"Love Ain't for Keeping" is a song written by

Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is co-founder, leader, guitarist, second lead vocalist and principal songwriter of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s and 1970s. Townsh ...

and originally released by

the Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

on their 1971 album '' Who's Next.'' Its themes include the joy of physical love, the power of nature and the need to live for the moment.

Music and lyrics

At two minutes and ten seconds, "Love Ain't for Keeping" is the shortest song on ''Who's Next''. It is also one of the lightest songs on the album, and one of the few not to use

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

s. However, an earlier version of the song, recorded in

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with

Kit Lambert Christopher Sebastian "Kit" Lambert (11 May 1935 – 7 April 1981) was a British record producer, record label owner and the manager of The Who. Biography Early life Kit Lambert was born on 11 May 1935, the son of composer Constant Lamb ...

producing, was more of a

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

song, and included synthesizers as well as electric guitars (with Leslie West guesting on lead guitar). The hard rock version appears on reissues of ''

Odds and Sods ''Odds & Sods'' is an album of studio outtakes by British rock band the Who. It was released by Track Records in the UK and Track/ MCA in the US in October 1974. Ten of the recordings on original eleven song album were previously unreleased. Th ...

'' and on the deluxe version of ''Who's Next'', and was used as the concert opener for Who live shows for some shows in 1971. A live recording, from a concert at the

Young Vic The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth. The Young Vic was established by Frank Dunlop in 1970. Kwame Kwei-Armah has been Artistic Director since February 201 ...

in 1971, appears on the deluxe version of ''Who's Next''. "Love Ain't for Keeping" was originally conceived as part of Townshend's abandoned '' Lifehouse'' project, and the

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

version (which, like the hard rock version, includes synthesizers) appears on ''

Lifehouse Chronicles ''Lifehouse Chronicles'' is a box set released in 2000 by Pete Townshend with the focus of the box being the formerly "abandoned" '' Lifehouse'' rock opera. The set contains song demos by Pete Townshend; including solo versions of "Baba O'Riley ...

''. The song (referring to the best-known version on ''Who's Next'') has been described as "a

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

-tinged country love song." The lyrics project optimism and contentment and the themes of the song include the peaceful joy of physical love, the power of nature and the need to live for the moment, indeed to share love rather than "keep" it. For example, the lyrics include: :''Rain is coming down'' :''But I know the clouds will pass'' :''...'' :''Lay down beside me'' :''Love ain't for keeping.'' The song has a bouncy tempo. The instrumentation of "Love Ain't for Keeping" is dominated by multitracked

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

s, played by Townshend, including an acoustic guitar solo.

Keith Moon Keith John Moon (23 August 19467 September 1978) was an English drummer for the rock band the Who. He was noted for his unique style of playing and his eccentric, often self-destructive behaviour and addiction to drugs and alcohol. Moon grew ...

's drumming is more restrained than usual. Moon plays a

Ludwig Ludwig may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ludwig (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Ludwig (surname), including a list of people * Ludwig Ahgren, or simply Ludwig, American YouTube live streamer and co ...

drum kit on this song, rather than his usual

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

kit.

John Entwistle John Alec Entwistle (9 October 194427 June 2002) was an English musician who was the bassist for the rock band The Who. Entwistle's music career spanned over four decades. Nicknamed "The Ox" and "Thunderfingers", he was the band's only member ...

's bass playing is also relatively restrained.

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

critic Tom Maginnis describes

Roger Daltrey Roger Harry Daltrey (born 1 March 1944) is an English singer, musician and actor. He is a co-founder and the lead singer of the Rock music, rock band The Who. Daltrey's hit songs with The Who include "My Generation", "Pinball Wizard", "Won't Ge ...

's vocal as using a "clear, soaring voice," and singing sweetly for the line "Lay down beside me/Love ain't for keeping." "Love Ain't for Keeping" segues into the following song on ''Who's Next'', "

My Wife "My Wife" is a song by the British rock band the Who, written by bass guitarist John Entwistle. It was originally released in 1971 on ''Who's Next'' and later as the B-side of the single "Baba O'Riley" on 6 November 1971 in Europe by Polydor Re ...

Critical reception

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' described "Love Ain't for Keeping" as "faintly pretty but negligible."

Other versions

A version of "Love Ain't for Keeping" appeared on the 1998 reissue of The Who's ''

'' album. Townshend included a version of the song on his solo album ''

The Lifehouse Chronicles ''Lifehouse Chronicles'' is a box set released in 2000 by Pete Townshend with the focus of the box being the formerly "abandoned" '' Lifehouse'' rock opera. The set contains song demos by Pete Townshend; including solo versions of "Baba O'Riley ...

''.

Milton Mapes Milton Mapes is a band that formed in Austin, Texas in 1999. The band was named after band member Greg Vanderpool's grandfather. Singer/guitarist Greg Vanderpool and bandmate Roberto Sánchez, both veterans of Dallas’ Deep Ellum music scene, s ...

covered the song on the 2004 album ''Who and Who''.

Personnel

lead vocals *

backing vocals, acoustic guitar *

bass guitar *

drums

References

{{Authority control 1971 songs The Who songs Songs written by Pete Townshend Song recordings produced by Glyn Johns Song recordings produced by Pete Townshend Folk rock songs Country rock songs