Dogs is in the tradition of English popular songwriting, a song about love and greyhound racing in which the protagonist progresses from an obsession with beer-drinking, via a love of the dogs shared with his girlfriend, to partnership and, ultimately, babies. It is notable for Keith Moon's punctuation of the story with some characteristically funny drumming (Dum-tiddy-um-pum-Tiddy-iddy-um-pum and variations thereupon), and has a great last line (spoken, not sung, as in Happy Jack).
Dogs
The Who Lyrics
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You gave me a tip I got me forecast paid,
You were holding a greyhound in trap number one,
Your white coat was shining in the afternoon sun.
Now we're both together,
We're never gonna break apart, no no,
'Cause we're a happy couple you and me,
I'll have ten shillings to win on Camera Flash, young man,
What dog's that, it's a deuce, look at it.
There was nothing in my life bigger than beer,
There was nothing in my life bigger than beer,
'Ceptin' you, little darling,
'Ceptin' you, little darling,
We're a happy couple you and me,
With a greyhound at either knee.
We go to the dog track on Saturday night,
We put all our money on a dog that we like,
A kiss and a cuddle, a hot meat pie,
Two dollar tickets and a starry sky.
There was nothing in my life bigger than beer,
There was nothing in my life bigger than beer,
'Ceptin' you, little darling,
'Ceptin' you, little darling,
We're a happy couple you and me,
With a baby on either knee.
Yes it's you little darling,
Yes it's you little darling,
Now it's you little darling,
Now it's you.
Girl, where's me wage packet ?????,
Ah I'll put twenty-five knicker please on Gallop Printer,
Oh, I hope the wife don't find out,
Yes, it's sure to win, isn't it,
Yes, I know, it's a good dog, I saw it run at White City,
Just last week, broke the record, Gallop Printer,
Nice dog, yes, lovely form, lovely buttocks.
The Who's song "Dogs" is a simple yet somewhat complex song about a couple's love for each other and their love for greyhound racing. The song starts with the story of how the couple met, with the woman being a kennel maid and the man placing bets on the greyhounds. The lyrics "Your white coat was shining in the afternoon sun" paints a vivid imagery of the scene, as if the man is drawn to the woman's radiance just as much as he is attracted to the greyhound racing. As the song progresses, it becomes clear that the couple's love for each other is just as strong as their love for the greyhounds. The repetition of the lyrics "We're a happy couple you and me, with a greyhound at either knee" shows the importance of the greyhounds but also implies that the couple is content and complete with each other, despite their simple pleasures.
However, as simplistic as the song may seem, it also delves into the darker side of the couple's relationship. The lyrics "Girl, where's me wage packet????? Ah, I'll put twenty-five knicker please on Gallop Printer, Oh, I hope the wife don't find out" reveals the man's tendency to gamble their money away without his wife's knowledge. It seems as though their love for each other and their shared love for greyhound racing might not be enough in the long run. The constant need for money and the potential of gambling addiction paints a bleak future for the couple.
Overall, "Dogs" is a bittersweet tale of a couple's love for each other and their simple pleasures, but it also serves as a warning of the dangers that come with it.
Line by Line Meaning
The first time we met you were a kennel maid,
When we first met, you were working at a kennel.
You gave me a tip I got me forecast paid,
You gave me a betting tip that turned out to be correct.
You were holding a greyhound in trap number one,
When we met, you were holding a greyhound in a starting box.
Your white coat was shining in the afternoon sun.
Your white coat was shining in the sun that afternoon.
Now we're both together,
We're currently in a relationship.
We're never gonna break apart, no no,
We're committed to each other and won't break up.
'Cause we're a happy couple you and me,
We're a happy couple together.
With a greyhound at either knee.
We each have a greyhound sitting at our knees.
I'll have ten shillings to win on Camera Flash, young man,
I want to place a bet on Camera Flash.
What dog's that, it's a deuce, look at it.
Which dog is that? Oh, it's number two.
There was nothing in my life bigger than beer,
Before I met you, the most important thing in my life was drinking beer.
'Ceptin' you, little darling,
Except for you, my love.
With a greyhound at either knee.
We each have a greyhound sitting at our knees.
We go to the dog track on Saturday night,
On Saturday nights, we like to go to the dog track.
We put all our money on a dog that we like,
We bet all our money on a dog that we think will win.
A kiss and a cuddle, a hot meat pie,
We share a kiss and a cuddle while enjoying a hot meat pie.
Two dollar tickets and a starry sky.
We buy two dollar tickets and look up at the starry sky.
There was nothing in my life bigger than beer,
Before I met you, the most important thing in my life was drinking beer.
'Ceptin' you, little darling,
Except for you, my love.
With a greyhound at either knee.
We each have a greyhound sitting at our knees.
With a baby on either knee.
We each have a baby sitting on our knees.
Yes it's you little darling,
Yes, it's you, my love.
Now it's you little darling,
Now, you are the most important thing in my life.
Girl, where's me wage packet ?????,
Hey, where's my paycheck, girl?
Ah I'll put twenty-five knicker please on Gallop Printer,
I'll bet twenty-five pounds on Gallop Printer.
Oh I hope the wife don't find out,
I hope my wife doesn't find out about my gambling.
Yes, it's sure to win, isn't it,
I'm confident that it will win, right?
Yes, I know, it's a good dog, I saw it run at White City,
Yes, I know, it's a good dog. I saw it race at White City.
Just last week, broke the record, Gallop Printer,
Just last week, Gallop Printer broke a record.
Nice dog, yes, lovely form, lovely buttocks.
Great dog, yes, wonderful form, lovely hindquarters.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: PETER DENNIS BLANDFOR TOWNSHEND
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
steve hewitt
The first time we met you were a kennel maid,
You gave me a tip I got me forecast paid,
You were holding a greyhound in trap number one,
Your white coat was shining in the afternoon sun.
Now we're both together,
We're never gonna break apart, no no,
'Cause we're a happy couple you and me,
With a greyhound at either knee.
I'll have ten shillings to win on Camera Flash, young man,
What dog's that, it's a deuce, look at it.
There was nothing in my life bigger than beer,
There was nothing in my life bigger than beer,
'Ceptin' you, little darling,
'Ceptin' you, little darling,
We're a happy couple you and me,
With a greyhound at either knee.
We go to the dog track on Saturday night,
We put all our money on a dog that we like,
A kiss and a cuddle, a hot meat pie,
Two dollar tickets and a starry sky.
There was nothing in my life bigger than beer,
There was nothing in my life bigger than beer,
'Ceptin' you, little darling,
'Ceptin' you, little darling,
We're a happy couple you and me,
With a baby on either knee.
Yes it's you little darling,
Yes it's you little darling,
Now it's you little darling,
Now it's you.
Girl, where's me wage packet ?????,
Ah I'll put twenty-five knicker please on Gallop Printer,
Oh, I hope the wife don't find out,
Yes, it's sure to win, isn't it,
Yes, I know, it's a good dog, I saw it run at White City,
Just last week, broke the record, Gallop Printer,
Nice dog, yes, lovely form, lovely buttocks.
Mike Matei Inspector Gadget
This Is such a weird track and it amazes me they released it as an A side. It’s so good tho. The harmonies are spot on, the lyrics are funny and sweet and the instrumentation is spot on. It’s proto Britpop when you think about it. Honestly In my top 3 Who songs
Scott Boydle
Your Britpop comment is well observed. Blur shoulda covered this in their Parklife days.
VirreFriberg
Probably inspired by the Small Faces Lazy Sunday
John Harp Dalton
This is a little one-off piece of Townshend genius, a mini-rock opera contained in a single. Great humour, harmonies, story, production and voices.
Frank M. Giallombardo
As one off songs go, this one was is remarkable.
TallDarkAnd Ahandfull
What do you mean,was this the first take
R H R 221b
@TallDarkAnd Ahandfull 'Nice buttocks' attempt at being disingenuous, T. Try to be free and original. 🍻😎
TallDarkAnd Ahandfull
@R H R 221b try to be cleare,I'm not sure if your quoting Townsend or preaching your satanic nonsense to me,repent,study the king james an s message new testament and let the trinity touch you
John Thomas
Great song, and a great example of how fantastic Keith Moon was on drums!
Nina Ketel Mentor
It always makes me chuckle, it’s brilliant and who would have thought listening to this song they would go on to become one of the biggest Rock Bands in Rock history. I’ve just written a SM post on it.