Artist: The Who Album: It's Hard {1982}

Athena - I had no idea how much I'd need her
In peaceful times I'd hold her close and I'd feed her
My heart starts palpitating when I think my guess was wrong but I think I'll get along
She's just a girl - she's a bomb

Athena - all I ever want to do is please her
My life has been so settled and she's the reason
Just one word from her and my troubles are long gone but I think I'll get along
She's just a girl - she's a bomb, she's a bomb

Just a girl, just a girl
Just a girl, just a girl
Just a girl, just a girl
She's just a girl

Athena - my heart felt like a shattered glass in an acid bath
Felt like one of those flattened ants you find on a crazy path
I'd of topped myself to give her time, she didn't need to ask
Was I a suicidal psychopath
She's just a girl - she's a bomb
She's just a girl - she's a bomb

Consumed, there was a beautiful white horse I saw on a dream stage
It had a snake the size of a sewer pipe living in his rib cage
And I felt like a pickled priest who was being flambed
You've got me requisitioned blondie
She's just a girl - she's a bomb

I'm happy, she's a bomb, I'm ecstatic
Just a girl, just a girl
Just a girl, just a girl
Just a girl, just a girl
She's just a girl

Look into the face of a child
Measure how long you smiled
Before the memory claimed
How long would children remain
How long would children remain

Athena - you picked me up by my lapels and screamed, "Leave her."
I felt like waking up in heaven on an empty meter
And now you're stuck with a castrated leader and I hate the creep
I didn't mean that - she's a bomb
I just said it - she's a bomb
Forget it, please - she's a bomb

Athena - I had no idea how much I'd need her
My life has been so settled and she's the reason
Just one word from her and my troubles are long gone, ooh, but I get along
She's just a girl - she's a bomb
She's just a girl - she's a bomb

Up here on the ledge I'm getting pushed to the edge
People line up behind me to step into my shoes
Up here on the precipice I'm getting close to my nemesis
People fighting each other to jump into my blues

There's a young kid inside me somewhere
He stays up all night, a vampire that never dies
With the blood and the moon in his eyes
I hear his voice when I'm comin' down
Sleep is for fools, who never see the sunrise
Who never get to live twice

I was a face in a magazine when you were still playin' with your plasticine
Now you're doggin' my tail, ridin' the slipstream
You can take the fans and the enemies
The little girls who squeeze and tease
Pass on their social disease, go get your penicillin

I know you young and dumb, I know where you're comin' from
Don't know where you're goin' to but I been there same as you
You're running out of ideas and new hats to try on
I know you middle age, same song, different page
I know what you're goin' through, made the same mistakes as you
All you want is some hope and a shoulder to cry on

There's a stranger inside me somewhere
That shadow behind me, don't even look like me, an echoed apology
He's a wolf in sheep disguise
I wake up in places I don't even recognize, pretender in paradise

It's your turn, step up and take it
If you've got the guts to hang on you can make
Come on, come on, come on - ooh, take it

People are suffering, I'll say it again
People are suffering, I'll say it again
People are suffering, I'll say it again
So remember when you're looking for trouble
That trouble is already busy with weaker men

People are hungry, I'll say it again
People are hungry, I'll say it again
People are hungry, I'll say it again
So don't you abuse that body
It'll snap without assistance my friends

The song goes on
I'll sing again until the music enervates
The song goes on
The sting of pain will dull and finally fade away
The song goes on
Through centuries of history it reverberates
The song goes on
On curving comets track the music makes it way
This song is so long it ends up where it begins

People are lonely, I'll say it again
People are lonely, I'll say it again
People are lonely, I'll say it again
So don't let them run too far from home
You'll be alone for sure - on that you can depend

People are bleeding, I'll say it again
People are bleeding, I'll say it again
People are bleeding, I'll say it again
So put away that switchblade knife
Tighten up, that'll help this bloodshed end

The song goes on, the song goes on
The song goes on, the song goes on
This song is so long it ends up where it begins

People are suffering, I'll say it again and again and again and again
People are hungry, I'll say it again and again and again and again
People are lonely, I'll say it again and again and again and again
And again and again and again and again
I'll say it again
I'll say it again
I'll say it again

Any tough can fight - few can play
Any fool can fall - few can lay
Any stud can reproduce - few can please
Anyone can pay - a few can lease

It's hard, it's very, very, very, very hard - it's a hard hand to hold
It's very, very, very, very hard - it's a hard hand
It's a hard land to control
It's very hard - it's a hard land

Any man can claim - few can find
Any girl can blink - few can lie
Anyone can promise - few can raise
Anyone can try but a few can stay

It's hard, it's very, very, very, very hard - it's a hard hand to hold
It's very, very, very, very hard - it's a hard hand
It's a hard land to control
So very hard - it's a hard land

It's hard, so hard

Any brain can hide - few can stand
Any kid can fly - a few can land
Any gang can scatter - few can form
Any kid can chatter - few can inform

It's hard, it's very, very, very, very hard - it's a hard hand to hold
It's very, very, very, very hard - it's a hard hand
It's a hard land to control
So very hard - it's a hard land

Any soul can sleep - few can die
Any wimp can weep but few can cry
Everyone complains but a few can state
Anyone can stop but a few can wait

It's hard, very, very, very, very hard - it's a hard hand to hold
It's very, very, very, very hard - it's a hard hand
It's a hard land to control
So hard - it's a hard land

Anyone can do anything if they hold the right card
So I'm thinking about my life now and I, I'm thinking very hard
Deal me another hand Lord, this one's very hard
Deal me another hand Lord, this one's very hard

It's a hard hand to hold, it's a hard hand
So hard - it's a hard hand to hold
So hard - it's a hard hand
Deal me another hand Lord, this one's very hard

Can you feel it watching you in the darkness
Touching you like a sickness
Fear is taking control
The beach head is the street, in the gutter lies defeat
Fear is the key to your soul
That makes you dangerous, so dangerous to yourself

Can you feel it in the shadows
Watching you, touching you
Can you feel it in the shadows
Watching you, touching you
Changing you into a mad dog howling at the moon
And you're so far out of tune
Better learn how to sing
Fences, we put up defenses, then we come to our senses
It can keep them out but it keeps us in
And that makes us dangerous, we're all dangerous to ourselves

This is the jungle, not illusion
Jungle city in confusion
We are the next step in evolution
The new stone age revolution
Back to the stone age constitution, no solution

Can you feel it in the shadows
Watching you, touching you
Can you feel as the shadows
Follow you, swallow you
Can you feel it - fear is the key
Can you feel it - fear is the key
Can you feel it, can you feel it
Fear is the key to your soul

The sun shines and people forget
The spray flies as the speedboat glides and people forget
Forget they're hiding
The girls smile, people forget
The snow packs as the skier tracks, people forget
Forget they're hiding

Behind an eminence front, eminence front, it's a put on
It's an eminence front, it's an eminence front, it's a put on
An eminence front, eminence front, it's a put on, eminence front
It's an eminence front, it's an eminence front, it's a put on
It's a put on, it's a put on, it's a put on

Come and join the party dressed to kill
Won't you come and join the party dressed to kill, dressed to kill

Drinks flow, people forget
That big wheel spins, the hair thins, people forget
Forget they're hiding
The news slows, people forget
The shares crash, hopes are dashed, people forget
Forget they're hiding

Behind an eminence front, an eminence front, it's a put on
It's just an eminence front, eminence front, it's a put on
An eminence front, an eminence front, it's a put on
Eminence front, it's an eminence front, it's a put on
It's a put on, it's a put on, it's a put on

Come and join the party dressed to
Come and join the party dressed to
Come on join the party dressed to
Come on join the party dressed to kill
Dress yourself to kill

I've known no war
And if I ever do I won't know for sure who'll be fighting who
For the soldiers lonely tomb now opens as soon as the referee's gun starts to roar
I'll know no war
No, I'll never know war

Galbraith took his pen to break down the men of the German army defeated
On the nineteenth day of a spring day in May Albert Speer was deleted
And as soon as the battle was over I was born in victorious clover
And I've never been shot at or gassed, never tortured or stabbed
And I'm sure I'll never know war
No, I'll never know war, no, no, no

I know I'll never know war and if I ever do the glimpse will be short fireball in the sky
No front line battle cries can be heard and the button is pushed by a soul that's been bought
I'll know no war, no
I'll know no war

In an out of reach loft the medals are lost, they belong to a lone broken sailor
His provinces now are the bars of the town, his songs and his poems of failure
For his grandchildren can't see the glory and his own kids are bored with the story
But for him they'd have burned behind netting from the brink they were grabbed
And I'm sure I'll never know war
I'll never know war

I've known no war
And if I ever do I won't know for sure who'll be fighting who
For the soldiers lonely tomb now opens as soon as the referee's gun starts to roar
I'll know no war

War, I've known no war
I'll never know war
And if I ever know it, the glimpse will be short fireball in the sky
No front line battle cries can be heard as the button is pushed by a soul that's been bought
And the armies remaining will judge without people or courts
And there's no point pretending that knowing will help us abort
I'll know no war

There's a scene - indelible, it hangs before my eyes
In our teens - incredibly together with no ties
That was a life enough for me
One life's enough for me

Throw back your head
Let your body curve into the long grass of the bed
Pull me down into your hair
And I'll push and swerve as we both gasp in the evening air

Throw back your head
Let your body curve into the long grass of the bed
Pull me down into your hair
And I'll push and swerve as we both gasp in the evening air

One at a time - always ready to fight over the little things
One at a time - she's always ready to fight over the little things
She's going crazy and the table starts shakin'
She's been abusin' her body again
Her vision gets hazy and the bottles start breakin'
She's been seeing that man again

If you want her, you can keep her
Cos I can only handle one at a time
You can take her. I've got someone waitin' in line
And I'd like to but I can only handle one at a time, one at a time

I found out she's continually cheatin'
She insists she so innocent
So I stayed out at another late meeting
And she waited up for another argument

If you want her, you can keep her
Cos I can only handle one at a time
You can take her. I've got someone waitin' in line
And I'd like to but I can only handle one at a time, one at a time

I'm moving on to something better
There must be something better than this
She's got me so confused as to who's being used

Call her up right away, you've got her number
And I promise not to answer the phone
You can pick her up in your clapped out Humber
I just hope it can get you home

If you want her, you can keep her
Cos I can only handle one at a time
You can take her. I've got someone waitin' in line
And I'd like to but I can only handle one at a time, one at a time

One at a time, one at a time
One at a time, one at a time

The streets of the future littered with remains
Of both the fools and all the so called brains
The whole prediction is enough to kill
But only God knows if it won't or it will
Nobody knows why we fell so flat
Some silly creature said we'd never crack
That most would just survive and then bounce back
But the rest are crying, "Why'd I fall for that crap
Why did I fall for that?"

So many rash promises sincerely made
By people who believed that we were being saved
They made us all believe that we were acting white
But truth is we've forgotten how we used to fight
Nobody knows why we fell so flat
We're impotent and neutered like whining cats
We've found the piper but we lost the rats
But the kids are crying, "Why'd you fall for that, dad
Why did you fall?"

It never rains under my umbrella

Four minutes to midnight on a sunny day
Maybe if we smile the clock'll fade away
Maybe we can force the hands to just reverse
Maybe is a word, maybe maybe's a curse
Nobody knows why we fell so flat
We've never been taught to fight or to face up to facts
We simply believe that we'd remain intact
But history is asking why'd you fall for that
Why did you fall

Why did I fall for that, why did I fall for that
Why did I fall for that, why did I fall for that
Why did I fall for that, why did I fall for that
Why did I fall for that, why did I fall for that

You talk about your crazy affairs
You talk about your life as though it really matters
You get attention cos you block the stairs
Braggin' about some bottles you have shattered
Well I met a man who really lives, he really does it all
And what really matters is the heart he gives, he makes your talk seem small

When a man is a man he doesn't act to a plan
He don't have to perform like John Wayne in some B feature flick
A man is a man when he can offer his hand
Not afraid of appearing insane if he can't break a brick
I know a man who's a man

Can't you sometimes crack a smile
Do you think if you did we would run and tell
I know one day your big villain style
Will collapse as they turn the key in the door of your cell
I know a man who was once like you but he opened his heart
No one is really bad right through, he's just another part

When a man is a man and he drinks till he's canned
He can drop to the floor, he can weep, we won't ask the price
A man is a man, he can fall he can stand
We won't love him more if he keeps his soul on the ice
I know a man who's a man

Every one of us is looking for fame
He's a looker, he's a dresser
He's a genius under pressure
I know a man who could tighten your rein
He's a father, he's a brother
He's a rocker , he's a lover

He's a man, he's a man, he doesn't act to a plan
He don't have to get hitched to a train in some muscle beach trick
A man is a man when he can offer his hand
Not afraid of appearing insane if he can't break a brick
Be a man who's a man

Once it was just innocence, brash ideas and insolence
But you will never get away with the things you say today
But you can cry if you want

Don't you get embarrassed when you read the precious things you said
Many, many years ago when life appeared rosy red
No one ever shared your bed
Nothing ever filled your head
Except yourself and little Ted
And scary dreams that you were dead
Don't you want to hide your face when going through your teenage books
Read the kind of crap you wrote bout "Ban the Bomb" and silly crooks
Think about how long it took to get over that sudden yook
When in the mirror you would look, well, now my son you're well in stook

Cry if you want, ooh, cry if you want
Cry if you want, ooh, cry if you want
Cry if you want, ooh, cry if you want
Cry if you want, ooh, cry if you want

Didn't you write in anger when you saw the man in his big car
Didn't you drive a banger and a gallon didn't get you far
Should have been a famous star
But that ain't what you really are
You could shout your last harrah
While they are propping up the bar
Maybe things were better then before you led a promised life
Rash commitments, heavy raps, your left wing spiel all compromised
You fall in love with other's wives, drive 'em nuts with empty lies
Angry cos you lost the prize, forgot the color of their eyes

Cry if you want, ooh, cry if you want
Cry if you want, ooh, cry if you want

Let your tears flow, let your past go
Let your tears flow, let your past go
Let your tears flow, let your past go
Let your tears flow, let your past go

Don't you get embarrassed when you think about the way you were
Yesterday, the day before, when you were young with much to learn
Aren't you glad it's your last term
No more acting lonely worm
You can make the suckers squirm
When you tell them how much you earn
Don't you feel ashamed at all the bitterness you feel inside
Does your ego save your face, "I had a go, I really tried."
Now you know your leaders lied, does it stop you acting snide
Or are you still a boy that cried tears now surely long since dried

Ooh, cry if you want
Cry if you want, ooh, cry if you want
Cry if you want, ooh, cry if you want
Ooh, cry if you want, ooh, cry if you want
Ooh, cry if you want, ooh, cry if you want
Ooh, cry if you want, ooh, cry if you want
Ooh, cry if you want, ooh, cry if you want

We'd like to do, a, ah, the title track of our latest album
It's It's Hard and, uh
Some of you may not seen Roger play the guitar


Any tough can fight - few can play
Any fool can fall - few can lay
Any stud can reproduce - few can please
Anyone can pay but a few can lease

It's hard - it's a hard, hard hand to hold
It's very, very hard - it's a hard hand
It's so hard - it's a hard land to control
It's so hard - it's a hard land

Any man can claim - few can find
Any girl can blink - few can lie
Anyone can promise - few can raise
Anyone can try but a few can stay

It's hard - it's a hard, hard hand to hold
It's very, very, very, very hard - it's a hard hand
It's so hard - it's a hard land to control
It's so hard - it's a hard land

It's hard, so hard

Any brain can hide - few can stand
Any kid can fly - few can land
Any gang can scatter - few can form
Any kid can chatter but few can inform

It's hard - it's a hard, hard hand to hold
It's very, very, very, very hard - it's a hard hand
It's so hard - it's a hard land to control
It's gets so hard - it's a hard land

Any wimp can weep - few can cry
Any soul can sleep,  a few can die
Everyone complains but a few can state
Anyone can stop but a few can wait

It's hard - it's a hard, hard hand to hold
It's very, very, very, very hard - it's a hard hand
It's so hard - it's a hard land to control
It's gets so hard - it's a hard land

Anyone can do anything if they hold the right card
So I'm thinking about my life now and I'm, I'm thinking very hard
It's a hard hand to hold, it's a hard hand

Deal me another hand, Lord, this one's very hard
Deal me another hand, Lord, this one is very, very hard

So hard, it gets so hard
Gets so hard, hard
It gets so hard, so hard

Anyone can do anything if they hold the right card
So I'm thinking about my life now and I'm, I'm thinking very hard


Thank you

It's actually not very hard at all
What's hard is makin' it feel hard
You can't understand what I'm saying, can you


Sun shines, people forget
Spray flies as the speedboat glides, people forget
Girls smile, people forget
Snow packs as the skier tracks, people forget
They forget they're hiding

It's behind an eminence front, eminence front, it's a put on
Eminence front, eminence front, it's a put on
Eminence front, eminence front, it's a put on
Eminence front, yeah, just an eminence front, eminence front
It's a put on, just a put on, just a put on, just a put on

Won't you come and join our party, dress yourself to kill
Won't you come and join our party, you got to dress to kill
You got to dress to kill

Drinks flow, people forget
The big wheel spins, the hair thins, people forget
They forget they're hiding
The news slows, people forget
The shares crash, hopes are dashed, people forget

Eminence front, hiding behind an eminence front
Eminence front, put on, bullshit, bullshit, yeah, yeah, yeah
Eminence front, yeah, eminence front
Just a put on, put on, put on, yeah
Eminence front, yeah, eminence front
It's a put on, just a put on, just a put on, it's just a put on
Eminence front, it's just a, eminence front, just a put on

Join our party, come on you got to dress to kill
Come and join our party, but you got to dress to kill
You got to dress to kill
Dress yourself to kill

Hello Toronto
And hello everybody watching on the TV
Are you havin' as good a time as we are

No

Gonna carry on with a song written by John Entwistle
It's a new one, a number called Dangerous


Can you feel it watching you in the darkness
Touching you like a sickness
Fear is taking control
The beach head is the street, in the gutter lies defeat
Fear is the key to your soul
And that makes you dangerous, so dangerous to yourself

Can you feel it in the shadows
Watching you, touching you
Can you feel it in the shadows
Watching you, touching you
Changing you into a mad dog howling at the moon
And we're so far out of tune
Better learn how to sing
Fences, we put up defenses, then we come to our senses
It may keep them out but it keeps us in
That makes us dangerous, we're all dangerous to ourselves

This is a jungle, not illusion
Jungle city in confusion
We are the next step in evolution
The new stone age constitution
Back to the stone age, no evolution, no solution

Can you feel it in the shadows
Watching you, touching you
Can you feel it in the shadows
Follow you, swallow you
Can you feel it - feel it
Can you feel it - feel it
Can you feel it, can you feel it
Fear is the key to your soul

Thank you

From the Magic Kingdom to the herpes masterclass


Once it was just innocence, brash ideas and insolence
But you will never get away with the things you say today
But you can cry if you want

Don't you get embarrassed when you read the precious things you said
Many, many years ago when life appeared rosy red
No one ever shared your bed
Nothing ever filled your head
Except yourself and little Ted
Scary dreams that you were dead
Don't you want to hide your face when going through your teenage books
Read the kind of crap you wrote bout "Ban the Bomb" and silly crooks
Think about how long it took to get over that sudden yook
When in the mirror you would look, well, now my son you're well in stook

Cry if you want, ooh, cry if you want
Can cry if you want, ooh, cry if you want
You can cry, ooh, cry if you want
Cry if you want, ooh, cry if you want

Didn't you write in anger when you saw the man in his big car
Didn't you drive a banger and a gallon didn't get you far
Should have been a famous star
But that ain't what you really are
You could shout your last harrah
While they are propping up the bar
Maybe things were better then before you led a promised life
Rash commitments, heavy raps, left wing spiel all compromised
Fall in love with other's wives, drive 'em nuts with empty lies
Angry cos you lost the prize, forgot the color of their eyes

Cry if you want, ooh, cry if you want
You can cry, ooh, cry if you want
Cry if you want, ooh, cry if you want
You can cry, ooh, cry if you want

Let your tears flow, let your past go
Let your tears flow, let your past go
Let your tears flow, let your past go
Let your tears flow, let your past go

Don't you get embarrassed when you think about the way you were
Yesterday, the day before, when you were young with much to learn
Aren't you glad it's your last term
No more acting lonely worm
You can make the suckers squirm
When you tell them how much you earn
Don't you feel ashamed at all the bitterness you feel inside
Does your ego save your face, "I had a go, I really tried."
Now you know your leaders lied, does that stop you acting snide
Or are you still a boy that cried tears now surely long since dried

Ooh, cry if you want, you can cry
Ooh, cry if you want, cry if you want
Ooh, cry if you want, ooh cry
Cry if you want, you can cry

Well, you can cry if you want, ooh, ooh, now
Well, you can cry if you want
You can cry, cry if you want

Well, you can cry if you want


Thank you