All This Music Must Fade

Album: Who (2019)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • In 1976, George Harrison was found guilty of "subconscious plagiarism" when a judge ruled that "My Sweet Lord" sounded too much like the Chiffons hit "He's So Fine." Since then, artists like Robin Thicke on "Blurred Lines" and Katy Perry on "Dark Horse" have fallen foul of the legally sensitive topic of originality/copyright. Songwriters are becoming increasingly nervous about being sued, as any tune they write is bound to use musical elements that have already been explored.

    Here, The Who's guitarist and songwriter Pete Townshend takes a tongue-in-cheek look at music originality. He nullifies artists' complaints about their music being pilfered because:

    This sound that we share
    Has already been played
    And it hangs in the air


    Speaking about the provocative track, Townshend said, "Our musical palette is limited enough in the 21st century without some dork claiming to have invented a common chord scheme."
  • The song was debuted on October 3, 2019 during Zoe Ball's BBC Radio 2 show.
  • Roger Daltrey was less than impressed by an early demo of this song that included a rap sequence, with Pete Townshend suggesting Daltrey could perform the part on record.

    "I hated it at first, but it's such a catchy song," said Daltrey to Rolling Stone. "On the demo, he had some rapping on it. Well, no f---ing way I'm going to rap. No way. Let the youngsters wear those clothes."
  • The first verse begins with Roger Daltrey singing:

    I don't care
    I know you're gonna hate this song
    And that's fair
    We never really got along


    Townshend admitted to Mojo magazine that, at first, Daltrey was worried about the lyric. He thought the guitarist was putting words in his mouth, saying, "You're gonna hate this song Roger." The Who songwriter replied, "No this is for you to sing this is your view." However, Daltrey countered, "I don't know that I feel that, 'cause I'm not a songwriter," to which Townshend replied, "Well, imagine that you are."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Sam Hollander

Sam HollanderSongwriter Interviews

The hitmaking songwriter/producer Sam Hollander with stories about songs for Weezer, Panic! At The Disco, Train, Pentatonix, and Fitz And The Tantrums.

Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty

Rob Thomas of Matchbox TwentySongwriter Interviews

Rob Thomas on his Social Distance Sessions, co-starring with a camel, and his friendship with Carlos Santana.

Women Who Rock

Women Who RockSong Writing

Evelyn McDonnell, editor of the book Women Who Rock, on why the Supremes are just as important as Bob Dylan.

Charles Fox

Charles FoxSongwriter Interviews

After studying in Paris with a famous composition teacher, Charles became the most successful writer of TV theme songs.

Lori McKenna

Lori McKennaSongwriter Interviews

Lori's songs have been recorded by Faith Hill and Sara Evans. She's performed on the CMAs and on Oprah. She also has five kids.

Does Jimmy Page Worship The Devil? A Look at Satanism in Rock

Does Jimmy Page Worship The Devil? A Look at Satanism in RockSong Writing

We ring the Hell's Bells to see what songs and rockers are sincere in their Satanism, and how much of it is an act.