A sad and pensive farewell to innocence, or even a farewell to life.

The Doors – “The End”

“The End” (1967)

This 12-minute epic was the final track on the Doors debut album. According to lead singer Jim Morrison, he wrote it about the end of his relationship with his girlfriend. Soon, however, it evolved into more than just a song about the end of a love affair.  

As with the greatest poetry, the lyrics to “The End,”  taken as a whole, say much more than the words and phrases can ever state or imply.

Farewell to Innocence 

Morrison himself said that, while “The End”  started out as “a simple goodbye song,”  it could also be interpreted as a goodbye to childhood. In fact, it might even be a sad and pensive farewell to innocence, or even a song about death.

Morrison added that “it's sufficiently complex and universal in its imagery that it could be almost anything you want it to be.”

That is particularly so in relation to the spoken word portion of the song, in which Morrison evokes the Oedipus complex of Greek drama. As keyboard player Ray Manzarek said, Morrison brought theater to to the rock’n’roll stage.   _{(Image source)}

Ars Longa Vita Brevis *

After the manic interlude, the song once again turns quiet, and the lyrics again turn pensive and resigned. Morrison once again addresses his “beautiful friend,”  sadly noting that, indeed, “this is the end.”

The end of “laughter,”  the end of “soft lies,”  the end of suicidal nights, the end of a relationship … and maybe, the end of life.

How sad. But how wonderful that we still have this masterpiece. * Ars longa vita brevis (Latin) = Art is long, life is short.

The Doors 

The Doors were one of the finest rock bands of the 1960s. Formed in Los Angeles in 1965, the band took their name from the Aldous Huxley book “The Doors of Perception,”  about the author’s psychedelic experiences and the spiritual insights he gained through those trips.*   

Exotic Fog to Whisky  

For a few months in early 1966, The Doors played at a derelict LA club called London Fog, where they appeared on a bill with an “exotic dancer.”  Within a few months, however, they had moved on, to play at the more reputable club Whisky a Go Go.

In 1967, The Doors released their eponymous debut album, to widespread acclaim and popular appeal. It has sold over 20 million copies, and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002.   _{(Image source)}

No End in Sight  

The Doors were one of the most influential bands of their era. Moreover, they are one of the few 60s bands whose music still resonates with listeners today.

As of 2004, The Doors ranked Number 41 on “Rolling Stone”  magazine’s list of 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

On its list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, “The End”  ranked at Number 328.   _{(Image source)} * (Huxley had taken the title for his book from the following quote by the Romantic poet / prophet William Blake – “If the doors of perception were cleansed, every thing would appear to man as it is – Infinite.” ) note – Film director Francis Ford Coppola used this aural masterpiece to stupendous effect in his 1979 masterpiece “Apocalypse Now.”

This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end
Of our elaborate plans
The end
Of everything that stands
The end
No safety or surprise
The end
I'll never look into your eyes
Again

Can you picture what will be
So limitless and free
Desperately in need of some stranger's hand
In a desperate land

Lost in a Roman wilderness of pain
And all the children are insane
All the children are insane
Waiting for the summer rain, yeah

There's danger on the edge of town
Ride the king's highway, baby
Weird scenes inside the gold mine
Ride the highway west, baby

Ride the snake, ride the snake
To the lake
The ancient lake, baby
The snake is long, seven miles
Ride the snake
He's old
And his skin is cold

The west is the best
The west is the best
Get here, and we'll do the rest

The blue bus is callin' us
The blue bus is callin' us
Driver, where you taking us

The killer awoke before dawn, he put his boots on
He took a face from the ancient gallery
And he walked on down the hall
He went into the room where his sister lived, and then he
Paid a visit to his brother, and then he
He walked on down the hall
And he came to a door
And he looked inside
"Father?"   "Yes, son."   "I want to kill you."
"Mother, I want to ... (indecipherable) ..."

C'mon babe
C'mon baby, take a chance with us
C'mon baby, take a chance with us
C'mon baby, take a chance with us
And meet me at the back of the blue bus
Doin' a blue rock
On a blue bus
Doin' a blue rock
C'mon, yeah

Fuck, fuck-ah, yeah
Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck
Fuck, fuck, fuck, yeah
C'mon, yeah, c'mon, yeah
Fuck me, baby, fuck yeah
Fuck, fuck, fuck, yeah!
Fuck, yeah! C'mon, baby
Fuck me, baby, fuck, fuck, yeah
Whoa, whoa, yeah, fuck, baby
C'mon, yeah, huh, huh, huh, huh, yeah
All right

Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill

This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end
It hurts to set you free
But you'll never follow me
The end of laughter and soft lies
The end of nights we tried to die

This is the end
Lyrics by Jim Morrison, courtesy of – AZLyrics.com
Reference – Wikipedia
Reference – Wikipedia

Into your ears … through 5 channels

 The various posts are categorized into 5 channels _{(Right-Click to see details)}
         1 – “Music to Your Ears” (MTYE)
         2 – “Cover Versions”
         3 – “Honor Roll”
         4 – “Documentaries”
         5 – “Mock’n’Roll”

More “Music to Your Ears” ...

          Previous posts in this series – "MTYE posts 1–20"
          Previous posts in this series – "MTYE posts 21–40"
          Previous posts in this series – "MTYE posts 41~60"

Links to my other series ...

          Lou Reed – "Anthology of Memorable Lyrics, Part 1"
          Lou Reed – "Anthology of Memorable Lyrics, Part 2"

          Great Lyrics, a compilation – “Part One – My Lyrics Posts 3~30”
          Great Lyrics, a compilation – “Part Two – My Lyrics Posts 31~60”  

          Vocab-Ability – "Introduction to Vocab-Ability"  
          Vocab-Ability – "Index"  to all Chapters and Sections  

          Notes from Under the Tatami Mats – "Part One – Notes 1~50"  
          Notes from Under the Tatami Mats – "Part Two – Notes 51~87"