Album: My Generation (1965)

Charted: 2 74

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• People try to put us d-down (talkin' 'bout my generation)
  Just because we get around (talkin' 'bout my generation)
  Things they do look awful c-c-cold (talkin' 'bout my generation)
  I hope I die before I get old (talkin' 'bout my generation)
  
  This is my generation
  This is my generation, baby
  
  Why don't you all f-fade away (talkin' 'bout my generation)
  Don't try to dig what we all s-s-s-say (talkin' 'bout my generation)
  I'm not trying to 'cause a big s-s-sensation (talkin' 'bout my generation)
  I'm just talkin' 'bout my g-g-g-generation (talkin' 'bout my generation)
  
  My generation
  This is my generation, baby
  
  Why don't you all f-fade away (talkin' 'bout my generation)
  And don't try to d-dig what we all s-s-say (talkin' 'bout my generation)
  I'm not trying to 'cause a b-big s-s-sensation (talkin' 'bout my generation)
  I'm just talkin' 'bout my g-g-generation (talkin' 'bout my generation)
  
  This is my generation
  This is my generation, baby
  My my my generation
  
  People try to put us d-down (talkin' 'bout my generation)
  Just because we g-g-get around (talkin' 'bout my generation)
  Things they do look awful c-c-cold (talkin' 'bout my generation)
  Yeah, I hope I die before I get old (talkin' 'bout my generation)
  
  This is my generation
  This is my generation, baby
  My my my generation
  
  (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
  (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
  (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
  (Talkin' 'bout my generation)
  (Talkin' 'bout my generation) this is my generation
  (Talkin' 'bout my generation) this is my generation
  (Talkin' 'bout my generation) this is my generation
  (Talkin' 'bout my generation) this is my generation
  (Talkin' 'bout my generation) this is my generation
  (Talkin' 'bout my generation) this is my generation
  (Talkin' 'bout my generation) this is my generation Writer/s: Peter Townshend
  Publisher: Songtrust Ave, T.R.O. INC.
  Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 69

• Sally In The Alley from San FranciscoI felt that it was a song to differentiate our rebellious differences from the previous generation.
• Greg Stocks from Usaits about peace between them and the older generation, because they do things differently it does'nt mean they are doing stuff wrong
• Franz Kafka from San FranciscoIt was actually his 20th birthday, he just said it was his 21st so that he would be more likely to be able to drink unimpeded. He was successful. His tooth is probably still sitting in a landfill in Flint to this day.
• Guy from UsaMoon did NOT chip his tooth driving a car. They had a food fight on his 21st birthday and he slipped and fell. He was taken to the dentist which actually saved him from being arrested. No, he NEVER drove a car into a pool. He did drive one into a shallow pond behind his house, Tara.
• Barry from Sauquoit, NyOn January 6th 1966, the Who performed "My Generation" on the ABC-TV program 'Shindig!'...
  Three days later on January 9th it entered Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart for a five week stay, peaking at position #74...
  It reached #2 in the U.K. and #3 in Canada...
  R.I.P. Keith Moon (1946 - 1978), John Entwistle (1944 - 2002), and Jimmy O'Neil (Shindig's host, 1940 - 2013).
• Michael from Bradford, EnglandI always (ever since it came out) thought that the stuttering was in order to 'suggest' the F word when he sings "Why don't you all f f f fade away"
• Stefanie from Rock Hill, ScI've never heard the Oasis cover of My Generation, but I like them so I might like it. I've never heard Duff's version, but I agree that her revisions kinda negate the purpose of the song. Having said that, I don't know if hearing would cause me to have nearly the same reaction that LimpBizkit's Behind Blue Eyes did. I wanted to throttle Fred Dirst.
  
  Now last but not least:
  
  I think Pete and Roger were and are both hot. ;)
  
  P.S. And speaking of Behind Blue Eyes, I heard the most gorgeous, as in made me want to cry, version by Pete Townshend which I think is on his Life House Chronicles recording. It's a newer one, and words fail me in describing it!
• David from Lawren, MaIt's a Su-su-super Co-co-cool Song!! nTh-nTh-nTh-That's All Folks :-)
• Adrienne from San Francisco, Ca"My Generation" still rocks after all this time-- so do The Who. To hear a great version, listen to Live at Leeds. The song lasts just about 15 minutes and all sorts of riffs are thrown in. Truly brilliant.
• Nick from Seattle, Albaniawait wait wait... did Zac Efron do the end by the doors????? please tell me your joking cause that would be the biggest sin againt man kind!
• Brad from Lexington, KyBy the way, Hillary Duff destroyed this song's entire purpose when she made the lyric change to "I hope I don't die before I get old". Why even bother covering the song in the first place? Nobody, not even her fans, wants to hear that - her fans would be 9 year old girls who would have no idea where this song came from. It's like Zac Efron singing "The End" by The Doors. It makes no sense, doesn't work, and no one wants to hear it.
• Brad from Lexington, KyIt's ironic that Pete Townshend wrote the words "I hope I die before I get old" and Roger Daltrey sang them, but they're the two original members that are still alive and Keith Moon and John Entwistle, the two members that really had nothing to do with those words are dead. Weird...
• Chloe from St. Louis, Moaaaah, i love this song. it represents teenagers everywhere so well- 'hope i die before i get old'. awesome and angsty.
• Bob from Dumbsville, BelarusThis is the greatest song by one of the greatest bands of all-time, it has the best bass solo of all time, and it had the most meaningful lyrics that represented the sentiment of the time period that it was released in. RIP Keith Moon and John Entwistle. Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey are still going strong. Even though Keith Moon was the soul of this band(Townshend was the heart), the current drummer Zak Starkey(for those of you who don't know is Ringo Starr's son) is a more than adequate replacement. I also love Won't Get Fooled Again, Substitute, Happy Jack, Baba O'Riley, and Behind Blue Eyes. The VH1 Rock Honors with the Foo Fighters, the Flaming Lips, Incubus, Pearl Jam, and Tenacious D was just amazing. Pete and Roger still sound great even if Roger's voice is cracking quite a bit. When he screamed the line "They're all wasted!" from Baba O'Riley, it sounded like he was choking. As for Townshend, he was never blessed with a good voice anyway. Thanks to the Who for 40+ fruitful years of the good old sounds of rock and roll.
• Nady from Adelaide, AustraliaOr Hansen singing Metallica... heh heh I can see it now...
• Vincent Ferraro from Hesperia, CaHilary Duff covered it? That's like Hannah Montana singing Nirvana.
• Nady from Adelaide, Australiaewww who said Pete Townshend was hot??? no offence but have you not seen Roger Daltry??? Oh my god what beautiful blue eyes! Even as a 60 something year old he's still a looker....and thats coming from a 17 year old...weird I know
• Nady from Adelaide, AustraliaMan I love this song! It'll never die, it's from the 60's ad it's still true. How hot was Roger Daltry!!!!!boy oh boy
• Emma from Baltimore, MdI love this song and the Who. And yeah hilary duff covered it, but she should not go near it. nor should limp bizkit touch behind blue eyes
• Ron from New Milford, NjBob Saget Sang this song on an episode of Full House.
• Joe from Bellingham, WaKeith Moon DID drive his car into a brick wall and chipped a tooth. Said wall surrounding a hotel pool. He was not running from the cops, nor did it land in the pool itself. Moon died after an overconsumption of pills perscribed to him for help to make him quit drinking.
• Rachel from Cleveland, OhKeith Moon did not die of a drug overdose, he drove his car through a brick wall and into a pool when he was drunk, and according to the american government alcohol is not a drug.
  --------
  Yes, he did die of a drug overdose. Sleeping pills I believe. But he did drive a (not his) car into a pool trying to escape the cops at a hotel and chipped a tooth in the process. And, alcohol is classified as a drug. What else would it be? (Im 13 and can tell you all this..)
• Musicmama from New York, NyTo Shannan of Wilmington, DE: Yes, Pete Townsend is hot. But you should've seen Roger Daltrey back in the day!
• Musicmama from New York, NySophia Loren once said that neither her eyes, nose, cheekbones nor any other part of her face were exceptional. In fact, she said, they were rather ugly. But, she said, they just happened to be put together the right way. One might say something similar about this song. The lyrics are good, though not exceptional. And the stuttering, while novel back in the day, seems like a cliche today. However, when the lyrics and performance are put together, the result is one of rock'n'roll's veritable anthems. Also, as I have said in some of my reviews of "Subterranean Homesick Blues" and "Just Like A Rolling Stone," Bob Dylan was one of the progenitors of rap and hip hop. One could say the same thing for the Who--and about this song in particular--though for different reasons. Dylan's songs used three-beat rhyming lines, which is the basic rap format, and his rapid-fire delivery often seems ready to lapse into stuttering, but never quite does. But the Roger Daltrey, as we all know, stuttered in this song. It occurs to me that the stuttering serves a very similar purpose to the groove-skipping that the early hip-hop DJs and musicians like Grand Master Flash and Kool Herc used, and some musicians still use. It's as if the message is coming faster than anyone's speech or performace can deliver it, which is of course what often happens to people who take speed. And it also happens to people when they're angry or excited: the chief emotions of this song and of so much rap and hip-hop. As long as there are people, particularly young ones, who feel misunderstood or otherwise alienated, this song will remain a staple. And I agree with Matt of Millbrae who said that such life forms as Hillary Duff should never have been allowed near this song. One of the few things I can think of that would be worse would be Ricky Martin covering Bob Marley's "Redemption Song." Or Celine Dion doing "Lay Down" or almost anything else.
• Shannan from Wilmington, DeI love the song. The Who are great. Pete Townshend is soooo cool. He is also a very deep person in his words and music. He was also very very hott.
• Anna from Moscow, Czech Republiclet's see....1. hillary duffs cover kiiled my ears, and their bass SUCKED SO FREAKIN MUCH. 2. so did green days cover 3. oasis cover was freakin awesome (even though he only stuterred a little)and their bass guitar player is really good and i could go on and on but basically i currently LOVE oasis cause of their cover :P
• Joe from Bellingham, WaThe Who started the trend. It was a concert back when they were still the High Numbers Band 1963 I think. Pete accidently jammed his guitar into a low ceiling and bent the neck. On their next concert fans were egging them on to do it again. Pete angirly smashed his guitar. Jimi didn't "steal" it, I think that he simply did it second. AND ABOUT JOHN ENTWISTLE'S BASS During Smother Brothers Comedy tour I'm pretty sure he used a Gretsch 6070 Hollow Body bass, or a 1965 sunburst Fender Jazz Bass.
• Al from Ebenezer, Canadadoes anyone know the type of bass that john used for the smothers brothers show
• John from Hendersonville, NcThe Who destroyed their stuff first, though it began as an accident that they just played into when Townshend broke the neck of his guitar once.
• P J from Okc, OkPete Townsend said that Jimi Hendrix stole the Who's act, destroying their instruments! Does anyone know who actually started this trend?
• Stefanie from Rock Hill, ScI think the lsimple lyrics and the studdering are what make the song good. Plus, the song was released in the 1960's, maybe Americans andBritish people felt different then, but despite that, the song is still immensely popular in America. My Generation isn't the only classic, that wasn't a big hit over hear in the U.S. And plus, chart position doesn't necessarily define popularity, and vice versa.
• Brandon from Peoria, IlIf i may ask, what makes this song so good? The lyrics are incredibly simple, and the stuttering is goofy, although after reading the posts, it does make some sense now. And obvously Brits feel differently about this song than Yanks considering the giant gap in US vs UK chart ranking. So what makes it so good?
• Paul from Redditch, Englandonly Oasis & Green Day have come close to doing this song justice as a cover. Oasis's version is exceptionally good.
• Susan from Npr, FlSome songs should never be played or sung by anyone else--unless they're just singing along with the original! It's a great song. Play it while you driving. I don't care how old you are. "Old" is an attitude. I enjoy this now as much as I did 30 yrs. ago. I forget how far back some of my favorite songs are, and I can't believe this one came out in '65. I wasn't even a teenager yet! I didn't start listening to The Who until around '69 or '70. It's very strange seeing your teen idols get older!
• Griffin from New York, NyThere is nothing more painful than Hilary Duff's version of this. It has a synth bass solo and "less offensive lyrics" for crying out loud. How did Pete let her do this?
• Lily from Vancouver, Canada, United Statesis true H. Duff killed the best song in the world, its shameful that most people liked Duff in the first place. I did not belive it at first so i downloaded it on limewire. Sh*t i almost cried when i heard duff sing it
• Pete from Medford, NjI just took a history of rock class and I was told that Roger stutters in the song because he had a friend that used to stutter when he got angry. So Roger used the stutter to illustrate the frustration between the older and younger generations.
• George from Parma, OhRogers stutters in the song were intentional as most of the older generation saw the younger generation as being stupid and ileterate. So Roger intentionaly stuttered to get a rise of the older folks :-)
• Jordan from Shokan, Nyone of my favorite songs ever.
• Stuart from Melbourne, AustraliaI heard the stutter was because Roger couldn't read the lyrics when they were recording in the studio. It sounded okay so they left it in.
• Tom from BrisbaneKeith Moon was constantly on speed, that's why he was such a good drummer.
• Max from New York, United StatesPatti smith covered this in ohio on jan. 26th, 1976. It is a non lp bside which is only on the cd version of her album horses
• Jack from Faraham, EnglandKeith moon died of a drug overdose. the drug was perscribed to him for his alchohol problem.
  He drove into a pool and didn't die.
  He went into a hotel he was registered in with a woman at 2am and she wasn't allowed in because she wasn't registered. He then went outside and drove through the front of the foyer and said take this to my room its registered! so ha
• Alejandro from Mexico D.f., Mexicooasis cover is good...
• Sam from Alton, Ilthe thought of the bakstreet boys covering stairway sent a chill down my spine macthed only by that of skinless bloodsoked eternal nightmares.
• Vincent from St. Davids, EnglandOne brilliant amazing song that I love. I heard from my dad that on stage live they say, 'Why dont you all, ffff F**k Off!' Legeandary
  
• Nicole from Hampstead, Ncyes the way hilary duff sings this song is just terrible! it makes me so mad!
• Ross from Independence, MoThis is #11 on Rolling Stone's list of 500 greatest songs.
• Stefanie Magura from Rock Hill, ScThe Hillary Duff cover is worse than 'Behind Blue Eyes"? you've got to be kidding me?
• Matt from Millbrae, CaAre you kidding me? Hilary f**king Duff does a cover of this??? Okay, she should be slaughtered, just to put it frankly. Why do people think they can even touch songs like My Generation? It would be like the Backstreet boys covering stairway to heaven.
• Andrew from Seatle, WaThis song rules! I love classic rock. It makes me feel like a teenager no matter how old i get!
• Michael from Melbourne, AustraliaThe HIlary Duff cover is by far the most vomit inducing thing I have ever heard. (yes, worse than Limp Bizkit's cover of Behind Blue Eyes)
• Eddie from Petaluma, Caone of the best rock songs ever
• Stefanie Magura from Rock Hill, ScYeah! The studders are pretty cool aren't they? Just a quick question. I didn't know that people on speed studdered,do they? Does anyone know?
• Stefanie Magura from Rock Hill, Scokay fintan! how did you know that Hillary Duff covered it? I didn't.
• Tom from Newark, De"and according to the american government alcohol is not a drug."
  
  That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard, and I have heard some dumb things. No offense Edward, but you do realize there are lots of rumors about the US amongst Europeans that aren't exactly so. For your edification, Title 27 Chapter 8 of the U.S. Code regulates alcohol, and it most certainly does establish it as a drug, to be regulated by the Treasury Department - a throw back to the old days when Moonshiners weren't paying taxes on their distilled spirits. Perhaps you are confused because the Food & Drug Admministration does not have regulatory authority obver alcohol. But the Gov't certainly does classify Alcohol as a drug. What else would they classify it as, a Nutrient?
• Taylor from Austin, TxOh yeah, and long live John Entwistle
  and Keith Moon!!
• Taylor from Austin, TxIn my opinion this is one of the greatest rock songs of all-time.
• Hammerlock from Grand Rapids, MiGreen Day did a pretty good cover of the song. It's on their second album, "Kerplunk".
• Shana from Pembroke, CanadaI like this song, the stutters are really cool and original
• Fintan from Cheltenham, EnglandOh, I forgot: Hilary Duff recently covered it, changing the "I hope I die before I get old" line to "I hope I don't die before I get old"....
  Now where's your point, girl??!!
• Fintan from Cheltenham, EnglandKeith did drive his pool into a car, and he did drive through a brick wall, but Moon being Moon, didn't die.
  And yes, Pete did lose his hearing for about half an hour.
• Tyler from Farmington, Mi1.Keith Moon goes to the 'buddy holly story' premiere with his girlfriend. September 1978
  2. Keith Takes a handful of hemenivrin, his medicine for alcoholism, and goes to sleep.
  3. wakes up way early in the morning, grills a steak, downs it and washes it down with a glass of wine, and takes more pills.
  4.Goes to sleep- doesnt wake up
  
• Gaz from Derby, England, EnglandI saw Oasis perform this live a couple of years ago. Liam sang the line, "Why don't you all f**k off!" I just thought he was being arrogant - I never realised that was from Quadrophenia (to be fair, neither did he probably). They've kind of adopted this as their last song at gigs now.
• Greg from Portland, OrDear Edward,
  Keith Moon DID die of a drug overdose. He was prescribed sleeping pills when he was a rehab outpatient, and the pills were meant to be taken under the supervision of a doctor. He took some, went to sleep, woke up, and took some more. Yes, he drove his cars through a wall and into a swimming pool, but neither of those incidents were fatal. Perhaps you were mixing him with Brian Jones, who drowned in his swimming pool?
• Edward Hall from London, EnglandKeith Moon did not die of a drug overdose, he drove his car through a brick wall and into a pool when he was drunk, and according to the american government alcohol is not a drug.
• Joe D from Hamden, Ct"Why don't you all f-f-f-fade away" was originally supposed to be "Why don't you all f-f-f-f**k off" from the Quadrophenia movie
• Daniel from Sissonville, Wvno no no Jeffrey..townshend did lose his hearing on the Smother Brothers performance..he talked about it in an interview on vh1
• Jeffrey from Cleveland, OhTownshends didn't lose his hearing during the Smother Brothers performance. He lost it because he would stand to close to the speakers when Daltrey would scream.

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