"The Punk and the Godfather" (titled "The Punk Meets the Godfather" on the US album) is a song written by

Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is the co-founder, guitarist, keyboardist, second lead vocalist, principal songwriter and leader of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s an ...

, the guitarist for

The Who The Who are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. Considered one of th ...

, for their sixth album, ''

Quadrophenia ''Quadrophenia'' is the sixth studio album by the English rock band the Who, released as a double album on 26 October 1973 by Track Records. It is the group's third rock opera, the previous two being the "mini-opera" song "A Quick One, While ...

''.

Lyrics

In "The Punk and the Godfather", the protagonist of

, Jimmy, goes to see a mod band perform, only to be disappointed that the band were just part of the mod culture that made up the audience. In the song, Townshend was "apparently... also trying to understand the roots of the Who, its attraction as rallying point and its eventual rejection by such as Jimmy", according to a review in ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

''. According to Who biographer John Atkins, Jimmy "questions the balance of power that prevails between rock star and fan." Pete Townshend said of the song's lyrics: The song quotes

's 1965 hit, "

My Generation "My Generation" is a song by the English rock band The Who, written by guitarist and primary songwriter Pete Townshend. One of the band's most recognizable songs, it was placed number 11 by ''Rolling Stone'' on its list of the " 500 Greatest S ...

Composition

According to the sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by

Sony/ATV Music Publishing Sony Music Publishing LLC (formerly Sony/ATV Music Publishing) is an American music publisher. Responsible for publishing the largest quantity of music, with over five million songs owned or administered as of end March 2021, it is part of Sony ...

, the song is set in the

time signature A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates th ...

of common time. It is composed in the key of

A major A major is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor. The A major scale is: Changes needed for the ...

with

Roger Daltrey Sir Roger Harry Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician and actor. He is the co-founder and lead vocalist of the Rock music, rock band the Who, known for his powerful voice and charismatic stage presence. His stage persona ear ...

's vocal range spanning from D₃ to B₄.

John Entwistle John Alec Entwistle (9 October 194427 June 2002) was an English musician, best known as the bass guitarist for the rock band the Who. Entwistle's music career spanned over four decades. Nicknamed "The Ox" and "Thunderfingers", he was the band ...

provided a melodic bass line that is very prominent in "The Punk and the Godfather".

Reception

Richie Unterberger Richie Unterberger (born 1962) is an American author and journalist whose focus is popular music and travel writing. Life and writing Unterberger attended the University of Pennsylvania, where he wrote for the university newspaper '' The Daily P ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

highlighted the song as one of the best tracks on ''Quadrophenia''. Caryn Rose, writing for ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'', called the song "One of the record's iconic moments, the song opens with clanging power chords, perfectly interspersed percussion, and majestic vocals. This track is trademark Who, period." A review in

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

said the song "serves as an epitaph—for Townshend, and every rock legend that had the audacity to not die young—to the decidedly anti-rock notion of growing old."Reconsidering The Who’s 'Quadrophenia'
''

''. Retrieved August 7, 2016.

Live performance

"The Punk and the Godfather" was first performed live during The Who's 1973 tour that was used to promote ''

''. It has since become a live favorite, being performed on multiple tours since.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Punk and the Godfather 1973 songs The Who songs Song recordings produced by Kit Lambert Songs written by Pete Townshend