Christmas

The Who

Did you ever see the faces of the children
They get so excited
Waking up on Christmas morning
Hours before the winter sun's ignited
They believe in dreams and all they mean
Including heaven's generosity
Peeping round the door
To see what parcels are for free
In curiosity

And Tommy doesn't know what day it is
He doesn't know who Jesus was
Or what praying is
How can he be saved
From the eternal grave?

Surrounded by his friends
He sits so silently
And unaware of anything
Playing poxy pinball,
Picks his nose and smiles and
Pokes his tongue at everything
I believe in love
But how can men who've never seen
Light be enlightened
Only if he's cured
Will his spirits future level ever heighten

And Tommy doesn't know what day it is
He doesn't know who Jesus was
Or what praying is
How can he be saved
From the eternal grave?

Tommy, can you hear me?
Tommy, can you hear me?
Tommy, can you hear me?
Tommy, can you hear me?
Tommy, can you hear me?
Can you hear me?
How can he be saved?

See me, feel me, touch me, heal me!
See me, feel me, touch me, heal me!

Tommy, can you hear me?
Tommy, can you hear me?
Tommy, can you hear me?
Tommy, can you hear me?
Tommy, can you hear me?
Can you, can you, can you hear me?
How can he be saved?

Did you ever see the faces of the children
They get so excited
Waking up on Christmas morning
Hours before the winter sun's ignited
They believe in dreams and all they mean
Including heaven's generosity
Peeping round the door
To see what parcels are for free
In curiosity

And Tommy doesn't know what day it is
He doesn't know who Jesus was
Or what praying is
How can he be saved
From the eternal grave?


Lyrics submitted by oofus

Christmas Lyrics as written by Peter Townshend

Lyrics © Spirit Music Group, Abkco Music Inc., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

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Christmas song meanings
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15 Comments

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  • +2
    General Comment
    Such a sad song ... I think Townshend is sending up the Christian notion that only the "chosen" are saved.
    Child Of Musicon May 29, 2005   Link
  • +1
    General Comment
    The song is about how Tommy's parents don't understand him. They think he is doomed to hell, because he doesn't know what Christmas is. Tommy doesn't need to know who Jesus is or pray or any of that to be saved. He had a spiritual journey into his mind in "Amazing Journey". His parents don't understand this. They think he needs to pray to be saved. Is this a poke at organized religeon? It definately could be. If you listen to any Jethro Tull songs, Ian anderson was very adamant that praying all the time and going to church and acknowledging that you are a Christian are not necessary to get you salvation. Also, the hypocracy of Christmas is key in this song. The children aren't getting excited because of Jesus, they are excited about the presents. They don't necessarily even believe in heaven. Most kids don't know what Christmas is really about at that age. They just want presents. In conclusion, Tommy's parents are worried about him because he can't pray, and therefore, in thier opinions, he won't be saved. Tommy, however, has already had his spiritual journey and will be saved.(More likely him than his parents, who killed The man that Mrs. Walker was sleeping with while Cap'n Walker was missing.)
    WYWHon April 19, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    I LOVE THIS SONG ALTHOUGH I HATE CRISTMAS( BAH HUMBUG)
    GABBA GABBA HEY!on October 09, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    how weird would it be not knowing what day it is, or what was going on, i couldnt bear it, also to have people bully and push you around just because of your disabilites by people such as Cousin Kevin and Uncle Ernie in the rest of "Tommy"? that is such bullshit, people should seriously think about what they say and do to poeple, why cant we all just get along?
    mingoesbuenoon January 04, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    love the tune, if you didnt listen to the songs before this on "Tommy" it wouldnt make much sence. and mingoesbueno, thar would be weird, and kinda sad to not know what day christmas was..
    Staticburn89on February 27, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    And yet if you listen to Amazing Journey, it's all okay to Tommy since he's in his musical world. Heh. I think this points out something that is a question one would start to wonder though... how can he be saved? Some could say Townshend is making fun of Christianity and religion in general (it seems obvious throughout the movie), though I don't see that so much in this song.. my friend is convinced he's questioning God's power to save people - but I don't really see it that way.
    kantsuuon March 29, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    I don't agree Child of Music, i think this is a rant against organized religon, such as many U2 songs. Tommy connects to God, etc, through his dreams.
    FloatOn33on January 21, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    I think the main point in this song is to emphasise that Tommy's parents are genuinely concerned about him (an idea that could get lost because of 1921) rather than a comment on religion. With regard to not knowing what day it is, that shouldn't really matter to someone who was deaf, dumb and blind. He wouldn't know that he was missing anything, yet he still cries out for help ("See me, feel me" etc). That suggests that although he is "unaware of everything", he still feels that he is missing something spiritual.
    Regos the Saneon March 18, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    Tommy's parents show concern for him in this song because they think that he can't go to Heaven without knowing Jesus, but Tommy can't learn about Him for obvious reasons. Even though Tommy is having fun playing pinball, his parents wish that they could have fun with him. His parents, unhappy that they can't have a normal family Christmas begin to think that they should seek a miracle cure for Tommy.
    babathespider515on July 09, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    I think they want to know how he can be saved because he cannot speak or hear, and thus cannot repent for his sins before he dies, consigning him to hell. It's like in colonial america, when dyptheria ripped through Puritan New England, killing unbaptised babies (because Puritans didn't do infant baptism), and these babies were thought to be consigned to Hell (it is interesting to note that this helped lead to the prevalence of Methodism and the Baptist faith in America).
    inpraiseoffollyon September 15, 2006   Link

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