Broken Hallelujah

I CAN SEE FOR MILES

The Who's Pete Townsend is sharpening his writing skills online for his upcoming autobiography. I'm enjoying the details of his early years. Below is an excerpt.

"On March 20th 1966 an Observer magazine story about The Who phenomenon was published; on its front page was Colin Jones’ unflattering iconic portrait of the band. The story inside was a puff by their buddy John Heilpern for Kit and Chris; we were represented as lightweight braggarts, spendthrifts, vain Dandies and ugly scumbags. My depression deepened. I began to drive to the Scotch of St James nightclub whenever I had free time, to drink Scotch and Coke, and hang out with stars like P.J. Proby, Brian Jones, John Walker and Gary Leeds of the Walker brothers and others. It was not like me at all, but I was pleased to be feted, and built up a friendship with Brian Jones that meant a lot to me. Together we saw one of Stevie Wonder’s first London shows there; Stevie got so excited he fell off the stage."

"May 1966. Car crashes, several. A fight with Keith Moon on stage (he was threatening to leave and form a band with the stupid name of Led Zeppelin, such a stupid name would never have caught on)..."

"Keith Moon had been through something even more powerful in his early relationship with his wife Kim, who had been a professional photographer’s model once pursued all the way down to her home in Bournemouth by Rod Stewart. It was this kind of paranoid, unhinged thinking that spurred me to write I Can See For Miles, one of the best songs I produced in the period... About the sick and viciously jealous intuitions of a cuckolded partner."

Well, here's a poke at you
You're gonna choke on it too
You're gonna lose that smile
Because all the while
I can see for miles and miles

A perfect "fuck you" to a broken love affair.

Pete Townsend