I've looked under chairs
I've looked under tables
I've tried to find the key
To fifty million fables

They call me The Seeker
I've been searching low and high
I won't get to get what I'm after
Till the day I die

I asked Bobby Dylan
I asked The Beatles
I asked Timothy Leary
But he couldn't help me either

They call me The Seeker
I've been searching low and high
I won't get to get what I'm after
Till the day I die

People tend to hate me
'Cause I never smile
As I ransack their homes
They want to shake my hand

Focusing on nowhere
Investigating miles
I'm a seeker
I'm a really desperate man

I won't get to get what I'm after
Till the day I die

I learned how to raise my voice in anger
Yeah, but look at my face, ain't this a smile?
I'm happy when life's good
And when it's bad I cry
I've got values but I don't know how or why

I'm looking for me
You're looking for you
We're looking in at other
And we don't know what to do

They call me The Seeker
I've been searching low and high
I won't get to get what I'm after
Till the day I die

I won't get to get what I'm after
Till the day I die


Lyrics submitted by Nelly, edited by eucalypt

The Seeker Lyrics as written by Peter Townshend

Lyrics © Spirit Music Group, Sentric Music

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

The Seeker song meanings
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28 Comments

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  • +3
    Song Meaning

    Off Wiki: Around the time of song's release, Townshend explained its meaning in an interview with Rolling Stone: "Quite loosely, "The Seeker" was just a thing about what I call Divine Desperation, or just Desperation. And what it does to people. It just kind of covers a whole area where the guy's being fantastically tough and ruthlessly nasty and he's being incredibly selfish and he's hurting people, wrecking people's homes, abusing his heroes, he's accusing everyone of doing nothing for him and yet at the same time he's making a fairly valid statement, he's getting nowhere, he's doing nothing and the only thing he really can't be sure of is his death, and that at least dead, he's going to get what he wants. He thinks!"

    angeliston January 29, 2013   Link
  • +2
    General Comment

    I think this song is about a person who is still searching for their place in life. When he says he has asked Bobby Dylan, The Beatles, Timothy Leary.. has is talking about how he has looked around in his environment for role models on how to live his life. So far no where he has looked has provided him with answers. The fact that he says he won't get to get what he is after until the day he dies is basically him saying he doesn't believe he'll know how to live his life.. (or find the secret to life, that is) until he has lived it and dies. (Whether that means he thinks there is a god who will tell him.. or he will be able to look back and figure out what worked.. he doesn't say). He is a "really desperate man" to figure out where to go from here, though.

    celtsguy81on March 06, 2006   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    this is the one song that is my entire philosphy on life this is exsclly what i think about every thing me and a 1000 others we are "the seekers"

    TIMMAY!on May 21, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Dude. I love this song. I call myself the seeker all the time. I am the seeker whether it be for truth, love, or life.

    echod16on June 05, 2003   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Dude I'm one of those people. I love this song becuase i call myself "the seeker". It doesn't matter if it's for truth, love, or life.

    echod16on June 05, 2003   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    An ode for the youth of the nation and it still has meaning for all time. I first heard this song while I was watching American Beauty. It was the scene introducing the final act of the film. Great, great song for a great, great movie!

    OpinionHeadon April 20, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    ROCKING SONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    GABBA GABBA HEY!on October 09, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Love this song, it's pretty self explanatory. Came about after Tommy, when the Who were facing the dilemma of how they would oversome the success of Tommy.

    whofreak777on November 21, 2004   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I think this song may be about psychadelic drugs...Not a big leap for the Who, and there is generally a feeling of needing to accomplish something, but you can't figure out what it is. You need to be somewhere, but you have no idea where. The reference to Timothy Leary also adds to this, as he was one of the biggest proponets of the benefits of LSD use.

    punkiedrewsteron August 16, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    "I won't get to get what I'm after Till the day I die"

    existentialism, perchance?

    2worldon October 28, 2007   Link

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