Townshend reportedly wrote the song on a train and is said that 'My Generation' was very much about trying to find a place in society. Perhaps the most striking element of the song is the lyrics, which are considered as being one of the most distilled statements of youthful rebellion in rock history. The tone of the track alone helped make it an acknowledged forebear of the ’Punk Rock’ movement. One of the most quoted, and patently rewritten—line in rock history is, "I hope I die before I get old"; famously sneered by lead singer Roger Daltrey.
Another salient aspect of ‘My Generation’ is Daltrey's delivery. The song is delivered in an angry and frustrated stutter. Various stories exist as to the reason for this distinct delivery. One is that the song began as a slow-talking blues number without the stutter (in the 1970s it was sometimes performed as such, but with the stutter, as ‘My Generation Blues’), but after being inspired by John Lee Hooker’s ‘Stuttering Blues’, Townshend reworked the song into its present form.
Another reason is that it was suggested to Daltrey that he stutter to sound like a British mod on ‘speed’ (an amphetamine that many youngsters of the 1960s took to get ‘high’). It is also proposed, albeit less frequently, that the stutter was introduced to give the group a framework for implying an expletive in the lyrics: "Why don't you all ‘fff ... fade away!"
The BBC initially refused to play ‘My Generation’ because it did not want to offend people who stutter, but it reversed its decision after the song became more popular.
Just as a person who stutters certain words find it extremely difficult not to stutter, likewise, a singer who never stutters and sings a song which incorporates stuttering among the verse inversely finds it so. Please note that no offence to anyone who stutters is intended by me in copying the style of this song as it was originally recorded by the 'Who'.
Love and peace Bill xxx