"Behind Blue Eyes"
"Behind Blue Eyes" cover
Single by The Who
from the album Who's Next
B-side(s)	"Going Mobile"
Released	1971
Format	7"
Recorded	March–May 1971 at Olympic Studios in London, England
Genre	Rock
Length	3:42
Label	Decca, MCA (U.S.) Track, Polydor (UK)
Writer(s)	Pete Townshend
Producer(s)	The Who Glyn Johns
The Who singles chronology
"Let's See Action" (1971) "Behind Blue Eyes" (1971) "Join Together" (1972)

"Behind Blue Eyes" is a song written by Pete Townshend of The Who for his Lifehouse project. It first appeared on The Who's 1971 Who's Next album, along with a number of other outtakes from the project. Originally conceived in 1971, the project took until 1999 to achieve realization. The BBC, in December 1999, broadcast the Lifehouse radio play adaptation.

The song is one of the most well-known of The Who's recordings. It starts off with a solo voice singing over a finger-picked guitar, later adds in bass guitar and ethereal harmonies, eventually breaks out into full-scale rock anthem when a second theme is introduced near the end, and wraps up by a brief reprise of the quieter first theme. Songs written in alternating sections were something of a trademark of Townshend's writing of the period, going back at least to Tommy, where it was used in "Christmas" and "Go to the Mirror!" The guitar riff at the end of the rock anthem section is also used after the bridge during the song Won't Get Fooled Again, perhaps serving as a link between the two songs when Who's Next was intended to be a rock opera. (Some musical themes from Tommy and Quadrophenia appear in multiple places.)

The lyrics are a first-person lament from a man in the Lifehouse story, variously identified as 'Brick' or 'Jumbo', who is always angry and full of angst because of all the pressure and temptation that surrounds him, and the song was intended to be his "theme song" had the project been successful. (The lyrics of the rocking section near the end were actually written by Townshend as a prayer when he was a disciple of Meher Baba after being tempted by a groupie, and incorporated into the song when it was written.)

The version of "Behind Blue Eyes" on the original Who's Next album was actually the second version the band recorded; the earlier version appears as a bonus track on the remastered CD release, which features Al Kooper on Hammond Organ.

Cover versions

• "Behind Blue Eyes" has been covered by Limp Bizkit, Bryan Adams, Sheryl Crow, Testudo, Ian Stuart Donaldson, Jon English, Ken McLellan, Suzanne Vega, Silvertide, The Chieftains, Vanessa Petruo, Dunlavy's A Cappella Quintet and Paul Wheeler & Andy Waller @ Raffles Singapore.
• Country/Western musician Unknown Hinson covered the song "Behind Blue Eyes" under the name "Behind Black Eyes," changing certain lines of the song to fit his profile.
• The band Limp Bizkit covered this song for their album Results May Vary and for the movie Gothika. The band added new lyrics and omitted the final stanza of the original song.
• The intro to the song was sung by Giles (Anthony Stewart Head) on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode from Season 4, "Where the Wild Things Are".
• Though not a cover, lead singer Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam (reportedly influenced by The Who ), wrote a song at a young age titled "Better Man," which bears quite a bit of similarity to Behind Blue Eyes. The song was eventually released on their third album Vitalogy, and has become one of Pearl Jam's greatest hits. The construction is similar in that it is a ballad in two parts: a soft, melodic beginning, driven by finger-picking and gentle but powerful vocals, and then breaking out into a much harder, faster part about 2 minutes in, which eventually turns into a guitar jam that completes the song.
• Rapper Noreaga also recorded a song entitled "Bad Mad" (featuring Beanie Sigel) that uses a sample of the chorus of the song.
• Most recently, Dilana performed her cover of "Behind Blue Eyes" on .

•  • [ e] The Who
Personnel
Current members: Roger Daltrey - Pete Townshend
Other original members: John Entwistle - Keith Moon
Other personnel: Kenney Jones - John "Rabbit" Bundrick - Pino Palladino - Zak Starkey - Simon Townshend Simon Phillips - Doug Sandom - Colin Dawson - Gabby Connolly - Tim Gorman - Steve "Boltz" Bolton - Brian Kehew
Discography
Studio albums	My Generation - A Quick One - The Who Sell Out - Tommy - Who's Next - Quadrophenia - The Who by Numbers - Who Are You - Face Dances - It's Hard - Endless Wire
Live albums	Live at Leeds - Who's Last - Join Together (1990) - Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 - The BBC Sessions - Blues to the Bush - Live at the Royal Albert Hall - Encore Series 2002 - Encore Series 2004 - Encore Series 2006 - Live from Toronto
Compilations	- Meaty Beaty Big and Bouncy - Odds & Sods - The Kids Are Alright (soundtrack) - Hooligans - Join Together (1982) - Who's Greatest Hits - Who's Missing - Two's Missing - Who's Better, Who's Best - Thirty Years of Maximum R&B - - The Ultimate Collection - Then and Now
Filmography
Rock Operas	Tommy - Quadrophenia
About The Who	The Kids Are Alright -
Other appearances	Monterey Pop - Rock and Roll Circus - Woodstock - McVicar - Buddy's Song
Production	Peter Meaden - Kit Lambert - Chris Stamp - Bob Pridden - Duncan Nimmo	Other	Influence - Track Records - 2006-07 Tour - The Boy Who Heard Music - Scott Halpin