Uploaded August 2021 | Updated September 2026, 18 hours ago
A Classic from The Who.
"Behind Blue Eyes" originated after a Who concert in Denver on 9 June 1970. Following the performance, Townshend became tempted by a female groupie, but he instead went back to his room alone, possibly as a result of the teachings of his spiritual leader, Meher Baba. Upon reaching his room, he began writing a prayer, the first words being "When my fist clenches, crack it open..." These words later appeared as lyrics in the "climactic rocking section" of "Behind Blue Eyes.
When "Behind Blue Eyes" was to be released as part of the aborted Lifehouse project, the song was sung from the point of view of the main villain, Jumbo. The lyrics are a first-person lament from Jumbo, who is always angry and full of angst because of all the pressure and temptation that surrounds him, and the song was intended to be his "theme song" had the project been successful. Pete Townshend said of the song's lyrics:
Many thanks for this wonderful video
Renato Cabral
Raizes e asas
A Classic from The Who.
"Behind Blue Eyes" originated after a Who concert in Denver on 9 June 1970. Following the performance, Townshend became tempted by a female groupie, but he instead went back to his room alone, possibly as a result of the teachings of his spiritual leader, Meher Baba. Upon reaching his room, he began writing a prayer, the first words being "When my fist clenches, crack it open..." These words later appeared as lyrics in the "climactic rocking section" of "Behind Blue Eyes.
When "Behind Blue Eyes" was to be released as part of the aborted Lifehouse project, the song was sung from the point of view of the main villain, Jumbo. The lyrics are a first-person lament from Jumbo, who is always angry and full of angst because of all the pressure and temptation that surrounds him, and the song was intended to be his "theme song" had the project been successful. Pete Townshend said of the song's lyrics:
Many thanks for this wonderful video
Renato Cabral
Raizes e asas








![Everything You Want #VerticalHorizon
In 2009, lead vocalist Matt Scannell said he still experience[d] joy singing Everything You Want because he knew it came from a true place. The song deals with unrequited love, and Scannell explained its background in a 2010 interview:
I was in love with this girl, and she was just a broken person. She kept turning to everyone except me for love and acceptance, and I wanted so much to help her. I wanted to be the one to give her everything she wanted, but I couldnt. She just couldnt accept it from me, and it was that pain, that led me to creating the song.
Scannell later elaborated on its meaning in a 2024 interview, stating that it was also about being stuck in a friend zone:
Everything You Want is really about a woman. We were young and trying to figure out what love meant. And she was continually looking at what I thought and continued to think were the wrong people. She would come and sort of cry on my shoulder when they inevitably treated her poorly. And the whole time, I was pining for her. I just loved her. I wanted to be there for her, to be with her, to be more than a friend for her, and it just wasnt in the cards. I could see it in her eyes every time we would talk. I was very much in the friend zone with her. So the only way that I could talk about it was by writing a song about it. I actually believe that she doesnt know that that song was written about her. Im perfectly happy with that. Everything You Want #VerticalHorizon](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/BBHewC-fO6k/mqdefault.jpg)

