In the song, Townshend was "apparently... also trying to understand the roots of the Who, its attraction as rallying point and its eventual rejection by such as Jimmy", according to a review in Rolling Stone.
[1] According to Who biographer John Atkins, Jimmy "questions the balance of power that prevails between rock star and fan.
It is composed in the key of A major with Roger Daltrey's vocal range spanning from D3 to B4.
[4] John Entwistle provided a melodic bass line that is very prominent in "The Punk and the Godfather".
"[5] A review in PopMatters said the song "serves as an epitaph—for Townshend, and every rock legend that had the audacity to not die young—to the decidedly anti-rock notion of growing old.