Pete Townshend — And I Moved
Album: Empty GlassAvg rating:
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Length: 3:20
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And I moved
As I saw him looking in through my window
His eyes were silent lies
And I moved
And I saw him standing in the doorway
His figure merely filled the space
And I moved
But I moved toward him
And I moved
And his hands felt like ice exciting
As he laid me back just like an empty dress
And I moved
But a minute later, he was weeping
His tears, his only truth
And I moved
But I moved toward him
I moved toward him
As I saw him looking in through my window
His eyes were silent lies
And I moved
And I saw him standing in the doorway
His figure merely filled the space
And I moved
But I moved toward him
And I moved
And his hands felt like ice exciting
As he laid me back just like an empty dress
And I moved
But a minute later, he was weeping
His tears, his only truth
And I moved
But I moved toward him
I moved toward him
Comments (127)add comment
Empty Glass was and always will be one of my favorite albums. Not a bad song in the bunch. Pete at his introspective, energetic best!
Is this about Pete coming out?
Was never a big "Who" and the solo albums those guys put out...but this might be the best of the solo tracks IMO
That moment when the song that you've clipped as your phone's ringtone comes on RP, and you reach for the phone...
skooba wrote:
I do not recall. But I do know that this song was written for Bette Midler and she refused to do it so Pete went ahead and did it himself.
Great song regardless.
I always wondered who "he" is/was. Anyone have any insight?
I do not recall. But I do know that this song was written for Bette Midler and she refused to do it so Pete went ahead and did it himself.
Great song regardless.
Makes sense. As much as anything in music makes sense. Thanks, folkrocker.
Skooba
folkrocker wrote:
I read somewhere that "he" was Keith Moon who came to him in a dream.
Skooba
folkrocker wrote:
I read somewhere that "he" was Keith Moon who came to him in a dream.
EssexTex wrote:
Cynaera wrote:
I don't believe it - we agree! This is a rather awesome song - it's got some wonderful dynamics in it. Very symbolic, typical Townshend, but with a simplicity that touches me. I love it.
Gorgeous piece of music
When Pete get's it right...he really gets it right.
Cynaera wrote:
I don't believe it - we agree! This is a rather awesome song - it's got some wonderful dynamics in it. Very symbolic, typical Townshend, but with a simplicity that touches me. I love it.
Gorgeous piece of music
On this, much as or more than any Who ablum, Pete pulled off being the omniscient narrator/ jam-your-brains-out-about-it & then some
I am proud to say that this has been in my constant rotation since 1980. In fact, I played it for neighbors this past weekend. A classic masterpiece for me.
skooba wrote:
I read somewhere that "he" was Keith Moon who came to him in a dream.
I always wondered who "he" is/was. Anyone have any insight?
I read somewhere that "he" was Keith Moon who came to him in a dream.
I always wondered who "he" is/was. Anyone have any insight?
The fact that he made this amazing masterpiece of an album while he was in the middle of personal turmoil and his bottle-of-cognac-a-day drunken debauchery makes it all the more impressive. Just straight up genius.
Good tune, but the intro always makes me think of "Europe Endless" by Kraftwerk.
i love this whole album.
Well I also blew the grooves out of this record. Then I blew the databits out of the CD & now it's the MP3 that gets a constant thrashing.
Thanks Bill. Today's line up has been great.
Thanks Bill. Today's line up has been great.
Weirdest amazing song. Delayed piano is a masterpiece.
Can can become slower by getting older.
Save me from myself.
squidish wrote:
I logged on here to read the comments - especially because of what I had heard (long ago) was the meaning behind this song. Seems no one (at least on this page) is talking about it.
Rumor has it he wrote this about the first time he was "moved" by seeing a man he "felt" something for. His homoerotic ode.
Am I off or can anyone second that story?
Is this song about God, or a human? Is it told from Pete's perspective, or someone else?
One of my favorites of all time.
One of my favorites of all time.
I logged on here to read the comments - especially because of what I had heard (long ago) was the meaning behind this song. Seems no one (at least on this page) is talking about it.
Rumor has it he wrote this about the first time he was "moved" by seeing a man he "felt" something for. His homoerotic ode.
Am I off or can anyone second that story?
Beaker wrote:
Fantastic tune by Pete! I must have played this album until the grooves wore out.
I concur wholeheartedly! When Rough Boys came on my foot would get very heavy!
Fantastic tune by Pete! I must have played this album until the grooves wore out.
I concur wholeheartedly! When Rough Boys came on my foot would get very heavy!
It means I don't need a shrink when it's only half empty.
skooba wrote:Love this whole album! 
Love this whole album!
DoctorHooey wrote:
You get the key!
First time I ever heard piano put through a delay, and still one of the best examples of it
You get the key!
Living up to the station's paradisical name once again.
LazyMF wrote:
Wow. Not even a passing resemblance to either of those songs. Weak sauce on your part. Fail.
That "brilliant" music is blatantly pirated from Krafwerk's "Europe Endless" and "Endless Endless." Listen for yourself: https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00000DQSZ/qid=1102029788/sr=1-3/ref=sr_1_3/104-0535021-1538300?v=glance&s=music /now he's an accused plagarist as well
Wow. Not even a passing resemblance to either of those songs. Weak sauce on your part. Fail.
Beaker wrote:
Fantastic tune by Pete! I must have played this album until the grooves wore out.
Me too!
Fantastic tune by Pete! I must have played this album until the grooves wore out.
Me too!
calypsus_1 wrote: really nice picture....!
Townshend by ~strawberrygirl9
Amy Elizabeth ©2009-2010 ~strawberrygirl9
I don't know whats with me lately
.....Here's another cool Pete Townshend Picture~~~
Townshend by ~strawberrygirl9
Amy Elizabeth ©2009-2010 ~strawberrygirl9
I don't know whats with me lately
.....Here's another cool Pete Townshend Picture~~~
Great cut from a great disk...I heard he wrote this for Bette Midler who chose not to record it
This song sends chills up my spine on the first few notes. Pete does know how to get it right!
8 —> 9
EssexTex wrote:
I don't believe it - we agree! This is a rather awesome song - it's got some wonderful dynamics in it. Very symbolic, typical Townshend, but with a simplicity that touches me. I love it.
When Pete get's it right...he really gets it right.
I don't believe it - we agree! This is a rather awesome song - it's got some wonderful dynamics in it. Very symbolic, typical Townshend, but with a simplicity that touches me. I love it.
Great to hear this song again. Can't even remember how longs it's been since i last heard it.
First time I ever heard piano put through a delay, and still one of the best examples of it
I haven't heard this in decades. Excellent to be reminded of it - my favorite song on this album.
cayenne wrote:
I played the grooves off this when I was in high school. The whole album is brilliant, I agree.
Count me as one who played the grooves off this album. Simply an amazing piece of work.
I played the grooves off this when I was in high school. The whole album is brilliant, I agree.
Count me as one who played the grooves off this album. Simply an amazing piece of work.
LastChance wrote:
I played the grooves off this when I was in high school. The whole album is brilliant, I agree.
Brilliant album!
I played the grooves off this when I was in high school. The whole album is brilliant, I agree.
Townshend by ~strawberrygirl9
Amy Elizabeth ©2009-2010 ~strawberrygirl9
I don't know whats with me lately
.....Here's another cool Pete Townshend Picture~~~
When Pete get's it right...he really gets it right.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dp3Wxia6XAU
I heard back in the day from a good authority that Pete Townshend wrote this for Bette Midler. Weird huh?
Does Brian Eno have anything to do with this?
My favorite Who song...wait, it's just Pete. No wonder. 
Great song. Great album.
Great song. Great album.Brilliant album!
abulaabula wrote:
He lives vicariously through himself, too!
The guy on the album cover seems more like the most interesting man in the world,,,,not the guy in the Dos Equis beer commercials,,, or maybe they both are and get along and party together..Ohhh in a perfect world...
He lives vicariously through himself, too!
The guy on the album cover seems more like the most interesting man in the world,,,,not the guy in the Dos Equis beer commercials,,, or maybe they both are and get along and party together..Ohhh in a perfect world...
squidish wrote:
Pete wrote this track specifically for Bette Midler. She was sort of offended by it and never did record it. Pete did and the rest is history.
8 => 9
Is this song about God, or a human? Is it told from Pete's perspective, or someone else?
One of my favorites of all time.
One of my favorites of all time.
Pete wrote this track specifically for Bette Midler. She was sort of offended by it and never did record it. Pete did and the rest is history.
8 => 9
this song is really good - i think this fellow might have some real potential
but what the hell do i know - i voted for mcgovern
but what the hell do i know - i voted for mcgovern
sharkartist wrote:
Listening to you, I get the music
Gazing at you, I get the heat
Following you, I climb the mountain
I get excitement at your feet
Right behind you, I see the millions
On you, I see the glory
From you, I get opinions
From you, I get the story
Empty Glass was, IMHO, the high water mark for Pete's solo output. Just love this album start to finish.
Listening to you, I get the music
Gazing at you, I get the heat
Following you, I climb the mountain
I get excitement at your feet
Right behind you, I see the millions
On you, I see the glory
From you, I get opinions
From you, I get the story
Is this song about God, or a human? Is it told from Pete's perspective, or someone else?
One of my favorites of all time.
One of my favorites of all time.
This is the closest thing to Christmas music I've heard so far today.
Let's hear some Rock N Roll Christmas stuff :)
Let's hear some Rock N Roll Christmas stuff :)
chirpie wrote:
AHahahaahahhah!
Wait...
Are you serious?
he is indeed serious as a heart attack and hates Pete with a great passion (and everything about him)
AHahahaahahhah!
Wait...
Are you serious?
he is indeed serious as a heart attack and hates Pete with a great passion (and everything about him)
Paul_in_Australia wrote:
AHahahaahahhah!
Wait...
Are you serious?
Number 23 in our series 'How worship of celebrities can distort your sense of reality'. I think admiration for a pop star is one thing, but Peter Townshend is hardly a deity who can 'absolve' sinners.
AHahahaahahhah!
Wait...
Are you serious?
musikalia wrote:
p.s. is that Drew Barrymore on the album cover!?
Yeah, before she shaved her beard!
I love this entire album...
Paul_in_Australia wrote:
Number 23 in our series 'How worship of celebrities can distort your sense of reality'. I think admiration for a pop star is one thing, but Peter Townshend is hardly a deity who can 'absolve' sinners.
And there it goes straight over your head. So every album cover has to be taken literally now?....man you need help!Nabla wrote: 
This really rolls along. Nice! 
p.s. is that Drew Barrymore on the album cover!?
Paul_in_Australia wrote:
Number 23 in our series 'How worship of celebrities can distort your sense of reality'.
I think admiration for a pop star is one thing, but Peter Townshend is hardly a deity who can 'absolve' sinners.
Get over yourself will ya? The poster you are scolding was hardly being literal.
Great song, great album.
Check out the genius (Pino Paladino) on bass
One of the best driving songs of all time.Crank it up!
Quixmundi wrote:
Forgive him, Pete, he knows not what he says.
Number 23 in our series 'How worship of celebrities can distort your sense of reality'.
I think admiration for a pop star is one thing, but Peter Townshend is hardly a deity who can 'absolve' sinners.
boober wrote:
I will be checking Pete and Roger out tomorrow night(Omaha,Ne) 
Saw them last fall. I'm sure they'll be great. You'll be lovin' it!
sharkartist wrote:
Empty Glass was, IMHO, the high water mark for Pete's solo output. Just love this album start to finish.
I concur!
Empty Glass was, IMHO, the high water mark for Pete's solo output. Just love this album start to finish.
mavi wrote: 
Tommy ,Quadrephonia ,Magic bus ....i was seventeen old..........................
... and I was 13! Full blast in my headphones again at the moment...
Tommy ,Quadrephonia ,Magic bus ....i was seventeen old..........................
Ah--the tempo's picking up, but in a nice gentle way. Well played.
What an ugly, ugly man.
omg crimped hair
Tommy ,Quadrephonia ,Magic bus ....i was seventeen old..........................I will be checking Pete and Roger out tomorrow night(Omaha,Ne)
This was one of the first albums that I "discovered" on my own and turned my older brother on to, quite a feat back in my childhood. I think this is the best song on the album
Excellent record.
As a sidebar, the new Who records sounds excellent as well. Better than the bloated Quadrophenia. No one expected them to still have it in them.
AphidA wrote:
Pretty lame. I think Pete has spent too much time focusing on his child porn "research"
Dude, you're so beyond a freaking goddamn idiot, I'm not sure even sure why I'm taking the 2 seconds it takes to write this!
horstman wrote:
I D I O T
DITTO X INFINITY!!!!
AphidA wrote:
Pretty lame. I think Pete has spent too much time focusing on his child porn "research"
I D I O T
One of my favorites of all time...
so many layers of meaning...
written by a musical genius...
AphidA wrote:
Pretty lame. I think Pete has spent too much time focusing on his child porn "research"
Oh, thanks for that brilliant insight. Was that an original thought? No, don't answer that...
AphidA wrote:
Pretty lame. I think Pete has spent too much time focusing on his child porn "research"
Actually, it's YOUR comment that's lame. This is an old album, typically ahead of its time. Forgive him, Pete, he knows not what he says.
Pretty lame. I think Pete has spent too much time focusing on his child porn "research"
Something in me tells me not to like this song. But then something else says it's quite good. I'm going with the good part for now.
I needed thatTHANK you for the tip about 801 Live. I try to get hear anything Simon played on-- this one is a real gem though. And to think he was playing like this while only in his early twenties.....
dmax wrote:
Why, yes. Yes he is.
Check out 801 Live.
But DO NOT purchase the Simon Phillips "Out of the Blue" record. It is amazingly awful. He's great, but it's mind-numbing Yanni-jazz. I was dumbfounded.
Always loved this disk, the oft-overlooked White City anti-aparthied work along with the Rough Mix effort with Ronnie Lane. Each work contains quite a few gems. Thanks for digging deep.
How can you not love a song that includes the line, "He laid me back just like an empty dress." Brilliant...
How can you not love a song that includes the line, "He laid me back just like an exmpty dress." Brilliant...
Listen to Pete Townshend's "All the best cowboys have Chinese Eyes" album. Simon Phillips does some extraordinary playing on that one (Mark Brezizicki plays on a few too.)
Simon's solo stuff has some great playing too, but tends to be a bit "fusion-ey"
veegez wrote:
One more follow up: Checking the back of the CD, these words appear in the description of the album: "Empty Glass features drummer Mark Brzezicki and bassist Tony Butler, who subsequently achieved fame as part of the Scotland-based group Big Country"
But......if you dig inside the CD booklet and look at the description of the tracks/artists, it's a little different. Tony Butler does play on all but 2 of the 10 tracks, but Mark Brezizicki only plays on 'A Little is Enough'. Simon Phillips plays on 6 of the 10 tracks (including this one and 'Gonna Get Ya') So, once again, thanks for the correction CSalmon. I'll be checking into Simon Phillips solo projects as a result! :)
chucklesalmon wrote:
Actually, this is not the "Big Country" rhythm section. It's Simon Phillips playing drums, one of the most brilliant drummers of all time. His sense of drama is a perfect complement to PT's writing. Pete has used him for most of his solo albums. The "Big Country" drummer is Mark Brz... and he's on a few tracks of this record. But Simon's stand out the mot.
One more follow up: Checking the back of the CD, these words appear in the description of the album: "Empty Glass features drummer Mark Brzezicki and bassist Tony Butler, who subsequently achieved fame as part of the Scotland-based group Big Country"
But......if you dig inside the CD booklet and look at the description of the tracks/artists, it's a little different. Tony Butler does play on all but 2 of the 10 tracks, but Mark Brezizicki only plays on 'A Little is Enough'. Simon Phillips plays on 6 of the 10 tracks (including this one and 'Gonna Get Ya') So, once again, thanks for the correction CSalmon. I'll be checking into Simon Phillips solo projects as a result! :)
chucklesalmon wrote:
Actually, this is not the "Big Country" rhythm section. It's Simon Phillips playing drums, one of the most brilliant drummers of all time. His sense of drama is a perfect complement to PT's writing. Pete has used him for most of his solo albums. The "Big Country" drummer is Mark Brz... and he's on a few tracks of this record. But Simon's stand out the mot.
Thanks for the heads-up. I went to his web-site and he is listed as playing on all of Pete's solo album's, and after seeing a picture of Simon, I recognize him from a couple of Pete's Videos('Let My Love Open The Door' & 'Slit Skirts'), and probably is responsible for the drum playing that has always caught my ear on those albums. As a matter of fact, his creditials are incredible as he has played with a variety of Rock and Jazz Gods, including Jeff Beck, Jack Bruce, Al DiMeola, and (wouldn't you know it) Big Country!
Lesson: Don't believe everything you read in an Amazon.com album review. :)
Actually, this is not the "Big Country" rhythm section. It's Simon Phillips playing drums, one of the most brilliant drummers of all time. His sense of drama is a perfect complement to PT's writing. Pete has used him for most of his solo albums. The "Big Country" drummer is Mark Brz... and he's on a few tracks of this record. But Simon's stand out the mot.
veegez wrote:
Hardly. It's amazing what some people pass off as exactly the same for 2 different songs. Sure, some of the same notes are possibly used, but I don't hear the Big Country rhythm section kick in, or any words, or any chord changes that Pete employs.
Listen for yourself again.
Pete rules, K?
One of my very favorite solo Townshend tracks.
Pyro wrote:
This and Chinese Eyes are both GREAT GREAT CDs. Pete at his best....
TOTALLY IN AGREEMENT WITH THAT ASSESSMENT! Pete is one of the finest musicians/songwriters/(and fuckups) of all time (yea, we all make mistakes but only some of us 'fess up to it, as Pete has always done and taken the consequences for....and grown from them to be a better man). EMPTY GLASS was a great testament to how you can screw things up in your life, face them head on, and grow from them!
I love the piano and the "traveling along the road" rhythm of this song! Nice!
I heard this on FM radio (probably WBCN in boston back when the big mattress was occupied and Duane Glasscock might pop up and take over the station) back when "Empty Glass" was released in 1980. Nice blast from the past.
Cyclehawk wrote:
Great to hear this on RP. PT's "Chinese Eyes" album from a couple years later is one of my all time favorites from this period.
This and Chinese Eyes are both GREAT GREAT CDs. Pete at his best....
the new DruidLabs theme ;)
timandjuliet wrote:
Start to finish, one of the best albums ever produced.
Completely agree. Certainly Pete's finest solo effort to date.
Excellent deep cut. Thanks, RP.
LOL - I just realized that was Pete. Listening the whole time thinking it was Duran Duran.... LOL!!!
8-< ">
Start to finish, one of the best albums ever produced.
This song was the B-side to "Let My Love Open The Door", wasn't it? Never figured out why - it's great.
Shesdifferent wrote:
I really like this tune. Will have to check this CD out.
Does anyone know of or remember the name of another CD rock type opera he did about a derelect angry old pop star who hates some reporter woman then falls in love with her? I cannot remember the title of it but would love to find it again. Let me know....shesdifferent@aol.com
Psychoderelict
Released in 1993, the album's songs tell the story of Ray Highsmith, a burned-out sixties rock star whose manager connives with a press reporter to re-invigorate the musician's career. Their plan: pretend to be a pretty fourteen-year-old girl trying to learn the ropes of singing stardom, sending pornographic photos of herself to him as part of the ruse.
(click here)
ah....so this is who Moby has been ripping/riffing off of for years....among others....but this one stands out
Are you talking about Tommy?
Diggin' PT!!! I LOVE this album!
I really like this tune. Will have to check this CD out.
Does anyone know of or remember the name of another CD rock type opera he did about a derelect angry old pop star who hates some reporter woman then falls in love with her? I cannot remember the title of it but would love to find it again. Let me know....shesdifferent@aol.com
dmax wrote:
I think it's pretty safe to assume that the lyrics are just there to mark a place in that brilliant music.
Brilliant music.
Could not agree more. I adore the echoing piano. This is a masterful tune, and I love it deeply. You score again, RP.
Great stuff...more old Pete on RP!
veegez wrote:
Still haven't figured out the lyrics, even though I've read Pete's roundabout explanation of them. Great cut.
I thought this was the song that started all that hoopla many years ago about PT claiming he was a woman. Thus I thought it was a song about sexual relationships written from a feminine perspective: a kind of imaginative cross-dressing. But then, all that other hoopla about Pete and child porn has probably erased the previous event in the popular imagination.
It's a compelling song, I think.
This is just loverly. I believe Pete wrote this for Bette Midler, of all people (though I don't think she ever recorded it). Hence the seeming bisexual content of the lyrics. Rough Boys is a whole 'nother matter.
Has anybody got any Rough Mix or Chinese Eyes to upload? Would love to hear some more vintage Pete.
Jeez. Is this really over 20 years old already? Sheeesh!
Another 12.
listen to the lyrics......cryptically referring to pete's bout with heroin addiction. duh!
This is my very very favorite Pete Townshend song from his most brilliant album... I was traveling on a train outside London once, listening to this song on my headphones. Tell me this rhythm isn't inspired by a railcar moving over tracks! I think of that trip every time I hear this song.
Great to hear this on RP. PT's "Chinese Eyes" album from a couple years later is one of my all time favorites from this period.
JokesandJokesandJokes wrote:
The song is about getting caught for kiddie porn
Enough with that f'ing b.s. already. Not funny. Try again. Jokes. :(
LazyMF wrote:
That "brilliant" music is blatantly pirated from Krafwerk's "Europe Endless" and "Endless Endless."
Listen for yourself: https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00000DQSZ/qid=1102029788/sr=1-3/ref=sr_1_3/104-0535021-1538300?v=glance&s=music
/now he's an accused plagarist as well
Hardly. It's amazing what some people pass off as exactly the same for 2 different songs. Sure, some of the same notes are possibly used, but I don't hear the Big Country rhythm section kick in, or any words, or any chord changes that Pete employs.
Listen for yourself again.
Pete rules, K?
JokesandJokesandJokes wrote:
The song is about getting caught for kiddie porn
Nope....it's about trying out for the other team. Seems he was recruited and accepted the offer. And he moved.
That "brilliant" music is blatantly pirated from Krafwerk's "Europe Endless" and "Endless Endless."
Listen for yourself: https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00000DQSZ/qid=1102029788/sr=1-3/ref=sr_1_3/104-0535021-1538300?v=glance&s=music
/now he's an accused plagarist as well
I do not recall. But I do know that this song was written for Bette Midler and she refused to do it so Pete went ahead and did it himself.
Great song regardless.
IIRC, he was going through a period of sexual confusion at the time of this record. Think his marriage was on shaky ground and he was trying to hold onto his wife (the song "A Little is Enough" is about her). And of course, he was still drinking heavily.