The Punk and the Godfather

"The Punk and the Godfather"
Song by The Who from the album Quadrophenia
Released	October 19, 1973
Recorded	May 1972 and June–August 1973
Genre	Rock
Length	5:10
Label	MCA
Writer	Pete Townshend
Producer	The Who, Kit Lambert
Quadrophenia track listing
17 tracks Side one "I Am the Sea" "The Real Me" "Quadrophenia" "Cut My Hair" "The Punk and the Godfather" Side two "I'm One" "The Dirty Jobs" "Helpless Dancer" "Is It in My Head?" "I've Had Enough" Side three "5:15" "Sea and Sand" "Drowned" "Bell Boy" Side four "Doctor Jimmy" "The Rock" "Love, Reign o'er Me"

"The Punk and the Godfather" (titled "The Punk Meets the Godfather" on the US album) is the fifth track off of The Who's second rock opera, Quadrophenia.

Background

In "The Punk and the Godfather", the protagonist of Quadrophenia, Jimmy, goes to see a mod band (which is symbolized to be The Who themselves) perform, only to be disappointed that the band were just part of the mod culture that made up the audience. Pete Townshend said of the song's lyrics:

The hero goes to a rock concert. He queues up, pays his money and he decides he is going to see the stars backstage as they come out the stage door. And one of them comes up and says 'fuck off!' And he suddenly realizes that there's nothing really happening in rock & roll. It's just another cross on his list.^[1]

The song quotes The Who's 1965 hit, "My Generation".^[1]

Live history

"The Punk and the Godfather" was performed live during The Who's 1973 tour that was used to promote Quadrophenia. It has since become a live favorite, being performed in multiple tours since.

References

1. Cady, Brian. "'Quadrophenia' liner notes". The Hypertext Who.

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics