The Who's Tommy (1969) is an allegory that deals with the inward-looking nature of youth and ultimately with the simplest and yet perhaps the most profound of revelations - that other people exist. The pinball and the more sensational (or frightening) aspects of the story can sometimes obscure this relatively simple message, not that it's spelled out in big letters or anything, but for me at least that's the essence of the tale. It has quite a lot in common with other myths involving a protagonist losing his or her identity, undergoing suffering and eventually coming to a higher spiritual purpose. The ending features Tommy singing the following words, which he had sung earlier to his reflection in the mirror, to his family and ultimately to everyone (in the musical version, the "fourth wall" of the theater disappears and the entire cast makes eye contact with the audience to very moving effect):

Listening to you, I get the music
Gazing at you, I get the heat
Following you, I climb the mountain
I get excitement at your feet

Right behind you, I see the millions
On you, I see the glory
From you, I get opinions
From you, I get the story

The listener is taken from heights of near-biblical imagery and brought back to his or her life in eight lines, from the mountain to sharing opinions - and seeing friends, companions and family once more - and for the first time. (By the way, Pete Townshend turned twenty-four four days before the release of the album. Suggested reading on a similar theme: "The Answer" by Robinson Jeffers.)