There is a great play on words in the title and lyrics; a bell buoy is a floating marker used to warn ships of dangerous conditions. The buoy has a bell at the top that rings when it is rocked by the waves. I always pictured the rocking motion of the bell buoy to be like the movement of a bell boy handling luggage all day. A bell boy was traditionally called by a bell to the hotel's front desk to pick-up luggage. This meeting between Jimmy and Ace Face serves as a warning to Jimmy that he could "run aground" in some menial job. Considering all the sea imagery in Quadrophenia, I don't think I'm reading too much into this one.
There is a great play on words in the title and lyrics; a bell buoy is a floating marker used to warn ships of dangerous conditions. The buoy has a bell at the top that rings when it is rocked by the waves. I always pictured the rocking motion of the bell buoy to be like the movement of a bell boy handling luggage all day. A bell boy was traditionally called by a bell to the hotel's front desk to pick-up luggage. This meeting between Jimmy and Ace Face serves as a warning to Jimmy that he could "run aground" in some menial job. Considering all the sea imagery in Quadrophenia, I don't think I'm reading too much into this one.