The Who’s Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde dealt with drummer’s Keith Moon’s increasing drinking problem
Bassist John Entwistle, from classic English rockers The Who, wrote “Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde” about drummer Keith Moon’s drinking problems in the late 1960s.
The song was released in two versions, once in March 1868 as a B side to the US single “Call Me Lightning” and later that year on a compilation album “Magic Bus: The Who on Tour”.
Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde has a playful yet haunting melody, which is almost childlike. However, the lyrics are far more ominous and distressing as it deals with the chemical self destruction of Keith Moon.
Here’s the lyrics:
Hyde, Hyde.
Someone is spending my money for me,
The money I earn I never see,
In all things I do he interferes,
All I know is trouble as soon as he appears.
Mister Hyde, Mister Hyde, Mister Hyde, Mister Hyde, Hyde.
When I drink my potion my character changes,
My whole mind and body rearranges,
This strange transformation takes place in me,
Instead of myself everybody can see…
Mister Hyde, Mister Hyde, Mister Hyde, Mister Hyde, Hyde.
Whenever you’re with me make sure it’s still me,
I’ve got to the stage I can’t tell which I’ll be,
The loveable fellow who’ll buy you a drink,
Then when he’s drunk his he’ll change in a wink into…
Hyde, Mister Hyde, Mister Hyde, Mister Hyde, Hyde.
