The End (The Doors Song)

The End is a song by The Doors written by Jim Morrison , recorded without overdubbing in 1967 and released on their first album The Doors . Only two takes were recorded, the second was released. Morrison wrote the song when his relationship with girlfriend Mary Werbelow ended, but it went from appearing at the Whiskey a Go Go club in Los Angeles to a twelve-minute opus in months . The band played the song towards the end of their performances.

The End was voted number 336 of the Top 500 Songs of All Time by Rolling Stone . The song's guitar solo ranks 93rd in the Guitar World's 100 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time .

song lyrics

In 1969, Morrison commented on the song:

“Everytime I hear that song, it means something else to me. It started out as a simple good-bye song… Probably just to a girl, but I see how it could be a goodbye to a kind of childhood. I really don't know. I think it's sufficiently complex and universal in its imagery that it could be almost anything you want it to be. "

“Every time I hear this song, it means something different to me. It started out as a simple farewell song ... probably only for a girl, but I see how it could be a goodbye to some kind of childhood. I really do not know it. I think it's sufficiently complex and universal in its imagery that it can be almost anything you want. "

- Jim Morrison

In an interview with Lizze James, Morrison explained the meaning of the verse My only friend, the End :

“Sometimes the pain is too much to examine, or even tolerate… That doesn't make it evil, though - or necessarily dangerous. But people fear death even more than pain. It's strange that they fear death. Life hurts a lot more than death. At the point of death, the pain is over. Yeah - I guess it is a friend ... ”

“Sometimes the pain is too great to investigate, or even tolerate… That doesn't make it angry - or necessarily dangerous. But people fear death more than pain. It is strange that they fear death. Life hurts more than death. At the time of death, the pain is over. Yes - I think he's a friend ... "

- Jim Morrison

Shortly after the first half of the almost twelve-minute album version, the song goes into a section with the spoken words (“The killer awoke before dawn…”; German: “The murderer awoke before dawn…”). This section of the song reaches a dramatic climax with the words: “Father / Yes son? / I want to kill you / Mother, I want to…” (German; “Vater / Ja Sohn? / I want to kill you / Mother, I want …"). The next words are shouted inaudibly. This passage is interpreted as a reference to the Oedipus complex . Ray Manzarek , the Doors' ex-keyboardist, said:

“He was giving voice in a rock 'n' roll setting to the Oedipus complex, at the time a widely discussed tendency in Freudian psychology. He wasn't saying he wanted to do that to his own mom and dad. He was re-enacting a bit of Greek drama. It was theater! "

“He gave the Oedipus complex a rock 'n' roll voice, a widely discussed concept in Freudian psychology at the time. He didn't say he wanted to do this to his own mother and father. He acted out a bit of the Greek drama. It was theater! "

- Ray Manzarek

Musician of the original recording

• Jim Morrison - vocals , tambourine
• Robby Krieger - guitar
• Ray Manzarek - Vox Continental , piano bass
• John Densmore - drums

Use in film and television productions

• Francis Ford Coppola used The End in his 1979 war film Apocalypse Now in both the opening and closing scenes.

• At the end of the 9th episode of the 1st season of the US TV series Hunters of 2020, parts of the song are played while a factory is destroyed.

additional

• The French industry minister Arnaud Montebourg is said to have sung the song in front of the other French ministers in view of his dismissal in 2014.

Web links

• Lindsay Planner: The End: review . Allmusic . Retrieved November 12, 2012.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Classic Albums: The Doors . Classic albums . Retrieved September 4, 2010.
2. ↑ Mojo Magazine , Jim Irvin, Phil Alexander: The Mojo Collection: the ultimate music companion; brought to you by the makers of Mojo magazine . 4th edition. Canongate Books, Edinburgh 2007, ISBN 978-1-84767-643-6 .
3. ^ Robert Farley: Doors: Mary and Jim to the end . In: St. Petersburg Times . September 25, 2005. Retrieved July 3, 2012.
4. ↑ 100 Greatest Guitar Solos: 51–100. Guitar World
5. ↑ Jann Wenner, Joe Levy: The Rolling Stone Interviews (Jim Morrison) . Back Bay Books, New York 2007, ISBN 978-0-316-00526-5 , pp. 496 .
6. ↑ Jim Morrison: Ten Years Gone. Retrieved November 29, 2012 . 
7. ↑ The Doors, BenFong-Torres: The Doors . Hyperion, New York 2006, p. 283. p. 61 ISBN 1-4013-0303-X ; ISBN 978-1-4013-0303-7 .
8. ↑ Apocalypse Now: Score and Soundtrack . In: SparkNotes . Retrieved July 3, 2012.
9. ↑ Comment by Manuel Valls an annoncé à Arnaud Montebourg qu'il était viré . In: Le Huffington Post , March 9, 2016.