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“My name is Bill and I’m a head case!”
While I was in senior High School in 1968/69, I had a friend, who like me was a Rolling Stones fan. I used to call him Mick and he would call me Keith. It turned out that he was also, like me, a Who fan. Happy Jack was our favourite Who song at the time.
Just over two years later I’m doing National Service and during a well deserved week-end break from corps training in the centre of Victoria, I paid a visit to the big smoke of Melbourne.
I travelled there in my brand new Toyota Corolla with three of my fellow recruits. My Corolla had a cassette player with two speakers in the back. However, as I had never had a cassette player before (that was to come soon), I only had two cassettes. One was of early Beatles singles and the other was various Who hits from the sixties.
Now my fellow recruits were country bumpkins, and although the Beatles tape was acceptable to them, the Who was another matter. When the first Who track came on, one of them said, “What’s he singing? Sounds like I’m a boil!”
Everyone was into the Beatles in my adolescence and young adulthood, but there didn’t seem to be many Who fans around.
The Who – I’m a Boy (1967)
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34 Replies
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As for “Happy Jack”,
Townshend reported the song is about a man who slept on the beach near where Townshend vacationed as a child. Children on the beach would laugh at the man and once buried him in the sand. However, the man never seemed to mind and only smiled in response. According to Marsh, “the lyric is basically a fairy tale, not surprisingly, given the links to Pete’s childhood”.
“I know that everyone thinks the lyric is “furry donkey” (on ALL of the lyrics sites), but that makes as much sense as the Jimi Hendrix lyric “scuze me while I kiss this guy.” Just listen to it and you’ll hear a lyric that makes perfect sense: “They rode on ahead in a hurry on Quay.” Note the Quay is pronounced “Key” and it is the main road along the beach on the East side of he Isle of Man. It is quite clear that this is the correct lyric. —
”I also wonder about the line “They couldn’t stop Jack or the water’s lapping”, as it makes more sense as “They couldn’t stop Jack or thwart his laughing.” The latter line makes perfect sense in light of the song’s theme. However it does sound more like “lapping” but that could be due to the liquor or pot in Roger’s system when he was singing it.”
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“Substitute” – The Who
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“Pictures Of Lilly”
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Hey Howard,
Interesting.. Yea if you look up lyrics its says furry donkey, I agree it doesn’t make sense.
But can you tell me is this beach in England then. Happy Jack was a great song. Keith played great drums on it. I also loved John Entwistle Whiskey Man. He was a very good writer ans usually wrote some dark and strange lyrics. I have all his solo albums which are great. I always thought the Who were the most exciting group to see live. In my head Keith was the best drummer. John the OX the best bass player. Townsend great showman and guitarist .
With me Howard I couldn’t pick who was bettter between the Beatles Who.
They both progress with their music. I know live the Who would have blown the Beatles off the stage. But they were equals in my head
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4xfDEzpqRk
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And of Course Boris
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“Can’t Explain”
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“Squeeze Box”
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Eminence Front
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“I Can See For Miles”
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I can see for Miles
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Hey Two Version of Miles … Cool Howard! Heading out will check back later..
I am really hating you tube. I have to type the link in can’t copy paste. Sucks
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Yes Joe, “I Can See For Miles” Is another great song from the Who that I remember well, having bought the single and been keen to play it to whoever would listen!
By the way, the “Boris” video you’re posted says “unavailable”.
Baba O’Riley
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“Who Are You”
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Howard FYI – Squeeze Box does not come up for some reason.
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