Single:
Won’t Get Fooled Again entered the Australian singles chart* on 13 September 1971 and peaked at 14. It was #84 on the Top 100 of 1971.
Album:
The song is on Who’s Next which entered the Australian albums chart* on 11 October 1971 and peaked at #3.
Songwriter:
Pete Townshend
Producers:
The Who, Glyn Johns
Record label of Australian release:
Polydor
*Kent Music Report / Australian Chart Book. See About.
BONUS TRACK BELOW – studio version
Wikipedia:
Townshend wrote the song as a closing number of the Lifehouse project, and the lyrics criticise revolution and power. To symbolise the spiritual connection he had found in music via the works of Meher Baba and Inayat Khan, he programmed a mixture of human traits into a synthesizer and used it as the main backing instrument throughout the song. The Who tried recording the song in New York in March 1971, but re-recorded a superior take at Stargroves the next month using the synthesizer from Townshend’s original demo. Ultimately, Lifehouse as a project was abandoned in favour of Who’s Next, a straightforward album, where it also became the closing track. It has been performed as a staple of the band’s setlist since 1971, often as the set closer, and was the last song drummer Keith Moon played live with the band.
Read more: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Won’t_Get_Fooled_Again
Songfacts:
Pete Townshend wrote this song about a revolution. In the first verse, there is an uprising. In the middle, they overthrow those in power, but in the end, the new regime becomes just like the old one (“Meet the new boss, same as the old boss”). Townshend felt revolution was pointless because whoever takes over is destined to become corrupt. In Townshend: A Career Biography, Pete explained that the song was antiestablishment, but that “revolution is not going to change anything in the long run, and people are going to get hurt.”
The synthesizer represents the revolution. It builds at the beginning when the uprising starts, and comes back at the end when a new revolution is brewing.
Read more: www.songfacts.com/facts/the-who/wont-get-fooled-again
Lyrics:
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 judgement of all wrong
They decide and the shotgun sings the song
Click for full lyrics
This song is also on our Spotify playlists Bang a Gong – the 70s and Bang a Gong – rockin’ the 60s & 70s
Find more songs to enjoy: Bang a Gong song finder
BONUS TRACK
Won’t Get Fooled Again studio version from Who’s Next
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