Who Are You (song)
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| "Who Are You" | ||
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| Single by The Who | ||
| from the album Who Are You | ||
| Released | 1978 | |
| Format | 7" | |
| Recorded | October 1977 | |
| Genre | Rock | |
| Length | 6:16 (Album Version) 5:06 (Single Edit) 3:27 (US Single Edit) | |
| Label | Polydor (UK), Decca (US) | |
| Writer(s) | Pete Townshend | |
| Producer(s) | Glyn Johns | |
| Chart positions | ||
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| The Who singles chronology | ||
| Squeeze Box (1975) | Who Are You | You Better You Bet (1981) |
- This article is about a song by The Who. For the album of the same name, see Who Are You.
Who Are You, composed by Pete Townshend, is the title track on The Who's 1978 release, Who Are You, the last album released before drummer Keith Moon's death that September. It was released as a double-A sided single with the John Entwistle composition, "Had Enough," also featured on the album.
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[edit] Lyrics
The most popular interpretation of the song is about an encounter Townshend had with the Sex Pistols, who saw him in a bar in Soho and greeted him, but he was very drunk and couldn't tell who they were. Townshend awoke outside the bar and was caught drunk by a policeman, but the cop was a fan and let him go.
The album version is included with an extra verse, whereas the single is much shorter. Additionally, a "lost verse" mix of the song was released on the 1996 reissue of Who Are You, with a completely different second verse; "I used to check my reflection / Jumping with my cheap guitar / I must have lost my direction, cause I ended up a superstar/ One night I was in the boardroom/ Petrified, a human wreck/ You can learn from my mistakes, but you're posing in the glass again".
The song is unusual in that it contains two very audible instances of the word "fuck" (at 2:15 and 5:43, and 4:27 in the single edit version), yet is regularly played in its entirety on classic rock radio stations. The expletives did however cause controversy when ABC's unedited broadcast of The Who's Live 8 performance retained them.[1]
[edit] Video
A promotional video was filmed on May 9, 1978; originally, the intent was to have The Who simply mime to the single version's backing track with Roger Daltrey adding live vocals, but the decision was made to also re-record the guitars, drums, and piano. Only John Entwistle's bass and the synthesizer backing remained intact from the original version. This version was later released on The Kids Are Alright documentary. The video also makes Keith Moon's poor state of health evident as it shows him to be significantly overweight.
[edit] Media Usage
- This is one of The Who's most popular songs, featured in concerts including their 2005 appearance at Live 8 and was played at The Concert for New York City.
- It is used as the theme song for the hit CBS drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
- During ESPN's Sunday Night Football, the opening of the song was used when a team's starting offense was introduced. (AC/DC's Hell's Bells was used for the defense.)
