The Seeker

Background and Commentary

The piece, about a tortured soul looking for answers, was written by Pete Townshend and performed by The Who in 1970. “I suppose I like this least of all the stuff,” Townshend says, but “it sounded great in the mosquito-ridden swamp I made it up in, in Florida, at three in the morning, drunk out of my brain with Tom Wright and John Wolff.” Released in the U.K. in March 1970, it reached #19 in the charts. Released in the U.S. a month later, it eventually peaked at #44.–-Wikipedia

Neil in the liner notes to the Feedback album suggests neither he nor his bandmates covered the song in their early years, but they included it in their EP because it was among the songs they liked from the era and they thought they could cover it effectively “meaning not too many backing vocals” and have some fun with.

Lyrics

The Who

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

Chorus:
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

Chorus

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

Chorus

Tablature (Drum)

By David Fornalsky (fornalskyd@cygnusproductions.com)

Excerpted from Ultimate Guitar.

q=86

w x3 h e sssse e e e e e sssse
H||—-r—————-||—r——-O—r——|—C-O-O-O-O-O-O-O—-|
S||4:o-e—————o||—e——-X-XXe——|——-X——-X——|
T||4:o-s—————o||—s———–s45—-|———————-|
K||—-t—————-||—t———–t——|—X——-X-XX-X—–|

e e e e e e sse e e e e e e sse e e e e e e sse
H|—O-O-C-O-O-O-O-O—-|—O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O—-|—O-O-O-O-O-O-C-O—-|
S|——-X——-X——|——-X——-X——|——-X——-X——|
T|———————-|———————-|———————-|
K|—X-X—–X-X–X—–|—X-X—–X-X–X—–|—X-X—–X-X–X—–|
“I’ve looked…”

e e e e e e sse e e e sse e sse e e e e e e sse
H|—O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O—-|—O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O—-|—C-O-O-O-O-O-O-O—-|
S|——-X——-X——|——-X——-X——|——-X——-X——|
T|———————-|———————-|———————-|
K|—X-X—–X-X–X—–|—X-X—-XX-X–X—–|—X-X—–X-X–X—–|
“They call me…”

e e e e e e sse e e e e e e sse e e e e e sse ss
H|—O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O—-|—O-O-C-O-O-O-O-O—-|—O-O-O-O-O-O-O——|
S|——-X——-X——|——-X——-X——|——-X——-X-XX—|
T|———————-|———————-|———————-|
K|—X-X—–X-X–X—–|—X-X—–X-X–X—–|—X-X—–X-XX——-|

sE q h sE q e e sse e e e e e e sse
H|—CC–r—r———-|—CC–r—O———-|—C-O-O-O-O-O-O-O—-|
S|——-e—e———-|——-e—X-X-X——|——-X——-X——|
T|——-s—s———-|——-s——–45—-|———————-|
K|—XX–t—t———-|—XX–t————–|—X——-X-X–X—–|

e e e e e e sse e e e e e e sse e e e e e e sse
H|—O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O—-|—O-O-O-O-O-O-O-O—-|—O-O-O-O-O-O-C-O—-|
S|——-X——-X——|——-X——-X——|——-X——-X——|
T|———————-|———————-|———————-|
K|—X-X—–X-X–X—–|—X-X—–X-X–X—–|—X-X—–X-X–X—–|
“I asked Bobby…”

For complete tab, go to Ultimate Guitar.

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