FIRST TIME Reacting to THE DOORS - THE END

[@mquinn5764]

The Doors is not for the faint of heart. Morrison liked to explore the darkness that resides at the heart of the human psyche. This song is very freudian. The primal urges to explore boundaries and even go beyond them... and the strange links between violence and sexuality are key themes here. To see an interesting cinematic take on this song, watch the original movie Apocalypse Now. This song features in the climax of the movie. Good job "taking a chance" on something new Steph. Hope you check our more Doors down the road.

[@EdwardCurl]

It's actually a breakup song 😂😂😂

[@riccardoriva6183]

Well, everyone is entitled to whatever opinion THEY THINK IT IS. ¿Isn't that right?

[@SPGhettus]

Man, starting your Doors listening with "The End" is what we would call diving into the deep end, no pun intended.

[@mikefetterman6782]

JIm Morrison was known as the rock poet. He wrote 3 books of poetry that got published. The Doors did one last album after Jim's passing, by adding instrumentation to his vocal performance "An American Prayer".

[@mikefetterman6782]

Known as "BEAT POETRY" with some Desert music for background.

[@EdwardCurl]

Morrison published 2 of 3😂😂

[@mrtveye6682]

The Doors were indeed a very special band, even in the context of the very innovative 60s music scene. There are tons of other great songs for you to discover, and a lot of them have similar qualities as The End. "Riders on the Storm", "When the Music's over", "People are strange", "The Crystal Ship"... I could go on forever.

[@145Slap789]

Many radio stations refused to play this song on the radio, its popularity was only known to hardcore door fans. The movie "Apocalypse Now" put it on the commercial map almost a decade later finally making it mainstream.

[@StanSwan]

The song was #1 in Mexico in 1968.

[@edsmith3461-z7m]

Not even close to true. This is an 11 min song that was never released as a single. It was only played on FM radio late at night and not until years after it was released. All the FUCKS in the song were never there in the original, this version is from a alternate in 1990's.

[@StanSwan]

@@edsmith3461-z7m It was released as a single in Mexico.

[@Orange-Jumpsuit-Time]

@@StanSwan If that one lyric about the mother had been changed to address the sister, the song would have been a #1 in the Deep South.

[@edsmith3461-z7m]

@ No it wasn't. Singles are not released in other countries unless it's targeted, they are just released. The Doors never charted in Mexico and The End was never a single.

[@williamcabell142]

One of the earliest Jazz/rock fusion bands! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@LouisFLamas]

Saw the Doors in Houston, Texas as a Teenager around 1970 or 71. Never will forget that concert.

[@kelvinkloud]

how did they standout vs peers in the music indust in that very potent era?.... was morrison as big a legend by that point as he would become after his death?

[@Orange-Jumpsuit-Time]

Seventy or seventy one, must have been a drunken spectacle on Jimbos part?

[@LouisFLamas]

@ I went back to check my records. It was 1968 that they came to Houston, Texas. With the Moving Sidewalks as opening band, which went on to became ZZ Top, which we have seen so many times. Actually, Jim and the Doors were very good, but, lots of LSD and Weed smoking. I must have been around 16 years old. 3.50 a ticket. Which is unheard of now days. Lol

[@joebarrera9741]

THIS SONG IS EPIC AND THEIR BEST ONE EVER LISTEN TO THE LYRICS ❤

[@Brandi6666]

One of the finest song ever scratched into vinyl❤ it was an experience

[@ginog1398]

YEEEEESSS!!! NEED MORE THE DOOOOORS!!! BEST BAND EVER

[@ginog1398]

I highly recommend Light My Fire live at Europe roundhouse 1968, there u can see Jim free spirit wildin and screaming, that concert was filmed and you can watch it here on youtube by the name ''The Doors Are Open'', for me their best but they didnt play this song, which they used to end all their concerts lol. Jim on this song screamed a lot on live shows, you should check one out, the Detroit version is the best for me

[@ginog1398]

And the meaning of the song, by Morrison words he wrote it thinking of an ex girlfriend meaning letting go off something can mean a new beginning, but later said that the song meant something different every time he sang it, and also that part of ''father i wanna kill you'' is from ancient greek history were a guy named Edipus killed his father and f### his mother, known as Edipus complex nowadays, a phycological illness, he represented that in a dramatic theater style

[@JohnnyJohnny-f5o]

Morrison was into mythology and spiritual practices such as shamanism. "Ride the snake" was from Indian shamans who believe in visions of animals etc. "The killer awoke before dawn monologue" was Greek mythology, specifically Oedipus, who killed his father and married his mother. It's all wrapped up in Freudian thought, too. Say what you want about Jim Morrison, he was a true original.

[@Orange-Jumpsuit-Time]

Morrison was much more into the bottle than he was into mythology and spiritual practices such as shamanism.

[@hollywoodpotato5289]

First time listening to the doors and it’s The End…. Wow. The Doors are incredible. America’s finest.

[@christianmarler2253]

You did a great job. This is hardcore Doors. Not only is your first Doors song called "The End," but it's also one of their darkest, longest and hardest to digest songs. I love it, but they have a lot more great songs that are more universally liked. This song is iconically used in the film "Apocalypse Now." P.S. The original album on LP and CD contain the non-R-rated version of this song. P.P.S. You're the only reactor I've seen who has tackled this one. Great Job!

[@fredkrissman6527]

You're 100% right, Steph! As you kept sayin' in a trance: "It's crazy." & "They don't make music like this anymore." This is a psychedelic yarn delving into psychoanalytic theory... Quote: "...the Oedipus complex refers to a son's sexual attitude towards his mother and concomitant hostility toward his father, first formed during the phallic stage of psychosexual development."

[@Orange-Jumpsuit-Time]

As a reflection of its time, the song is tailor made to be listened to while tripping on acid.

[@dudermcdudeface3674]

If you're curious, the imagery is astronomy simulations of black holes.

[@darylehayward5155]

This song was written about a serial killer that was killing people on a highway around LA in the 60's

[@msmilie]

To be fair, they didn't make songs like that in 1966 either. It was a unique combination of Jim's chaos poetry mixed with a band that was made up of guys more influenced by jazz and blues than rock and roll. John Densmore (the drummer) remains criminally underappreciated, in my opinion.

[@absinthedream9668]

Damn right every guy in that band had a point of difference to the run of the mill rock musician.

[@kelvinkloud]

bulls eye.... the doors really are underrated & dont get their due. this song was performed as here, as far back as the summer of '66. think about that. there was no one in that zip code that summer, like the doors. the closest, was the velvet undergrd. but even they didnt bring the mixture of menace, depth & scope this song does..... to his credit, dylan had already shape shifted lyrics in rock from '65-66 to a new surrealistic & symbolic level. also bands like floyd, beatles, the airplane, had changed the sound, scape & depth of sound by '66... but no one had yet combined both those forces w/ the dark menace, cinematic scape & theatrical delivery that the doors planted in mid '66. thru '68, they were on the tip of spear in rock progression. that gets overlooked b/c they could also write pop songs & morrison had become a rock star & created an image wh/ was a persona in itself. that in turn obscures & covers up how artistically influential & innovative they were thru their first 3 albums.

[@Orange-Jumpsuit-Time]

Densmore was more uptight than a snare drum.

[@thedarkotter2295]

Though one of my favorite doors tunes, this would not be the song choice I'd use to introduce someone to their first doors experience. Try "L.A. Woman" or "Break On Through" or even "Roadhouse Blues."

[@stevenblock9712]

Once you've seen Apocalypse Now, this song will always take you back to it.

[@allengray5748]

LIGHT MY FIRE is the favored intro for regular people! 😁 Other favorite: HELLO, I LOVE YOU TOUCH ME ROADHOUSE BLUES LOVE ME TWO TIMES BREAK ON THROUGH LOVE HER MADLY PEOPLE ARE STRANGE PEACE FROG RIDERS ON THE STORM L A. WOMAN and CRYSTAL SHIP There. That should be a good start! Peace 🕊️☮️♾️😎🎸🤟🏼

[@tommarks3726]

All the music going on in the background is crazy. Sounds like 40 musicians. Love this. I still don't know what the blue bus is. I was born in 1966. Jim Morrison said the song was about his breakup with his gf. The last few lines at the end your ca hear his pain. Anyway, that's what I heard the meaning is. NEXT. lol OMG I love Latinas. She is so beautiful.

[@kelvinkloud]

it was. the breakup of mary werbelow. sad deal for him. a strong first love going back to his days in fla. she came out to rejoin him in calif but they werent able to sustain relationship. she is caught on film w/ jim in one of rays student films at ucla..... the song initiated as a breakup song & ends that way.... but the middle sections are other expanded themes that were added to the song & actually dovetail and transcend the relationship itself.... arguably the most powerful song morrison ever wrote or performed. groundbreaking to the indust.

[@musicguy694]

James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 - July 3, 1971) the lead singer, was most definitely a ladies man. Sad he died so young too. There was a movie produced in 1991 The Doors By the way, my birthday is on Dec. 8

[@kentclark6420]

It's difficult for new generations to understand the psychedelic times we had in the 60s. And the music was the center of it all. It's mystical and philosophical, which can usually be interpreted in different ways. But Jim based his ideas on books of philosophy and theology.

[@ricklee5845]

This excellent song should be introduced to newbies with the video from Apocalypse Now. The whole thing would become self-explanatory for those who struggle with the meaning. All in all, even without a video, this is one of the best songs by The Doors.

[@jamesdalton8539]

I visited his grave site in Paris, a pilgrimage every true Doors fan should make! Jim was an amazing poet and singer, another tragic member of the 27 club, died the same year as Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin, all 27 years old!This song was perfect for the end of the epic film Apocalypse Now!!! The whole band was amazing on this song!!!

[@Orange-Jumpsuit-Time]

Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin checked out in 1970, Morrison 1971.

[@jamesdalton8539]

@@Orange-Jumpsuit-Time Yeah, I meant to say within a less than 1 year period, Sept 70, Oct. 70, July 71

[@smartieedit8906]

Steph, you have just had what they said in the 60's was an "experience." Good on you for reviewing this song.

[@2gelm]

I think you would love "Riders On The Storm" by this band.

[@MrMarahtan]

You just stepped out onto slippery way of psychodelic rock! That was story of his transcendental experience! He was one of the greatest shamans of that time! “Light my fire” will amaze you…

[@debjorgo]

I don't think "The End" is the best song to start a Doors' journey on. A great song and my favorite Doors song is L.A. Woman. Very topical with all the LA fires right now.

[@donpardo2510]

@StephGardOfficial this was originally a 3 minute song about faded love. The version came about while performing at an LA club. Jim was tripping and just started reciting and the band went with it

[@Edawgg1983]

You've definitely dived into the deep "end" with The Doors 😂 Jim Morrison was a poet and some would say a prophet. Enjoy the rabbit hole.

[@janvanimpe8377]

jan van impe dreamy songs : crystal ship/end of the night/Blue sunday/Indian summer/Yes,the river knows heavy songs: five to one/Who do you love/when the music's over classics: Riders on the storm/LA Woman

[@tiomthyparenteau8230]

The lizard king

[@MrTech226]

Steph In a short time, The Doors has influenced a lot of musicians before Jim Morrison, singer died in 1970 at the age of 27 (Infamous 27 Club). Remaining members of The Doors, Robby Krieger, guitarist and Ray Manzarek, keyboardist except John Densmore, drummer re-grouped as The Doors with The Cult's singer, Ian Astbury. But John Densmore sued his former bandmates because the use of name, The Doors. Jim's family reportedly joined the suit. John stated that he would have re-join new lineup if Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder was the singer. John loved Eddie's singing. But new group ended in 2013 when Ray died at the age of 74.

[@josephalbanese]

great reaction. Loved watching your face as the song took you on a trip. And you are so right, they don't make songs like this because nobody would put it on their playlist. Its a brilliant piece of art but not something you can bop to every day. It's a shame, music was so much more creative and exploratory back when I was growing up. Glad you are able to experience some of that as well.

[@ernsthaft4331]

When there is someone who can emanate charisma through voice alone, then it is Jim Morrison. Fatboy Slim took a sample of him in the Song Sunset (Bird of Prey), which is very much worth reacting to. A beautifully relaxing song.

[@iggystompbarnyard]

such a hypnotic song

[@2gelm]

Thanks!

[@vicprovost2561]

Wow! Now we are in the deep end of the pool, aren't we, my dear! Jim Morrison at his eclectic, erratic, crazy best, and the band does a slow burn until, they too, catch fire! 🔥 An amazing song and one of their best epics. For another, try When The Music's Over, it is as incredible as this was. Enjoy, beautiful Steph! 🔥🎵🎹🎤🎸🎶🔥

[@balthazartrumpi6808]

Jim Morrison was drawn to sex and death. In this song he observes how they're inextricably linked, like a snake coiled in on itself. It's definitely The Doors' eeriest song. Two much more straight forward songs by them: Light My Fire and Waiting For The Sun. I think you'd really enjoy them.

[@neilschoenthal594]

Best band in the late 60s and early 70s. Check out their song, Riders on the Storm, Steph!

[@paul5589]

Spanish Caravan and Five to One are really good. The later being more of a powerful rock song. Years ago when we listen to records, we could sit in a different place in front of the speakers and it would always sound different.

[@Buffaloheart68]

My absolute favorite Doors song, this and Riders on the Storm.

[@Kuesel68]

That song was THE underground hymn when I was in high school - even though it was already 20 years old at that time. I love to play it myself as it is really a theatralic approach to the Oedipus Complex.

[@chitownlee]

This is the last song on their first album. Obviously it wasn't played on AM radio in 1967 so to hear it you had to buy the album or find an underground FM radio station.

[@AKR8810]

Psychedelic rock /acid rock at it's best. Poetic lyrics, great vocals and instrumentation, and yes this song takes you on trip in every sense of the word. The song starts off as a break up song inspired by true events (and probably LSD). Then it takes you on a journey exploring some of the darker sides of the human mind, and then back to the break up. I enjoyed hearing this on your channel.

[@TrianglesAndCircles]

These guys studied Aldous Huxley, Dr C.D. Broad and all the traditional PhDs in Psychology.

[@williamcabell142]

It’s Jazz/rock fusion…dude you haven’t a clue about music. Ain’t no folk in that music. Let a man talk, and he will tell you how stupid he is…too hard…🤷🏻‍♂️

[@AKR8810]

@ First of all...dude you're wrong, secondly I don't really care what you have to say.

[@allannancarrow8034]

One of the greatest songs ever

[@kevincaulder96]

Ok, Steph. This is the last song from their debut album. It's a breakup song. Now, go back to the first called BREAK ON THROUGH (TO THE OTHER SIDE). On this same record you will find the song that drove their initial success. LIGHT MY FIRE is the definition of how music could paint a musical picture from words and the interplay of musicians. BACK DOOR MAN, SOUL KITCHEN, and ALABAMA SONG (WHISKEY BAR) are postcards from the edge waiting to invade your ears. Keep you headphones open. When you can the audio offers the best way to experience the Doors. Keep going and enjoy the music.

[@gazoontight]

I'm curious what you thought was happening when the words ran, "The killer awoke before dawn, and he put his boots on."

[@michaelanthony3304]

What is Jim telling us? The year is 1967. War is raging, fantasies of love and death. Blue Rock Hallucinations. Mythology, madness, murder. The images of ancient lakes, summer rain, pre-historic urge toward violence. The end of time and place and "our elaborate plans"........ Great reaction. You have a very open mind -- listen to WHEN THE MUSIC'S OVER from the album Strange Days...... and NOT TO TOUCH THE EARTH from the album Waiting For The Sun.......

[@kelvinkloud]

agree... it has prophetic allusions partly in the song... the modern West, traced arc wise from its ancient roman dna, now on the edge of the precipice..... look at LA now 53 years later. if there was ever a modern city on the edge presently, its the city of angels.

[@dadmateryn8092]

nothing like diving deep in a first timer. good luck you will need it.

[@johnprice6066]

This was a bit somber to start your Doors journey with, but it's a great one by the same token... Another you may be interested in is "Break On Through (To the Other Side)" which is unusual in that it incorporates a Bossa Nove beat that isn't normally heard in Rock music, especially in the late '60s.

[@cletushouse906]

Yep. Headphones are a must.

[@jmpmusva]

It is crazy........so crazy it went perfectly with the craziest film. This is wonderfully crazy...even for the Doors

[@DeElSendero]

Great reaction and commentary on one of the all time great rock tunes Steph! The Doors were a truly great band! Check out some of their other stuff! You won't be disappointed!

[@oslafoirausuebutuoy5457]

What a coincidence, I was just listening to "Spanish Caravan" and this reaction appeared in my timeline.

[@petejones879]

I love watching your facial expressions Steph as you are reacting to a song ❤

[@imbubbymom]

All I could think of whenever I hear this song was the movie Amityville 2 where the eldest son killed all his family.

[@TrianglesAndCircles]

Under supervision while taking Long ago and far away, LSD for the first time and after about 2 hours into the trip they played this for me. These were great people.

[@ezerlab1]

Riders on the Storm by the Doors is a MUST!

[@d.l.607]

One of my favorite bands after Led Zeppelin. Do "Riders on the Storm" next

[@robertpetre9378]

This song was described as one of the first ever Gothic rock songs by a journalist who interviewed Jim Morrison in a wine 🍷 cellar

[@VinE83656]

A lot of the comments beat me to most of the info on The End. However, the Doors had some mainstream hints as well. Hello I Love You, Love Me Two Times and also Riders on the Storm and Light My Fire.

[@blueboy4244]

well..he's got the whole 'Oedipus complex' thing in there - not sure what he did to his brother and sister - resolved sibling rivalry I suppose - - I guess next up might be some Velvet Underground - 'sister ray' maybe for an east coast look at the 60's

[@72sphinx]

Hi 🫶 First thing to know, every end announces a beginning... Roman mythology, Freudian symbolic, as the ancient Greek comedy theater with the "Persona" mask, the oedipian complexe, and the blue color, which is the symbol of the unconscious filled like the ocean and the sky with promesses mystery but also with monsters threat and danger,...that's briefly the symbols used in this song... Jim Morrison died at the age of 27 😊, in France and his body was buried in père lachaise cemetery in Paris... Thank you 👍

[@craigmorris4083]

Every time I hear the into to this song, it makes thing bat to that time I was in Saigon, getting drunk, depressed, and punching a mirror. ;)

[@BogeyDopeYT]

The Doors has awesome songs. A rabbit hole like Pink Floyd.

[@michelforgues7759]

You must be aware that in those days there was no such thing as an "official music video". Some performers filmed shows or parts of shows long after an album was released.

[@2011andresme]

To starters i recommend the movie the doors from oliver stone in 1991, they portrait a little bit of the history although some parts are fiction, and you are right in 2025 your not gonna find something like this, you need a time machine

[@mikecaetano]

"The End" is the last song on The Doors 1967 debut album. It makes quite a statement. Most of the other songs on that album are barely three minutes long, except for "Light My Fire", which is seven minutes. "The End" riffs off Sophocles, the playwright who penned Oedipus Rex in Ancient Greece circa 400 BC. Sigmund Freud used the incest theme from that play to name and conceptualize what he saw as an aspect of human psychology in his 1929 book Civilization and Its Discontents. Morrison leaned on that for the "walk on down the hall" improvisation. And the bit about the ancient lake points towards the book "The Golden Bough" by James George Frazer which Morrison often looked to for lyrical inspiration. And, from what I've heard from friends from Los Angeles, the buses in Santa Monica back in the 1960s were painted blue and the distance to the nearest lake from there was seven miles on El Camino Real, aka, the King's Highway, a historic California route first blazed by Spanish missionaries way back in the 1700s. It's a testament to Morrison's talent that he could so readily turn the mundane into the mystical with his lyrics and performance. Film director Francis Ford Coppola uses "The End" to great effect in his 1979 masterpiece Apocalypse Now. The Doors were a sixties psychedelic blues-rock band from Los Angeles that took their name from the title of the 1954 book "The Doors of Perception" by Aldous Huxley, author of "Brave New World", which he wrote about his experiences under the influence of mescaline taken as part of a psychiatric research experiment into psychedelic drugs in 1953. When you're ready for more from The Doors also check out "Riders on the Storm", "Love Her Madly", "Break On Through", "Strange Days", and "L.A. Woman".

[@kelvinkloud]

what is your symbolic interpretation of the 'ancient lake' meaning off of frazer's work?.... I have a strong idea (more influenced from Blake) why he used that key phrase in this lyrical narrative ode.... im interested in your take, b/c unlike most people, you get that morrison was scaling the breakup theme of this song to a much larger examination not only of western culture. but also its genesis, its morphing & its manifestation to its modern station in post ww2. the song is as much about the culture's shaping & arc as it is about the breakup of love for a young man coming of age.

[@kelvinkloud]

riders thematically is the opus to the end.... they're connected.

[@smoothmove7566]

Too many great Doors songs to name one. Peace frog and Whiskey Bar are a few of my favorites.

[@vicprovost2561]

I can still hear my dad, bursting into the bedroom and saying, what the hell are you listening to?!? Steph is so right, there is Nothing to prepare the 21st century music fan for this song.

[@danielkrberg7551]

❤❤❤❤ Obra maestra...de los legendarios DOORS !!!😍😍😍👍👍👍👍

[@gerrydantone6834]

This is what the cool grandpa was listening to in 1967.

[@gwen-bleiz8141]

The Doors... As the name of the band is suggesting, you will enter in some spaces, universes each time you will open one (song). Nowadays i dare say that i only see one band which could be compare to them, and it's JINJER. May i suggest you to start by Pisces live session.

[@iambecomepaul]

Let’s see… eyes as big as pie plates? Check. Then squinting as if in disbelief? Check. Hand over mouth, eyes wide open? Check. Was it the Doors? Yup. Sounds about right. 😂

[@capricornus4135]

🕯Oh, a new chapter on your channel - that makes me really happy. As a true Led Zeppelin fan, I can only say, there's a lot to discover there as well. 🕯

[@AntonyFleck]

C,mon Girl admit it , you weren't ready for this!! no shame involved!! Some powerful timeless shit going down here!!..

[@protox07]

Have a happy new year Steph Gard

[@LihpSdnas-pv1hs]

This song was way before my time. I heard it on acid😎😎😎

[@WillLlamas]

"They don't do songs like this..." Very funny. You may as well see the movie.

[@justinscrivner5457]

Nasa didn't take us to outerspace, the Doors did.

[@kentclark6420]

With the Moody Blues as a side-course.

[@hookalakah]

It's not a song, it's a raga.

[@maxvonsydow6180]

"Apocalipse Now" (1979) 👍🎵🎬🙂

[@pedrocerda2056]

For the journey your mind wants to go on . Welcome to wonderland Alice don't forget the LSD laced sugar cubes.

[@dedcowbowee]

Try the Doors "Roadhouse Blues" studio version please!😉👍👍

[@Jonathan-d1b3g]

👍👍👍👍👍

[@joserodrigues-r3q]

im a portuguese the doors fan for a long years ago,really enjoyed your react,keep going the good work,the doors is a long road of mistery,kisses

[@diogenesagogo]

The Sacred And Profane Love Machine.

[@John-fk3rv]

💯

[@pflynn581]

I don't smoke dope but if i did then The Doors would be the band I'd listen to while smoking it.

[@TimoDyer]

It's a trip. Really.

[@anthonytermini3267]

Vietnam War ... If you were there, you know this song ... .. . A 19 year old good American Boy and then !!!!

[@SPGhettus]

Morrison was a poet and not always easy to interpret. "The West is the best, get here and we'll do the rest" probably refers to the late 60's cultural revolution centered around music and psychedelics that was exploding in California more intensely than anywhere else.

[@adrianmcguire8048]

Dam I love this song

[@ZtormOfTheRider]

More The Doors reactions please!

[@williedunlop7008]

You have to react to,When The Music’s Over next🌹

[@kristoferbonifay9179]

you must react to "When the music's over" from The doors. Fraternal greetings from Chile

[@ralphgomez6251]

Check out "Touch Me Babe "!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@GagiPav]

Based on the Greek play Oedipus Rex.