Music and lyrics Townshend told
Rolling Stone in 1985 that "'My Generation' was very much about trying to find a place in society." On a later interview for
Good Morning America, in 1989, the band was discussing the upcoming 1989 tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of
Tommy, and Townshend talked about the famous line "I hope I die before I get old." He said that, for him, when he wrote the lyrics, "old" meant "very rich". The song's lyrics comprise a distilled statement of youthful rebellion. The song's melody and composition is considered a forebear to
punk rock. One of the most quoted—and patently rewritten—lines in rock history is "I hope I die before I get old," famously sneered by lead singer
Roger Daltrey. For the band the song was the basis for an extended medley or improvisation, going on as long as fifteen minutes, as evinced by the version appearing on
Live at Leeds. Live recordings from 1969 to 1970 include snippets of music from
Tommy as well as parts of what would become "Naked Eye". Townshend's demo version of the song (together with a demo of "
Pinball Wizard") appeared on a
flexi disc included in the original edition of the book
The Who: Maximum R&B by Richard Barnes. The instrumental elements of the song are fast and aggressive. Significantly, "My Generation" also featured one of the first bass solos in rock history. This was played by Entwistle on his
Fender Jazz Bass, rather than the
Danelectro bass he wanted to use; after buying three Danelectros with rare thin strings that kept breaking easily (and were not available separately), a frustrated Entwistle used his Fender strung with nylon tapewound strings and was forced to simplify the solo. The song's
coda features drumming from
Keith Moon, as well, whereupon the song breaks down in spurts of guitar feedback from Townshend's
Rickenbacker, rather than fading out or ending cleanly on the
tonic. There are two guitar parts. The basic instrumental track (as reflected on the instrumental version on the My Generation Deluxe edition) followed by Townshend's overdubs including the furious feedback on the coda. Similarly to
the Kinks's "
You Really Got Me" (also produced by Shel Talmy), the song
modulates from its opening key of G up to C via the keys of A and B. Townshend's guitars were tuned down a whole step for the recording.
Vocals The vocal melody of "My Generation" is an example of the
shout-and-fall modal frame. This call and response is mirrored in the instrumental break with solo emphasis passing from Townshend's guitar to Entwistle's bass and back again several times. Like much of the Who's earlier
mod output, the song showcases influences of American
rhythm and blues, most explicitly in the
call and response form of the verses. Daltrey would sing a line, and the backing vocalists,
Pete Townshend (low harmony) and
John Entwistle (high harmony), would respond with the refrain "Talkin' 'bout my generation": Another salient aspect of "My Generation" is Daltrey's delivery: an angry and frustrated
stutter. Various stories exist as to the reason for this distinct delivery. One is that the song began as a slow
talking blues number without the stutter (in the 1970s it was sometimes performed as such, but with the stutter, as "My Generation Blues"), but after being inspired by
John Lee Hooker's "Stuttering Blues", Townshend reworked the song into its present form. Another reason is that it was suggested to Daltrey that he stutter to sound like a British mod on
speed (amphetamines). It is also proposed, albeit less frequently, that the stutter was introduced to give the group a framework for implying an expletive in the lyrics: "Why don't you all fff ... fade away!" However, producer
Shel Talmy insisted it was simply "one of those happy accidents" that he thought they should keep. Roger Daltrey has also commented that he had not rehearsed the song prior to the recording, was nervous, and he was unable to hear his own voice through the monitors. The stutter came about as he tried to fit the lyrics to the music, and Talmy decided it worked well enough to keep. The BBC initially refused to play "My Generation" because it did not want to offend people who stutter, but it reversed its decision after the song became more popular. ==Reception and legacy==