This song is based on a day in the life of Pete Townshend. A policeman recognized him ('A policeman knew my name') and being kind, woke him and and told him, 'You can go sleep at home tonight (instead of a jail cell), if you can get up and walk away.' Pete's response: 'Who the f-k are you?' Pete left that bar and passed out in a random doorway in Soho (a part of New York). Townshend was conflicted because he feared The Who had sold out, and seeing The Sex Pistols, who were icons of rebellion, exasperated him even more.

In that bar he encountered Paul Cook and Steve Jones of The Sex Pistols, who thought very highly of Pete for paving the way for Punk rock music. After this excruciating meeting he received a large check for royalties, left and went to a bar and got completely drunk. It began with a very long meeting dealing with royalties for his songs: 'Eleven hours in the Tin Pan, God, there's got to be another way.' The 'Tin Pan' he is referring to is 'Tin Pan Alley' which is the name given to the collection of New York City-centered music publishers and songwriters who dominated the popular music of the United States. Oh, tell me, who are you? (Who are you? Ooh)Ĭome on, tell me, who are you, you, you, ah, you? (Yeah) Who are you? (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?) Tell, tell me, who are you? (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)Ĭome on, come on, who? (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)Īh, who the fuck are you? (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?) Oh, I really wanna know (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)

Oh, tell me, who are you? (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?) (Ooh wa, ooh wa, ooh wa, ooh wa, ooh wa, ooh)Ĭome on, tell me, who are you? (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?) Oh, who the fuck are you? (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?) Oh, who are you? (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?)Ĭome on and tell me, who are you? (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?) 'Cause I really wanna know (who are you? Who, who, who, who?) Tell me, who are you? (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?) I really wanna know (who are you? Who, who, who, who?)

Well, who are you? (Who are you? Who, who, who, who?) He said, 'You can go sleep at home tonight

You are who you are song lyrics