A Song I Like

In a future post, I will talk about songs I like and why. For this one, however, I want to talk about Peter Townshend's great piece of political philosophy, Won't Get Fooled Again. For you classical music lovers, Townshend wrote most of the songs performed by The Who. Even fuddie duddies know Pinball Wizard.

The song begins:

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.

We may not be fighting in the streets as Townshend envisioned, but we are doing something like that. The winners - the people who spurred us on - will, in fact, sit in judgment of us. Townshend then sings the chorus:

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.

I have lived nearly 69 years. I have seen my choice for President win (5 times) and lose (4 times), not counting reelections in either category. Each time, my life continued, and I still had obligations I had to do. I guess I just picked up my guitar and played. I remember a scene in Monty Python's Holy Grail movie where Arthur, King of the Britons, had to tell peasants who he was because it did not matter to them who the hell was king. I guess no one had television or newspapers during Arthur's time. As Brian Wilson wrote, "wouldn't it be nice?"

Townshend continues:

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.

It has been nearly 50 years since Roe v. Wade was decided, yet abortion is still a hot political topic. Taxes, social programs, discrimination, foreign policy, and so on and so forth. Save your banners because you will need them in the next election or political war.

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-bye.
And the parting on the left
Is now parting on the right
And the beards have all grown longer overnight.

These two stanzas point out the hypocrisy that pervades politics. Very 1984, the novel. We are no longer fighting with the East, we are fighting with the West, and we were always fighting with the West. The ends always justify the means.

Then, Townshend closes with the best lines of the song:

Meet the new boss.
Same as the old boss.

Meet Arthur, King of the Britons.