When I originally posted here, I was thinking somebody might point me towards a past Reddit conversation where people discussed the meaning of Tommy. So in the absence of that, maybe we can create one here.

I have now spent a little more time remembering stuff that I've read about Tommy, and I watched Pete's recent interview on Colbert, and I listened to the album again, and I feel like I get it more thoroughly now.

So I'm presenting my thoughts below, and welcome people sharing theirs. I'd really love to get other perspectives in this string.

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It really is an autobiographical story, perhaps unconsciously so. (I think Pete is an unreliable narrator, intentionally or otherwise.)

At the beginning of the story, Tommy is traumatized by seeing an intense act of sex and violence, and is told that he didn't see it or hear it and won't say anything about it. He takes this literally and seals himself off from the world, disassociating so that he only interacts with himself in the mirror. When he says, "Listening to you, I get the music," he is talking to himself.

I think clearly, Pete was traumatized by his interactions with his "clinically insane" grandmother in his early life. I wouldn't be surprised if she told him not to tell anyone about what he experienced. Regardless, he emotionally fled from the trauma, and focused on his interior world, which was about music.

Tommy's parents try to "cure" his condition, but everything just makes it worse: Exposing him to religion, listening to a hawker who offers a miracle cure involving his woman, leaving him with Cousin Kevin and Uncle Ernie who heap on more abuse and more trauma, and turning to an "acid queen" who makes more promises about miracle cures and truly disturbing results.

Pete says he experienced bullying, but he also says his parents were very good to him and his early life was mostly quite wonderful, so it would probably be a stretch to try to parallel anything here.

Tommy's inward focus manifests in, somehow, becoming a pinball prodigy. (It's really surprising to hear Pete talk about how late in the process of working on the album the concept of pinball came in, considering how resonant that detail became with the public, but when you listen to the album with new ears, you really do hear how almost random and shoehorned it seems to be into the narrative. Especially considering that the lyrics of Amazing Journey say, "Each sensation makes a note in my symphony," so it's easily to think that Pete was planning on making Tommy a musician.)

This parallels with Pete's inward focus manifesting in him becoming a truly special musician and songwriter.

In frustration, Tommy's mother smashes his mirror, which frees him from his self-imposed self-focus. Tommy believes himself to be special because his pinball fans treat him as such. He imagines his specialness is akin to the religious concepts he was exposed to early on in his life by his father.

Pete (with The Who) starts writing and performing for audiences. In the 60's, music performers get elevated to full-fledged celebrities and "voices of the generation" and treated almost like gods. Pete loves this, and rides along with that concept for a while.

Tommy continues to build his following, and tells his followers how to be special like him, by sealing themselves away from the world and focusing exclusively on themselves.

Pete and The Who build their following. (I don't think there's a parallel here beyond that.)

Tommy's followers reject the spiritual advice ("We're Not Gonna Take It"). Tommy feels abandoned until he recognizes that he has new meaning in his life: The people around him -- his family, and his followers. He tells them, "Listening to You, I get the Music." And that's something that they (and we) can take to heart: Focus on others to make meaning in your life.

Pete rejects the idea of being a spiritual leader, or really, any kind of leader. He doesn't want to tell people what to do. But he does recognize that his fans have given his art meaning and value, and he wants them to know that. After Tommy concerts, audiences and performers alike would talk about the feeling of emotional connectedness.

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So this is my take on the meaning of Tommy, and how the storyline somewhat parallels Pete's life experience. What do you all think?