I've played the silver ball
From Soho down to Brighton
I must have played them all
But I ain't seen nothing like him
In any amusement hall
That deaf dumb and blind kid
Sure plays a mean pinball
He stands like a statue
Becomes part of the machine
Feeling all the bumpers
Always playing clean
He plays by intuition
The digit counters fall
That deaf dumb and blind kid
Sure plays a mean pinball
He's a pinball wizard
There has got to be a twist
A pinball wizard,
S'got such a supple wrist
'How do you think he does it? I don't know
What makes him so good?
He ain't got no distractions
Can't hear those buzzers and bells
Don't see lights a flashin'
Plays by sense of smell
Always has a replay
'n' never tilts at all
That deaf dumb and blind kid
Sure plays a mean pinball
I thought I was
The Bally table king
But I just handed
My pin ball crown to him
Even my usual table
He can beat my best
His disciples lead him in
And he just does the rest
He's got crazy flipper fingers
Never seen him fall
That deaf dumb and blind kind
Sure plays a mean pinball

The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup (1964–1978) consisted of lead vocalist Roger Daltrey, guitarist Pete Townshend, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered one of the most influential rock bands of the 20th century. Their contributions to rock music include the development of the Marshall stack, large public address systems, the use of synthesisers, Entwistle's and Moon's influential playing styles, Townshend's feedback and power chord guitar technique, and the development of the rock opera. They are cited as an influence by many hard rock, punk, power pop and mod bands. The Who were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.
The Who evolved from an earlier group, the Detours, and established themselves as part of the pop art and mod movements, featuring auto-destructive art by destroying guitars and drums on stage. Their first single as the Who, "I Can't Explain" (1965), reached the UK top ten, and was followed by a string of hit singles including "My Generation" (1965), "Substitute" (1966) and "Happy Jack" (1966). In 1967, they performed at the Monterey Pop Festival and released "I Can See for Miles", their only US top-ten single. The group's 1969 concept album Tommy included the single "Pinball Wizard" and was a critical and commercial success.
Further festival appearances at Woodstock and the Isle of Wight, along with the concert album Live at Leeds (1970), established their reputation as a respected rock act. The success put pressure on lead songwriter Townshend, and the follow-up to Tommy, Lifehouse, was abandoned. Songs from the project made up the album Who's Next (1971), including the hits "Won't Get Fooled Again", "Baba O'Riley", and "Behind Blue Eyes". The group released another concept album, Quadrophenia (1973), as a celebration of their mod roots, and oversaw the film adaptation of Tommy (1975). They continued to tour to large audiences before semi-retiring from live performances at the end of 1976. The release of Who Are You (1978) was overshadowed by Moon's death shortly after.
Kenney Jones replaced Moon and the group resumed touring, and released a film adaptation of Quadrophenia and the retrospective documentary The Kids Are Alright. After Townshend became weary of the group, they split in 1983. The Who occasionally re-formed for live appearances such as Live Aid in 1985, a 25th-anniversary tour in 1989 and a tour of Quadrophenia in 1996–1997. A full reunion began in 1999, with drummer Zak Starkey. After Entwistle's death in 2002, plans for a new album were delayed until 2006, with Endless Wire. Since Entwistle's death, The Who have continued to perform and tour, most commonly with Starkey on drums, Pino Palladino on bass, and Pete's brother Simon Townshend on second guitar and backing vocals. In 2019, the group released the album Who and toured with a symphony orchestra.
Besides the sarcasm, it's a great song. Not by its lyrics merits though.
For several years, they've been on my short list of performers I'd most like to see live. Just great! Thanks for the link!
My memories are equally vivid. This tune blew my mind. Oh to be a 14-year-old listening on my little white portable stereo and hear this for the first time ....
Anything's possible. Haven't ever heard Abba's 'Dancin' Queen' on RP either.
Hmmm. I see. So you continued, and continue, to wallow in ignorance not bothering to research, re-listen, rediscover the album in it's entirety. Is this how you function? Taste something once and and that's it? Sad.
The movie is one thing. A tad commercial but good for the era. Elton does an excellent job on this song. But for the original album here, you might want to re-educate yourself on this masterpiece of a rock opera.
never saw the movie but this song is lame, all these so-called rock operas were embarrassing
twas a great show indeed. Got to see them do Tommy live back in the day when this was new.
My school in Kent had just one pinball machine in the lunch room - it had a single hockey player at each end and you could reach ferocious speeds by spinning the player around at precisely the right nano second. Alas, I needed magic monkey farts or some such talisman on my side if I were to challenge the best.