When the music's over: behind The Doors

GETTING CLOSE TO THE DOORS

Who were they and what instruments did they play?

HOW MUCH DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE DOORS?

Match the Song Titles to the correspondent Lyrics

DISCOGRAPHY (WITH JIM MORRISON)

...AND WITHOUT JIM (1971 and 1972)

OPENING THE DOORS - THE BEGINNING

In the summer of 1965, Jim Morrison encounters his fellow film school buddy Ray Manzarek on the beach in Venice (L.A.) and sings him a few songs. The rest is rock history as the two of them will soon join up with Robby Krieger and John Densmore to form The Doors.

Here is a scene taken from the Oliver Stone's film "The Doors" (1991) with, among others, Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison and Meg Ryan as Pamela Courson.

Where did the name come from?

THROUGH THE DOORS

Listen to "MOONLIGHT DRIVE" and fill in the gaps with the following words:

Let's swim to the moon, uh huh

Let's climb ____________________

Penetrate the evening that the

_________________to hide

Let's swim out tonight, love

It's our turn to try

Parked beside ___________

On our moonlight drive

Let's swim to the moon, uh huh

Let's climb through the tide

Surrender to the _________

That lap against our side

Nothing left open

And no time __________

We've stepped into _________

On our moonlight drive

Let's swim to the moon

Let's climb through the tide

You reach _________ to hold me

But I can't be your guide

Easy, I love you

As I watch you glide

Falling through ________

On our moonlight drive, baby

Moonlight drive

ALL HAIL THE LIZARD KING

 The "Celebration of the Lizard" is a performance piece composed as a series of poems. It includes both spoken verses and sung lyrics, musical sections and passages of allegorical storytelling. The musical passage "Not to Touch the Earth" was recorded separately and released on the Waiting for the Sun album, while the lyrics for the rest of the piece were published inside the gatefold jacket of the original vinyl LP, with the footnote, "Lyrics to a theatre composition by The Doors."

The song begins with the line, "Not to touch the earth, not to see the sun", these are subchapters of the 60th chapter of The Golden Bough by James Frazer. The chapter is called "Between Heaven and Earth", with subchapter 1, "Not to Touch the Earth", and subchapter 2, "Not to See the Sun”. These subchapters detail taboos against certain people (generally royalty or priests) walking upon the ground or having the sun shine directly upon them. Frazer's work had an influence on Morrison, according to the Doors biography No One Here Gets Out Alive (1980)

Now listen to this live version of "NOT TO TOUCH THE EARTH" and fill in the gaps with the missing words

Not to touch the earth

Not to see the sun

Nothing left to do, but

Run, run, run

Let's run

Let's run

House upon _______________

Moon is lying still

Shadows of______________

Witnessing the wild breeze

C'mon baby run with me

Let's run

Run with me

Run with me

Run with me

Let's run

 The mansion is _________, at the top of the hill

Rich are ______________and the comforts there

Red are the arms of __________________

And you won't know a thing 'till you get inside

Dead president's corpse in the driver's car

__________ runs on glue and tar

Come on along, not goin' very far

To the East to meet the Czar

Run with me

Run with me

Run with me

Let's run

Whoa!

Somehow outlaws lived by the side of _________

The minister's daughter's in love with___________

Who lives in a well by the side of the road

Wake up, girl, we're almost home

Ya, c’mon!

We should see ________ by mornin'

We should be inside _______________

Sun, sun, sun

Burn, burn, burn

Soon, soon, soon

Moon, moon, moon

I will get you

Soon, soon, soon!

I am the Lizard king

I can do anything

A PSYCHEDELIC BAND FROM L.A.

A LUCKY LITTLE LADY IN THE CITY OF LIGHT, OR JUST ANOTHER LOST ANGEL?

Listen to "L.A. WOMAN" and fill in the gaps

Well, I just got into town about _________________

Took a look around, see which way the wind blow

Where the little girls in their ___________________

Are you a lucky little lady in the City of Light?

Or just another __________________?

City of Night, City of Night

City of Night, City of Night

L.A. woman, L.A. woman

L.A. woman, Sunday afternoon

L.A. woman, Sunday afternoon

L.A. woman, Sunday afternoon

Drive through your suburbs

Into your blues, into your blues, yeah

Into your blues, into your blues!

I see ____________________is burning

Hills are filled ________________

If they say I never loved you

You know they are ____________

Driving down your freeways

Midnight alleys roam

Cops ___________, the topless bars

Never saw a woman so alone

So alone, so alone, so alone

_______________ murder-madness

Let's change the mood

from glad to____________

Mr. Mojo Risin', Mr. Mojo Risin'

Mr. Mojo Risin', Mr. Mojo Risin'

Got to keep on risin'

Mr. Mojo Risin', Mr. Mojo Risin'

Mojo Risin', gotta Mojo Risin'

Mr. Mojo Risin', gotta keep on risin'

Risin', risin'

Gone risin', risin'

I'm gone risin', risin'

I gotta risin', risin’, well, risin', risin'

I gotta, wooo, yeah, risin'

CLOSING THE DOORS - THE END

No one here gets out alive

Following the death of Jim Morrison (on July 3, 1971) and the band's break-up, the surviving members of the Doors reconvened to set several of Morrison's spoken word recordings to music.It was the only album by the Doors to be nominated for a Grammy Award in the "Spoken Word" category. Keyboardist Ray Manzarek perceived An American Prayer as being divided into five parts, with the first covering Morrison's childhood and the second his high school years; the third concerning "the young poet, stoned on a rooftop with acid dreams." The fourth his musical career and finally the fifth is a "final summation in a way, of the man's entire life and his philosophy.”

AN AMERICAN PRAYER

Do you know the warm progress under the stars?

Do you know we exist?

Have you forgotten the keys to the kingdom

Have you been borne yet and are you alive?

Let's reinvent the gods, all the myths of the ages

Celebrate symbols from deep elder forests

Have you forgotten the lessons of the ancient war

We need great golden copulations

The fathers are cackling in trees of the forest

Our mother is dead in the sea

Do you know we are being led to slaughters by placid admirals and fats slow generals are

Getting obscene on young blood?

Do you know we are ruled by T.V.?

The moon is a dry blood beast

Guerrilla bands are rolling numbers in the next block of green vine

Amassing for warfare on innocent herdsman who are just dying

O great creator of being grant us one more hour

To perform our art and perfect our lives

The moths and atheists are doubly divine and dying

We live, we die and death not ends it

Journey we more into the Nightmare

Cling to life Our passion'd flower

Cling to Cunts and cocks of despair

We got our final vision by clap

Columbus is groin got filled with green death

I touched her thigh and death smiled

We have assembled inside this ancient and insane theatre

To propagate our lust for life and flee the swarming wisdom of the streets

The barns are stormed, the windows kept and only one of all the rest

To dance and save us with the divine mockery of words

Music inflames temperament

When the true King's murderers are allowed to roam

Free a 1000 Magicians arise in the land

Where are the feasts we are promised

Where is the wine The New Wine

Dying on the vine

1 - Awake:

2 - To Come of Age:

3 - The Poets Dream:

4 - The World On Fire:

5 - An American Prayer

Wow, I’m sick of doubt
 Live in the light of certain
 South
 Cruel bindings.
 The servants have the power
 dog-men and their mean women
 pulling poor blankets over our sailors

I’m sick of dour faces
 Staring at me from the TV Tower,

I want roses in my garden bower; dig?
 Royal babies, rubies
 must now replace aborted
 Strangers in the mud
 These mutants, blood-meal
 for the plant that’s plowed.

They are waiting to take us into the severed garden
 Do you know how pale and wanton thrillful
 comes death on a strange hour
 unannounced, unplanned for
 like a scaring over-friendly guest you’ve brought to bed

 Death makes angels of us all
 and gives us wings
 where we had shoulders
 smooth as raven’s claws

No more money, no more fancy dress

This other kingdom seems by far the best

Until its other jaw reveals incest

And lose obedience to a vegetable law

I will not go

Prefer a feast of friends to the giant family

BABYLON FADING

Then we hear a whistle like a bison's pipe

And the carnival immediately begins

Gradually mixing rain,

Thunder

Bullfight

Football

Playground

War

Penny-arcade

Babylon Fading…

BEHIND THE DOORS

KATA TON DAIMONA EAYTOY

Κατα τον δαιμονα εαυτου

The phrase is inscribed on Jim Morrison's grave. It was drafted by Morrison's father and his intended message was along the lines "Faithful to his own spirit”

Nevertheless, "Kata Ton Daimona Eaytoy” has two meanings: in ancient greek, Κατα τον δαιμονα εαυτου means approximately “To the Divine Spirit who is with him”, while in modern Greek the meaning is: "He caused his own damnation”

FOR WHEN THE MUSIC'S OVER (BEFORE TURNING OUT THE LIGHT)

Cancel my subscription to the resurrection

Send my credentials to the house of detention

I got some friends inside

The face in the mirror won't stop

The girl in the window won't drop

A feast of friends, alive she cried

Waitin' for me

Outside

Before I sink

Into the big sleep

I want to hear

I want to hear

The scream of the butterfly

I hear a very gentle sound

With your ear down to the ground

We want the world and we want it now!

So when the music’s over

Turn out the light

Music is your only friend

Until the end.

Edited by Riccardo Zambon, May 20th 2023