These lyrics ain't for keepin'
When it came out in 1971, The Who's album "Who's Next" was a staple in the record collections of just about everyone I hung around with. People talked about it with a tinge of reverence, and perhaps rightfully so, because the album contains songs that still sound good today: "Baba O'Reilly" (which I've heard referred to more than once as "Teenage Wasteland"); the underrated "Bargain"; John Entwistle's "My Wife"; and "Behind Blue Eyes" top my list.
Through the earphones of time, though, many of the album's songs sound dated: "Baba O'Reilly" is saved only by the fiddle solo at the end; "The Song is Over" should have ended sooner; "Getting in Tune" and "Going Mobile" are weak tea; and "Won't Get Fooled Again" has the skeleton of a great song, but there's too much synthesizer fat on the bones. Even it's "meet the new boss" climax can't save it.
One song in particular jumped into my brain jukebox a couple of weeks ago, and for the first time, I actually paid attention to the lyrics. It's "Love Ain't for Keeping," and here's how the vocals by Roger Daltrey start:
Layin' on my back
In the dewy morning grass
Rain's coming down
But I know the clouds will pass
That sounds really comfortable. Nonetheless, the singer has one thing on his mind:
Lay down beside me
Love ain't for keeping
To recap: the singer is lying in wet grass, it's raining, "black ash from the foundry hangs like a hood," and the singer thinks this is a good time and place for his loved one and him to share something other than a towel.
In the haze of the '70s, the lyrics might have made sense. Today? Not so much.
Go take a shower and dry off, Roger.