1921 (song)
| "1921" | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Song by the Who | |
| from the album Tommy | |
| Released | 23 May 1969 |
| Recorded | 19 September 1968 – 7 March 1969 |
| Genre | Rock |
| Length | 2:49 |
| Label | Polydor |
| Songwriter(s) | Pete Townshend |
| Producer(s) | Kit Lambert |
"1921" is a song by the English rock band the Who, written by guitarist and primary writer, Pete Townshend. It appears in the band's 1969 rock opera album, Tommy.
Plot
[edit]After assuming her missing husband had died in World War I, Ms. Walker takes on a new lover. As the couple optimistically celebrates the upcoming new year of 1921, Captain Walker unexpectedly returns home. In a fit of blind rage, Captain Walker accidentally kills the lover in front of his and Ms. Walker's young son, Tommy. The two parents coerce Tommy into believing that he had seen nothing and to tell no one of what he had seen.[1]
Composition
[edit]The song is in the keys of C major and A major and begins with an arpeggio, first played on piano and then continued by the electric and acoustic guitar for the remainder of the song.[2]
Themes
[edit]As one of the opening tracks of the rock opera, "1921" is used as the leading cause to the events of the album, along with it creating motifs for the overall story. The traumatic event of Tommy witnessing the murder of a man, from the hands of his own father, puts his psyche into a state of complete psychosomatic isolation from the world. Tommy is left to grasp with the realities of this painful experience, which develops into Tommy's desire to build an identity for himself and to be seen,[3] especially when he becomes blind, deaf and dumb because of this murder which his parents never bring up again in order to save themselves from persecution. It can also be inferred that the "You didn't hear it" chorus is meant to parallel Tommy's "See Me, Feel Me" theme as Tommy is berated by his parents to keep the murder a secret that creates an inner imaginary world and "plunges him into an autistic state of sensory deprivation",[4] which segues into the following song, "Amazing Journey".
Personnel
[edit]- Pete Townshend – lead vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, piano
- John Entwistle – backing vocals, bass guitar
- Roger Daltrey – backing vocals
- Keith Moon – drums
Bibliography
[edit]- Atkins, John (2000). The Who on Record: A Critical History, 1963–1998. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-0609-8.
- Marsh, Dave (1983). Before I Get Old: The Story of The Who. Plexus. ISBN 978-0-85965-083-0.
References
[edit]- ^ Atkins 2000, pp. 121–122.
- ^ "Sheet Music for 1921 by the Who". musescore.com. June 6, 2021.
- ^ Gorshin, Mawr (2021-11-25). "Analysis of Tommy". mawrgorshin.com.
- ^ Atkins 2000, pp. 117–118.