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Symbols: ~ ---> let note ring
/ ---> slide up
\ ---> slide down
% ---> repeat many times
hb ---> half bend
fb ---> full bend
===============================================================
Chorus (1:47)
e[-------5x-------|----------------------|--------------------]
B[----------------|----------------------|--------------------]
G[------5hb~~3~~~~|-5hb~~~~5hb~~~~5hb~~~~|--------------------]
D[-3~~~~5hb~~3~~~~|-5hb~~~~5hb~~~~5hb~~~~|--------------------]
A[-3~~~~3hb~~1~~~~|-3hb~~~~3hb~~~~3hb~~~~|--------------------]
E[-1~~~~----------|----------------------|--------------------]
Verse (2:32)
e[-------8x-------|-------------------------------------------]
B[----------------|-------------------------------------------]
G[------5hb~~3~~~~|-------------------------------------------]
D[-3~~~~5hb~~3~~~~|-------------------------------------------]
A[-3~~~~3hb~~1~~~~|-------------------------------------------]
E[-1~~~~----------|-------------------------------------------]
Guitar Solo (3:05)
e[-13fb~~~~13~------------------|-----------------------------]
B[------------13~~13/15~15-15~~~|-----------------------------]
G[------------------------------|-----------------------------]
D[------------------------------|-----------------------------]
A[------------------------------|-----------------------------]
E[------------------------------|-----------------------------]
3:08
e[-13-15-13-17-13-13--------------------|---------------------]
B[-------------------15-13~~15p13-15~13~|---------------------]
G[--------------------------------------|---------------------]
D[--------------------------------------|---------------------]
A[--------------------------------------|---------------------]
E[--------------------------------------|---------------------]
3:11
e[-------------------------------------|----------------------]
B[-------------------------------------|----------------------]
G[-17fb-17fb-17fb-17fb-17fb-17fb-17fb~~|----------------------]
D[-------------------------------------|----------------------]
A[-------------------------------------|----------------------]
E[-------------------------------------|----------------------]
(3:13, The second guitar plays the above power chords 4x)
Solo, cont. (3:14)
e[------------------------------------------|-----------------]
B[------------------------------------------|-----------------]
G[-17fb---17fb--17fb-17fb-15fb-14fb-15\14~~~|-----------------]
D[------------------------------------------|-----------------]
A[------------------------------------------|-----------------]
E[------------------------------------------|-----------------]
Interlude (3:35, played by second guitar, see below)
Interlude (3:35, played by first guitar)
e[-12--13--15--12--13--15--12-13-15-|-------------------------]
B[----------------------------------|-------------------------]
G[-------------3x-------------------|-------------------------]
D[----------------------------------|-------------------------]
A[----------------------------------|-------------------------]
E[----------------------------------|-------------------------]
3:43
e[-11--13--15--11--13--15--11-13-15-|-------------------------]
B[----------------------------------|-------------------------]
G[----------------------------------|-------------------------]
D[----------------------------------|-------------------------]
A[----------------------------------|-------------------------]
E[----------------------------------|-------------------------]
3:46
e[-12-13-12-13-12-13-12-13-12-13-12-13-12----|----------------]
B[----------------------------------------13-|----------------]
G[-------------------------------------------|----------------]
D[-------------------------------------------|----------------]
A[-------------------------------------------|----------------]
E[-------------------------------------------|----------------]
3:49
e[-12-13-12-13-12-13-12-13-12-13-12-13-12-15fb-12-13-13-|-----]
B[------------------------------------------------------|-----]
G[------------------------------------------------------|-----]
D[------------------------------------------------------|-----]
A[------------------------------------------------------|-----]
E[------------------------------------------------------|-----]
3:52
e[-15-13-15-13-15-13-15-13-15-13-15-13-15-13-15-13-|----------]
B[-------------------------------------------------|----------]
G[-------------------------------------------------|----------]
D[-------------------------------------------------|----------]
A[-------------------------------------------------|----------]
E[-------------------------------------------------|----------]
3:54
e[-13-11-13-11-13-11-13-11-13-11-13-11-13-11-13-11-11fb~------]
B[------------------------------------------------------13fb~~]
G[------------------------------------------------------------]
D[------------------------------------------------------------]
A[------------------------------------------------------------]
E[------------------------------------------------------------]
3:59
e[------------------very fast...----------------------|-------]
B[-13fb-13fb-13fb~~~13-13-13-13-13-13-13-13-%-13-15~~~|-------]
G[----------------------------------------------------|-------]
D[----------------------------------------------------|-------]
A[----------------------------------------------------|-------]
E[----------------------------------------------------|-------]
4:03
e[--------------------------------------|---------------------]
B[-11-10-8fb-8fb-6fb--------------------|---------------------]
G[-------------------8-7-5-3-2-2--------|---------------------]
D[-------------------------------3~3~3~~|---------------------]
A[--------------------------------------|---------------------]
E[--------------------------------------|---------------------]
From this point on it's basically just violin, drums,
and the synthesizer till the end of the song.
===============================================================
Interlude (3:30, played by second guitar)
e[-----------------------------------------|-----------------]
B[-----------------------------------------|-----------------]
G[-----------------------------------3~~~~~|-----------------]
D[-4~--4~--3~--3~--4~~~~~3~~~~~2~~~~~3~~~~~|-----------------]
A[-4~--4~--3~--3~--4~~~~~3~~~~~2~~~~~1~~~~~|-----------------]
E[-2~--2~--1~--1~--2~~~~~1~~~~~2~~~~~------|-----------------]
3:46
e[-------------------------|---------------------------------]
B[-------------------------|---------------------------------]
G[-------------------3~~~~~|---------------------------------]
D[-4~~~~~3~~~~~2~~~~~3~~~~~|---------------------------------]
A[-4~~~~~3~~~~~2~~~~~1~~~~~|---------------------------------]
E[-2~~~~~1~~~~~2~~~~~------|---------------------------------]
3:57
e[-------------------|---------------------------------------]
B[-------------------|---------------------------------------]
G[-------------3~~~~~|---------------------------------------]
D[-3~~~~~3~~~~~3~~~~~|---------------------------------------]
A[-3~~~~~3~~~~~1~~~~~|---------------------------------------]
E[-1~~~~~1~~~~~------|---------------------------------------]
Tab Discussion, Comments, and Critiques
|
No Picture
Squirrels Lead Player |
#1 by Squirrels Dyrant at Aug 30, 2006 at 10:19 PM EST |
| pete said "this whole notion of teenage wasteland, it's not about getting wasted, it's about waste...i take full responsibility for the fact that my generation complained aobut the state of the world, and did absolutely nothing to change it" | |
|
No Picture
tim Average |
#2 by tim martin at Sep 2, 2006 at 11:38 PM EST |
| I think that basically it means to have fun while you can. (Let's get together before we get much older). Also, you don't have to apologize for anything because you only have one life. so LIVE IT! ROCK ON!!!!!!!!! jeremy | |
|
No Picture
nick Wanna Be |
#3 by nick at Sep 12, 2006 at 11:54 PM EST |
| It's basically a song written to Pete Townsend's Indian mystic teacher, telling him not to worry about the state of youth in the world, that it'll all be okay. This is bar-none my favorite song ever on my favorite album ever...I learned how to use a stereo so I could listen to this song. | |
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No Picture
hamadi Wanna Be |
#4 by hamadi alameddine at Oct 30, 2006 at 12:38 PM EST |
| this song is amazing! | |
|
No Picture
Andrea Average |
#5 by Andrea Lauria at Nov 19, 2006 at 1:50 AM EST |
| "its only teenage wastleland" one of the greatest lines off of any rock song ever. | |
|
No Picture
Avinash Average |
#6 by Avinash Dutta at Nov 20, 2006 at 6:44 AM EST |
| i think this song might have been written about telling someone to come with you to woodstock | |
|
No Picture
Hey Retard Wanna Be |
#7 by Hey Retard at Nov 20, 2006 at 11:35 PM EST |
| Whenever I hear this song I think of that scene with Adrien Brody from Summer Of Sam. What a fitting song for the movie. | |
|
No Picture
metalis4ever Average |
#8 by metalis4ever at Dec 5, 2006 at 9:40 AM EST |
| The Who's Next was originally going to be part of a huge extravanganza project with involving film, technology, and live rock n roll. The complexity of it all caused the project to just implode upon itself from the beginning so the best songs were brought together for The Who's Next. The song Baba O'Riley is about the dystopian world that the characters of Lifehouse would've been set in. The song's title came from the Townshend's twin inspirations, Meher Baba and Terry Riley. Baba O'Riley was merely a prelude to the story of Lifehouse. | |
|
No Picture
Bye! Average |
#9 by Bye! at Dec 12, 2006 at 12:28 PM EST |
| i enjoy this song. | |
|
No Picture
Josh Average |
#10 by Josh at Mar 1, 2007 at 9:21 AM EST |
| ive read/seen several interviews with pete where he either implies or flat out says that this song is about vietnam, but ive never heard why. the way i see it is that the song is from the point of view of a refugee from communist north vietnam. he doesnt want to be involved in the war ("i dont need to fight to prove im right"), he just wants to live normally and he can only doing that by escaping to south vietnam ("travel south crossland"). i think the chorus comes from the fact that the war devestated vietnam both economically and enviromentally (the "wasteland"), and that when pete wrote this song in 1971, americans had been occupying vietnam for well over a decade (and so, "teenage"). the title comes from 2 names: meher baba, petes mentor, and terry o'riley, a minimalist composer who inspired pete. pete set up a way to program information about people into a synthesizer so that every person would have a unique melody. he programmed in information about meher baba, such as his birthdate and his height, and came up with the background melody of baba oriley. the original loop was over 9 minutes long, but it was shortened for the song. people dont realize how revolutionary the whos synthesizer use was. now, every other song you hear has a synth loop, but in 1971, basically the only people experimenting with them in their music were the who and stevie wonder. | |
|
No Picture
nate Average |
#11 by nate eastman at Mar 4, 2007 at 12:26 AM EST |
| I don't know, what does it mean? | |
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No Picture
edwin Wanna Be |
#12 by edwin henrriquez at Mar 9, 2007 at 8:51 AM EST |
| this is definitely my all time favorite who song along with won't get fooled again and maybe my all time favorite song. it gives me goosebumps everytime i hear the guitar solo. i don't care much for the end but it's easy enough to skip back to the beginning of the song when that fiddle shit starts | |
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No Picture
Green Day rocks Average |
#13 by Green Day rocks!!!! at Mar 18, 2007 at 7:22 AM EST |
| This song is amazing. I saw Pearl Jam play it on July 3rd, 2003 in Mansfield, MA. My impression is that it's about partying, having fun while you're young. And if not, it certainly does incite a party-esque atmosphere when PJ plays it live. :) | |
|
No Picture
Julian Average |
#14 by Julian . at Mar 26, 2007 at 12:07 AM EST |
| I agree with Nicole, I hate it when people call this song "The Teenage Wasteland Song" and I've heard it many times. I too saw Pearl Jam cover this song in Phoenix on June 7. It was great! I think I read somewhere that The Who is Eddie Vedder's favorite band, but I'm not sure about that. PJ does play it awesome, but nothing compares to the real deal! | |
|
No Picture
Bodom Lake Murd Average |
#15 by Bodom Lake Murderer at Apr 17, 2007 at 2:49 PM EST |
| I agree with Nicole, I hate it when people call this song "The Teenage Wasteland Song" and I've heard it many times. I too saw Pearl Jam cover this song in Phoenix on June 7. It was great! I think I read somewhere that The Who is Eddie Vedder's favorite band, but I'm not sure about that. PJ does play it awesome, but nothing compares to the real deal! | |
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No Picture
Alex Average |
#16 by Alex P at Jun 20, 2007 at 10:36 PM EST |
| ummm i might be wrong...but about the fiddle part at the end, i think it has something to do with meher baba's and terry o'riley's backgrounds. Like the fiddle for instance, isn't that an irish kind of instrument (representing o'riley), but the tune that it's playing sounds like it came from asia or india, which would represent baba. any thoughts on this? | |
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No Picture
Chris Average |
#17 by Chris H... at Jun 23, 2007 at 1:34 PM EST |
| hey, since it isnt featured on the pearl jam list, it should be noted that this has become one of pj's favorite live covers, i saw them in atlanta two nights ago, they broke it out and frickin brought down the house, its my favorite who song and my favorite song pearl jam plays, its just frickin awsome | |
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No Picture
ryan Lead Player |
#18 by ryan harney at Jun 24, 2007 at 10:38 PM EST |
| please somebody get rid of that horrible "teenage wasteland" next to the title, its a slap in the face to who fans | |
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No Picture
patrick Average |
#19 by patrick chamberland at Jun 28, 2007 at 7:32 PM EST |
| I heard it could possibly be about Vietnamese refugees. They don't want to fight, they just want to get out of their and live their lives. | |
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No Picture
Mr. Always Mezm Average |
#20 by Mr. Always Mezmerized (o)(o) at Jul 15, 2007 at 7:34 PM EST |
| ur absolutely right rockinkirbie, Pete said about this song:"This was a number i wrote while i was doing these experiments with tapes on the synthesizer. Among my plans was to take a person out of the audience and feed information -height, weight, autobiographical details- about the person into the synthesizer. The synthesizer would then select notes from the pattern of that person. it would be like translating the person into music. On this track, i progammed details about the life of Meher Baba and Terry O'riley into the synthesizer, and i wrote a song around that. | |
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No Picture
Caitlin Rhythm Player |
#21 by Caitlin Carlisle at Jul 20, 2007 at 10:27 AM EST |
| I heard this song is a tribute to Pete's spiritual guru, Meher Baba. It was also a tribute to Terry Riley, an electronic music composer who gave Towshend the idea for the synthesizers. | |
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No Picture
Nathan Average |
#22 by Nathan Delvecchio at Aug 31, 2007 at 4:44 PM EST |
| yes! i heard this song on the preview for American Beauty and then a car commercial. after a few months i found it and thus my love for the Who began. i dont like to think about this song being about Vietnam, then i cant really relate to it, i like to think of it about growing up | |
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No Picture
kevin Rhythm Player |
#23 by kevin jeung at Sep 17, 2007 at 6:48 PM EST |
| I heard this song in the preview for American Beauty...now if you want to see a movie with great music see that. The music makes the movie great. | |
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No Picture
chris the pirat Lead Player |
#24 by chris the pirate. arr at Sep 28, 2007 at 1:05 PM EST |
| i hate how so many people call this song just 'teenage wasteland' well i suppose not HATE, but it sure does irritate me. | |
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No Picture
cody Average |
#25 by cody jay at Oct 17, 2007 at 5:34 AM EST |
| this is probly my favourite song of all time next to a few led zeppelin and metallica songs... i love the synthesizer in the beginning, thanx to PJ10 for the info.. | |
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