use some of their songs in the movie but, although Page agreed, Robert Plant refused.


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Tuesday, June 16, 2009

You Better You Bet

I call you on the telephone my voice too rough with cigarettes.
I sometimes think I should just go home but I'm dealing with a memory that never forgets
I love to hear you say my name especially when you say yes
I got your body right now on my mind and I drunk myself blind to the sound of old T-Rex
To the sound of old T-Rex
Who's next?

When I say I love you you say you better
(You better you better you bet)
When I say I need you you say you better
(You better you better you bet)
You better bet your life
Or love will cut you like a knife

I want those feeble minded axes overthrown
I'm not into your passport picture I just like your nose
You welcome me with open arms and open legs
I know only fools have needs but this one never begs

I don't really mind how much you love me
A little is really alright
When you say come over and spend the night
Tonight

When I say I love you you say you better
(You better you better you bet)
When I say I need you you say you better
(You better you better you bet)
You better bet your life
Or love will cut you like a knife

I lay on the bed with you
We could make some book of records
Your dog keeps licking my nose
And chewing up all those letters
Saying "you better"
You better bet your life

You better love me, all the time now
You better shove me back into line now
You better love me, all the time now
You better shove me back into line now.

I showed up late one night with a neon light for a visa
But knowing I'm so eager to fight can't make letting me in any easier
I know that I been wearing crazy clothes and I look pretty crappy sometime
But my body feels so good and I still sing a razor line every time.

And when it comes to all night living
I know what I'm giving
I've got it all down to a tee
And it's free.

When I say I love you you say you better
(You better you better you bet)
When I say I need you you say you better
(You better you better you bet)




- Released March 21, 1981

-
"You Better You Bet" was the last single by The Who that reached the Top 20 on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching #18 on March 21, 1981.

- The song was the fourth video played when MTV debuted on August 1, 1981

- "
I drunk myself blind to the sound of old T-Rex" = The line is in reference to the English rock band,T.Rex, fronted by guitarist, singer and songwriter Marc Bolan.

- Who's next?" = The line is in reference to the band's earlier album, Who's Next.

Monday, June 15, 2009

Who Are You?

Who are you?
Who, who, who, who?
Who are you?
Who, who, who, who?
Who are you?
Who, who, who, who?

I woke up in a Soho doorway
A policeman knew my name
He said, 'You can go sleep at home tonight
If you can get up and walk away'

I staggered back to the underground
And the breeze blew back my hair
I remember throwin' punches around
And preachin' from my chair

Well, who are you?
(Who are you?
Who, who, who, who?)
I really wanna know
(Who are you?
Who, who, who, who?)
'Cause I really wanna know
(Who are you?
Who, who, who, who?)

I took the Tube back out of town
Back to the Rollin' Pin
I felt a little like a dying clown
With a streak of Rin Tin Tin

I stretched back and I hiccupped
And looked back on my busy day
Eleven hours in the Tin Pan
God, there's got to be another way

Well, who are you?
(Who are you?
Who, who, who, who?)
Oh, who are you?
(Who are you?
Who, who, who, who?)
Oh, who the fuck are you?
(Who are you?
Who, who, who, who?)

Who are you?
Ooh wah ooh wah...

Who are you?
Who, who, who, who?
Who are you?
Who, who, who, who?
I really wanna know
(Who are you?
Who, who, who, who?)

I know there's a place you walked
Where love falls from the trees
My heart is like a broken cup
I only feel right on my knees

I spit out like a sewer hole
Yet still receive your kiss
How can I measure up to anyone now
After such a love as this?

Oh, tell me, who are you?
(Who are you?
Who?)
I really wanna know
(Who?)
Oh, I really wanna know
(Who?)
Come on, tell me
Who are you, you, you, oh, you?




- Released 1978

- According to the documentary Amazing Journey: The Story of The Who, Sex Pistols's guitarist Steve Jones recalls the encounter with a drunk Pete Townshend screaming "Who are you?! Who are you?!" at strangers.

- Soho is the night-club area in London and Pete Townshend was drinking with Steve Jones and Paul Cook of the Sex Pistols. He was telling them that they were the future of music and they had to take the "baton". Hence the line "preaching from my chair". They told him in no uncertain terms to go away. After Pete left, he passed out in a doorway. A policeman recognized him, and told him if he didnt get a move on, he'd run him in. Pete took the Tube home.

- "The Tube" is London's underground rail system.


- An alternate take: This song is based on a day in the life of Pete Townshend. It began with a very long meeting dealing with royalties for his songs: "Eleven hours in the Tin Pan, God, there's got to be another way." The "Tin Pan" he is referring to is "Tin Pan Alley" which is the name given to the collection of New York City-centered music publishers and songwriters who dominated the popular music of the United States. After this excruciating meeting he received a large check for royalties, left and went to a bar and got completely drunk. In that bar he encountered Paul Cook and Steve Jones of The Sex Pistols, who thought very highly of Pete for paving the way for Punk rock music. Townshend was conflicted because he feared The Who had sold out, and seeing The Sex Pistols, who were icons of rebellion, exasperated him even more. Pete left that bar and passed out in a random doorway in Soho (a part of New York). A policeman recognized him ("A policeman knew my name") and being kind, woke him and and told him, "You can go sleep at home tonight (instead of a jail cell), if you can get up and walk away." Pete's response: "Who the f--k are you?" Reference

- The album version includes an extra verse compared to the much shorter single. Additionally, a "lost verse" mix of the song was released on the 1996 reissue of Who Are You, with a completely different second verse: "I used to check my reflection / Jumping with my cheap guitar / I must have lost my direction, cause I ended up a superstar/ One night I was in the boardroom/ Affected by the human race/ You can learn from my mistakes, but you're posing in the glass again".

- The song is unusual in that it contains two clearly audible instances of the word "f*ck" at 2:16 and 5:39 (at 2:14 and 4:27 in the single edit version), yet has been played frequently in its entirety on rock radio stations. The expletives did, however, cause controversy when ABC's unedited broadcast of The Who's Live 8 performance retained them

- This is the theme song to CSI TV series.




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Sunday, June 14, 2009

Squeezebox

Mama's got a squeezebox she wears on her chest,
and when Daddy comes home, he never gets no rest.

'Cause she's playin' all night,
And the music's alright.
Mama's got a squeezebox,
Daddy never sleeps at night.

Well the kids don't eat
And the dog can't sleep.
There's no escape from the music
In the whole damn street.

'Cause she's playin' all night,
And the music's all right.
Mama's got a squeezebox,
Daddy never sleeps at night.

She goes in and out and in and out
and in and out and in and out.

'Cause she's playin' all night,
And the music's all right.
Mama's got a squeezebox,
Daddy never sleeps at night.

She goes, squeeze me, come on and squeeze me
Come on and tease me like you do
I'm so in love with you
Mama's got a squeezebox
Daddy never sleeps at night

She goes in and out and in and out and in and out and in and out
'Cause she's playing all night
And the music's all right
Mama's got a squeezebox
Daddy never sleeps at night.




- Released October 1975

- "Squeezebox" is a slang term for accordions and related instruments.

- The song contains sexual innuendo and the term "squeezebox" is also a slang for the vagina.

-
Pete [Townshend]: "Intended as a poorly aimed dirty joke. I had bought myself an accordion and learned to play it one afternoon. The polka-esque rhythm I managed to produce from it brought forth this song. Amazingly recorded by The Who to my disbelief. Further incredulity was caused when it became a hit for us in the USA."

-
"Squeeze Box" was originally intended for a Who television special planned for 1974 where the song was to be performed by The Who accompanied by 100 topless lady accordianists! Backed with "Success Story", it was released first in the U.S. November 22nd, 1975 in the middle of the 1975 North American tour. It reached #16 in the Billboard charts and #11 in the Cash Box charts. It also spent 16 weeks in the Billboard Top 100 singles chart, the longest for any Who single. Reference

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Saturday, June 6, 2009

Won't Get Fooled Again

We'll be fighting in the streets
With our children at our feet
And the morals that they worship will be gone
And the men who spurred us on
Sit in judgment of all wrong
They decide and the shotgun sings the song

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and greet the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again

The change, it had to come
We knew it all along
We were liberated from the fold, that's all
And the world looks just the same
And history ain't changed
'Cause the banners, they are flown in the next war

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and grin at the change all around
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
No, no!

I'll move myself and my family aside
If we happen to be left half alive
I'll get all my papers and smile at the sky
Though I know that the hypnotized never lie
Do ya?

There's nothing in the streets
Looks any different to me
And the slogans are replaced, by-the-by
And the parting on the left
Are now parting on the right
And the beards have all grown longer overnight

I'll tip my hat to the new constitution
Take a bow for the new revolution
Smile and greet the change all around me
Pick up my guitar and play
Just like yesterday
Then I'll get on my knees and pray
We don't get fooled again
Don't get fooled again
No, no!

Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

Meet the new boss
Same as the old boss



- Released June 25, 1971

-
Written by Pete Townshend, it combines guitar power chords with heavily processed organ and synthesizer sounds to create a textured, atmospheric introduction that explodes into the verse. It tells of a "revolution of revolutions" in an endless cycle, where "the change it had to come, we knew it all along" but each successive new regime turns out to be just like the old one, so that straight away it's time once again to "pick up my guitar and play, just like yesterday, then I'll get on my knees and pray we don't get fooled again".

-
Townshend stated in 2006 that: "It is not precisely a song that decries revolution - it suggests that we will indeed fight in the streets - but that revolution, like all action can have results we cannot predict. Don't expect to see what you expect to see. Expect nothing and you might gain everything. The song was meant to let politicians and revolutionaries alike know that what lay in the centre of my life was not for sale, and could not be co-opted into any obvious cause.

-
During the song, Townshend plays block chords spread between the two keyboards of the 1968 Lowrey Berkshire Deluxe TBO-1 organ. The output of the organ is fed into the audio input of the EMS VCS 3 mk1 synth. The first bit of processing to be applied to the organ sound is a low-frequency oscillator (LFO) controlling the frequency of a voltage-controlled filter (VCF), using a sine or triangle wave shape. In other words, the synth is turning the tone of the organ from mellow to bright, up and down automatically.

-
The synthesizer represents the revolution in the science-fiction rock opera, Lifehouse. The music builds at the beginning when the uprising starts, and returns in the end when a new revolution is brewing and about to take over.

-
This was the last song that Keith Moon performed with The Who on 25 May 1978 in Shepperton Studios.

- It is the theme song for the television series, CSI: Miami



-
Michael Moore requested permission to use the song over the end credits of his 2004 documentary Fahrenheit 9/11, as it tied in with both Moore's sentiments over George W. Bush's impending re-election, and the movie's last line, delivered by Bush — "There's an old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again." Permission was refused, however, and Neil Young's "Rockin' in the Free World" was ultimately used instead. Townshend later said that Moore "bullied" him about his refusal, and defended his decision by saying that he was "not convinced" by Moore's previous film, Bowling for Columbine.