The Who -‘Baba O’ Riley’ Live In Shepperton

The Who -‘Baba O’ Riley’ Live In Shepperton | Society Of Rock Videos

Happy Birthday, Pete Townshend!

A very, very special happy birthday goes out to Pete Townshend of The Who, who is celebrating his 70th birthday today!

Looking back on his career as one of the best guitarists in rock music, it’s hard to overlook Pete’s contributions to music, especially the iconic ‘Baba O’Riley’. He’s one of the strongest songwriters in history, and his genius has penned lyrics that have stood the test of time and are relevant nearly 50 years after the ink dried!

Who is Baba O’ Riley?!

A portmanteau of Meher Baba, Pete Townshend’s spiritual guru and Terry Riley, an experimental composer Townshend admired.Townshend wrote it as his vision of what would happen if the spirit of Meher Baba was fed into a computer and transformed into music. The result? Baba in the style of Terry Riley, or “Baba O’Riley.”

Since the name ‘Baba O’Riley’ isn’t actually mentioned in the song, it’s been referred to as ‘Teenage Wasteland’ for years. The fact that one line alone sticks out as the title of this iconic song is a huge testament to Pete’s tremendous way with words!

Happy birthday, Pete! We wish you many, many more years of great health and great music!

+ Baba O’Riley lyrics +

Out here in the fields
I fight for my meals
I get my back into my living
I don’t need to fight
To prove I’m right
I don’t need to be forgiven

Don’t cry
Don’t raise your eye
It’s only teenage wasteland

Sally ,take my hand
Travel south crossland
Put out the fire
Don’t look past my shoulder
The exodus is here
The happy ones are near
Let’s get together
Before we get much older

Teenage wasteland
It’s only teenage wasteland
Teenage wasteland
Oh, oh
Teenage wasteland
They’re all wasted!

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