Let My Love Open The Door

In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine just after this song became a hit, Townshend referred to it as "just a ditty." He went on to say that he preferred another song from Empty Glass, "A Little is Enough," which only reached #72 on the US charts.

Pete Townshend has been a follower of the Indian spiritual teacher Meher Baba (1894-1969) since 1968 and this appears to be a devotional love song to his religious guru. However, in the liner notes of Townshend's Gold (Remaster) CD, he refers to this song as "Jesus sings."

The "love will set you free" message in this song is something Pete Townshend aspired to in his spiritual life, but wasn't able to sustain as he turned to drugs and alcohol around this time. When The Who drummer Keith Moon died in 1978, the band carried on, but with loads of tension. Townshend felt it acutely, as his whole life was tied up in the band, including his friendships and his finances. His creative output stayed strong - The Who released albums in 1981 and 1982, and he put out solo albums in 1980 and 1982 - but he nearly killed himself with his vices. After two stays in rehab, Townshend got clean in 1982 and was able to reflect on this time. He realized he was pushing his guru, Meher Baba, out of his life as a defense mechanism because he couldn't deal with his issues.