There once was a note, pure and easy
Playin' so free like a breath rippling by
The note is eternal, I hear it, it sees me
Forever we blend this, forever we die

I listened and I heard music in a word
And words when you played your guitar
The noise that I was hearing was a million people cheering
And a child flew past me riding in a star

As people assemble
Civilization is trying to find a new way to die
But killing is really merely scene changer
All men are bored with other men's lives

I listened and I heard music in a word
And words when you played your guitar
The noise that I was hearing was a million people cheering
And a child flew past me riding on a star

We all know success when we all find our own dream
And our love is enough to knock down any walls
And the future's been seen as men try to realize
The simple secret of the note in us all, in us all

Listened and I heard music in a word
Words when you played your guitar
The noise that I was hearing was a million people cheering
And a child flew past me riding in a star

Today is the day, the sound curdles mountains
Flowing, blowing each man in its wake
Destroying itself in the end with vibration
There's nothing on earth, it's challenge can take

Excepting one note
Excepting one note, pure and easy
Playing so free like a breath rippling by
Excepting one note, excepting one note

Listen, once was a note, listen
(Pure and easy)
Once was a note, listen
(Pure and easy)

Once was a note, listen
(Pure and easy)
Once was a note, listen
(Pure and easy)

Once was a note, listen
(Pure and easy)
Once was a note, listen
(Pure and easy)

Once was a note, listen
(Pure and easy)
Once was a note, listen
(Pure and easy)

 agnes wrote: 
Well... this may be covered below, but I'll take a crack.  This was from Pete's abortive "Lighthouse" album, some of which honored his then guru. I think this was recorded around '71 or '72.  That said, I love it!

 kcar wrote: 
i love the Daltry version.  Pete's?  meh

 spanishboots wrote: 
I was gonna comment that you apparently missed the 2010 Super Bowl...but then I noticed that this song hasn't been played in a while. 

I prefer the version with Daltrey singing, but that's just me. 

Sorry, Pete can do no wrong. This song is perfect just like it is. Saw Pete and Roger in Helsinki in July 2007 and it was magic. It was the last date of their tour. The last proper The Who date so far in fact.

Wow, how the mighty have fallen. This is horrible.

Even as I came over to comment on how I do like this song but it's too long, it kept going, and now as I'm finishing typing, it's still not over. Sounds like it wants to be, but then it keeps coming back... not over yet... ooooh wait! Nope, now the overdubs with the hand clap and bongo sounding drums... ah, there we go. Bye bye, Pete!

Today's XKCD is somewhat relevant:

tazochai wrote: Sad but so true

tazochai wrote: Wow. Must suck to be you.

I kind of expected more from Townshend on this one.

casablues wrote: Yeah, I'd like to hear that original now and then at RP. From the same album, "Let's See Action" is a a good one. From this release, "Lifehouse Elements", it would be interesting to hear what the RP audience thinks of the reworked "Who Are You".

tazochai wrote: Agree completely ---- this is rubbish.

Regardless of whether this guy is a perv this music is crap please don't play it anymore kthx

I like the version on Pete\'s Who Came First solo album - more focused.

(keith) miss january (6/25/03, 10 a.m. ET) -- Pete Townshend has once again commented on his arrest earlier this year on child pornography charges--but it's not what you might have expected. Under the heading "Shut Up Pete!", the Who leader posted this message on his petetownshend.com website: "I know a lot of people must be wondering why I have not made any kind of statement since the resolution of my case with the police...Without my help, work is being done today by good people who are fighting hard to combat both the spread of sewage on the Internet and the terrible psychological effect that could have on the minds of the children of the future. "Every time it occurs to me to say something about what is going on, I remember what happened to me: I was arrested, suspected of wallowing in the very sh-t that most upset me. It sends a clear and loud message. What is clear is that I must learn to keep silent and focus my energies elsewhere." He adds that he plans to "quietly continue to do my work funding treatment for the surviving victims of childhood sexual abuse and other worthy causes." Just about a month ago, Townshend said he was going to be more public and forthcoming about his work in this area. He sent an e-mail to Rolling Stone magazine which read, in part, "I've decided to greatly formalize the structure of my charity (Double-O) and the way I work with 'survivors,' so that in the future my work is more well-known to everyone. I've kept my profile low in this area out of modesty I suppose, and it has worked against me." The Double O Charity assists abused children, as well as people with drug and alcohol addictions. In the new message, Townshend says the people where he lives have generally been nice to him. "I feel very good, supported by so much love from all around me. I am free to get out and about in my hometown and most people greet me warmly. In any case, in the background I have a very cool and experienced bodyguard." Townshend was arrested at his London home in January by British police investigating Internet child pornography. He admitted to having visited several child pornography websites and even told investigators that he used his credit card to enter one site. Townshend said he was doing research for his autobiography, in which he'll talk about his own sexual abuse as a child when he lived with his maternal grandmother. Townshend hopes to finish the book, which he's calling Pete Townshend (Who He?), by the end of this year and to release it next year. Last month, he was cleared of the child pornography charges, but he was given a formal warning and will now be listed on Britain's national sex offenders register for five years "as a routine part of the cautioning process."

Yes your honour, I was signed in to Radio Paradise and listening to the song in question, but I was in no way excited by it and my fingers were not drumming, nor was playing any air guitar at all. I was merely researching for my writings on how buggered old pontificating rock personages have affected my life. Honest, guv. :roll:

You're a little off on your accusations . . . Click here for more info. And here's some more from Pete in this regard. (Thanks to WhoFan for the initial links to Pete's website.)

i think pete is getting a raw deal from the authorities and having his name totally dragged through the mud. i would never burn an artist\'s work because somebody wants to sling mud for their own misguided reasons :(

wow, I guess not everyone has burned their pete townshend cd's yet after his child porn admition.

me, also.

same.

I love this song. It puts me in a good mood the entire day after I hear it.

Can\'t believe I\'m hearing this on the \"radio\". Different from the original version on \"Who Came First\"... The Who version was not as effective.

I tried unsuccessfully to use your link and realized you made the classic misspelling of his name and must have type it in manually? Just thought you'd like to know... https://www.petetownshend.co.uk/

That's off the "Rough Mix" (collaboration with Ronny Lane?) Album. "Street in the City" is quite an excellant cut! Good choice.

Anyone familiar with Street in the City? Pure Townshend.

Great comments. Just read them. Belatedly, I strongly second your request on the Who Are You remix from Lifehouse Elements. It is amazing. Just blew me away. Pete put his full energy into that remix/re-recording and it sounds current. I thought it would jump out of the speakers and turned heads if radio had given it play/exposure. But it seems these days that if there is no "push", there is no play in commercial radio. Elements is a great cd to hear where the songs started and in some instances how they were intended. In that listening you hear the unique significance of what Moon, Ox and Daltrey brought to the process. Highly recommend the cd.

It\'s just you.

Al Gore did not invent the internet... Pete Townshend did!!! I am happily jacked into \"the grid\" accepting these pure and easy notes.

A link to Townsend's site, with the latest tour news, his diaries, artwork, etc. https://www.petetownsend.co.uk/

Ah Solo Pete! It one of those things you feel like you are the only one who appreciates it. The Who versions of his songs are technically better, but there is a lack of bombast in his solo work that really makes it an enjoyable listen. On the other hand, there is a gateway remix of Who Are You off of his Lifehouse Elements CD that is pleny bombastic and I can\'t get enough of it! I\'d sure like to hear it played here to find out what others think.

Well, a friend owns a copy, but since she got Pete to sign it I don't think she'd sell it for any price! ;-}

God Bless you Reb! He is one of the best... More Pete Please!

Sounds unfocused, compared to how he did it with The Who.