1
Once it was just innocence
Brash ideas and insolence
But you will never get away
With the things you say today
But you can try 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
And read the kind of crap you wrote
About "ban the bomb" and city crooks
Think about how long it took
To get over that sudden "Yuk"
When in the mirror you would look
Well now my son you're well in stook
Cry if you want, cry if you want
Didn't you writhe 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 hurrah
While they are propping up the bar
Maybe things were better then
Before you led a promised life
Rash commitments and heavy raps and left wing spiel all compromised
You fall in love with other's wives
Drive 'em nuts with empty lies
Angry 'cause you lost the prize
Forgot the color of their eyes.
Cry if you want, cry if you want
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 lowly 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 keep 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.
Cry if you want, cry if you want
Brash ideas and insolence
But you will never get away
With the things you say today
But you can try 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
And read the kind of crap you wrote
About "ban the bomb" and city crooks
Think about how long it took
To get over that sudden "Yuk"
When in the mirror you would look
Well now my son you're well in stook
Cry if you want, cry if you want
Didn't you writhe 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 hurrah
While they are propping up the bar
Maybe things were better then
Before you led a promised life
Rash commitments and heavy raps and left wing spiel all compromised
You fall in love with other's wives
Drive 'em nuts with empty lies
Angry 'cause you lost the prize
Forgot the color of their eyes.
Cry if you want, cry if you want
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 lowly 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 keep 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.
Cry if you want, cry if you want
Lyrics submitted by Chris_Gough
Cry If You Want Lyrics as written by Pete Townshend
Lyrics © Spirit Music Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I think "It's Hard" gets way too much harsh criticism. But I can understand it, as it took me a while to really get into it. Maybe it took me listening it more, getting older, or both. But this song has become one of my favorite Who songs.
The lyrics come at you at such a frantic rate, as though the song is stabbing you with its sharp words. Which matches Pete's feeling that his guitar is like a machine gun, knocking down audiences. That reminds me of my favorite quote about Pete's guitar playing: "Jimi Hendrix made love to his guitar. Pete Townshend F***s his."
Pete said in his Autobiography that this was one of the hardest songs for Roger to learn and how impressed he was with his performance of it, and I can see why! This is absolutely an all-around magnificent song, lyrically and musically.