Don't Let Go the Coat

{{Infobox song

| name = Don't Let Go the Coat

| cover = The who-dont let go the coat s.jpg

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = the Who

| album = Face Dances

| B-side = You

| released = 5 May 1981

| recorded = 1980

| studio =

| venue =

| genre = Country rock

| length = 3:44

| label = Polydor (UK)
Warner Bros. (US)

| writer = Pete Townshend

| producer = Bill Szymczyk

| prev_title = You Better You Bet

| prev_year = 1981

| next_title = Athena

| next_year = 1982

}}

"Don't Let Go the Coat" is a song written by Pete Townshend and first released on The Who's 1981 album Face Dances.

It was released as a single following up on the first single from Face Dances, "You Better You Bet", but did not achieve the same success, reaching number 47 in the UK and number 84 in the US.{{cite web|title=Official Charts: The Who|url=http://www.theofficialcharts.com/artist/_/who/|publisher=The Official UK Charts Company|access-date=2011-11-27}}{{cite web|title=Face Dances Charts and Awards|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/face-dances-r21839/charts-awards/billboard-single|publisher=Allmusic|access-date=2011-11-27}}{{cite book|title=The Who on record: a critical history, 1963-1998|author=Atkins, J.|pages=255, 259|year=2000|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-0609-8}}

It has also been released on several compilation albums, and Pete Townshend himself released an alternate version of the song on his album Another Scoop.{{cite web|title=Don't Let Go the Coat|url=http://www.allmusic.com/search/track/Don%27t+Let+Go+the+Coat/order:default-asc|publisher=Allmusic|access-date=2011-11-27}}{{Dead link|date=February 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}{{cite web|title=Another Scoop|author=Erlewine, S.T.|author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/another-scoop-r20361|publisher=Allmusic|access-date=2011-11-27}}

Music and lyrics

Several authors, including Stephen Thomas Erlewine, regard the lyrics of "Don't Let Go the Coat" as an ode to spiritual guru Meher Baba.{{cite web|title=Face Dances|author=Erlewine, S.T.|author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/face-dances-r21839|publisher=Allmusic|access-date=2011-11-27}}{{cite book|title=The Complete Guide to the Music of The Who|author=Charlesworth, C.|page=87|year=1995|publisher=Omnibus Press|isbn=0-7119-4306-0}}{{cite book|title=The Who by Numbers|author1=Grantley, S. |author2=Parker, A.G.|page=193|year=2010|publisher=Helter Skelter Publishing|isbn=978-1-905139-26-2}} The title then refers to Meher Baba's charge that his disciples "hang fast to the hem of my robe," where the robe is a metaphor for his teachings.{{cite book|title=Pete Townshend: the minstrel's dilemma|author=Smith, L.D.|page=152|year=2010|publisher=University of California|isbn=978-0-275-96472-6}}

Alternatively, the song could refer to Pete Townshend's parents, who were the ones who would pick him up when Townshend descended into drugs and alcohol.

But regardless, the song strikes themes of spiritual torment, fear of abandonment and the need to keep faith, beginning with the lines:

"I can't be held responsible for blown behavior

I've lost all contact with my only saviour"

Musically, "Don't Let Go the Coat" has a country rock flavor. Authors Steve Grantley and Alan Parker describe the guitar sound as being similar to that of The Pretenders, and note that Townshend's acoustic guitar solo has Spanish inflections.

Reception

Record World described the chorus as "nifty", Townsend's guitar solo as "tasteful" and Roger Daltrey's lead vocal as "gentle."{{cite magazine|magazine=Record World|date=June 13, 1981|page=1|accessdate=2023-02-27|title=Hits of the Week|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/80s/81/RW-1981-06-13-Full.pdf}}

John Atkins acknowledges that the song is melodic, but claims that it is bland and notes that it has less energy than "You Better You Bet". Grantley and Parker, while praising the "pristine production" by Bill Szymczyk, note that the song "never really gets out of first gear." Chris Charlesworth asserts that lead singer Roger Daltrey's bravado is ill-suited to the song's confession of inadequacy and unworthiness. Erlewine, however, claims that "Don't Let Go the Coat" is "one of [Townshend's] better odes to Meher Baba."

Other releases

"Don't Let Go the Coat" was included on The Ultimate Collection compilation album in some countries in 2002.{{cite web|title=Ultimate Collection [Australia Bonus Tracks]|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/ultimate-collection-australia-bonus-tracks-r1017651|publisher=Allmusic|access-date=2011-11-28}} A promotional video of the song appeared on Who's Better, Who's Best: The Videos in 1988.{{cite web|title=Who's Better, Who's Best: The Videos|author=Eder, B.|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/whos-better-whos-best-the-videos-r87881|publisher=Allmusic|access-date=2011-11-28}} A live video performance from 1981 was included on the DVD set Thirty Years of Maximum R&B Live.{{cite web|title=Thirty Years of Maximum R&B Live|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/maximum-r-b-live-r1556674|publisher=Allmusic|access-date=2011-11-28}} Townshend released a version of "Don't Let Go the Coat," with himself on lead vocal, on his 1987 album Another Scoop. Spin favorably contrasted this version with that of The Who, noting in particular Townshend's "newfound rock exuberance."{{cite news|title=Pete Townshend: Another Scoop|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sc9ijqDIbEgC&q=%22don%27t+let+go+the+coat%22&pg=PA26|author=Burr, T.|newspaper=SPIN Magazine|date=July 1987|access-date=2011-11-27}}