Drowned

This song is not about suicide, but about grace flowing over Jimmy like the tide.

Actually, the song is about a man immersing himself in his love of God. I suppose it can also be interpreted as a man immersing himiself in his love for his woman. Here is the exlplanation from Pete himself, from the liner notes of Quadrophenia:

"This song, included in Quadrophenia, should actually stand alone. I think in a sense it does. When the tragic hero of Q sings it, it is desperate and nihilistic. In fact, it's a love song, God's love being the ocean and our 'selves' being the drops of water that make it up. Meher Baba said, 'I am the Ocean of Love.' I want to drown in that ocean, the 'drop' will then be an ocean itself. Anyway a tale - when recording this song it rained so hard in Battersea where our studio is that the walls were flowing with sheets of water. Chris Stainton played piano in a booth and when the take was finished he opened the door and about 500 gallons gushed out! Another glorious coincidence. The take on the album is the one."

A perfect metaphorical song for baptism, washing your old sins away and being cleansed with the blood of christ, being renewed by the spirit and having your sins washed away................It's a song of redemption.

Throughout the album, water has been a symbol of the spiritual unity that Jimmy craves. He wants to feel peace within his four personalities, and with other people, hence his strong reliance on being part of a group (mods). The ocean is made up of millions of drops of water to form one body, and Jimmy and his four personalities are like those drops of water.

This song was actually inspired by the bands various trips to Brighton.