The Doors- The End (REACTION//DISCUSSION)

[@Weyland_Yutani_Corp]

'The End' achieves its full apotheosis in 'Apocalypse Now.'

[@theplanetruth]

Apothe-wot??!!

[@Weyland_Yutani_Corp]

@@theplanetruth kzbin.info/www/bejne/eXrVp4aArNx9i6c&ab_channel=VirtualVisitor999

[@kelvinkloud]

copolla went to ucla w/ morrison in the same dept. Knew him pretty well. they conversed... francis he was a great cinematic artist & picking the end was not only spot on, but an insight into how far ahead the curve morrison was.

[@mikew4001]

Definitely!

[@timkeefe5676]

No better song to start off the movie.

[@diogenesagogo]

Jim's voice is out of this world.

[@NatePliska]

they all kill it. Densmore percussion, Jim, robbie, and ray. they hit a peak here.

[@redx1708]

When mentioning the sync between Ray and Robbie, I believe you should have included John Densmore. His drumming on this track is absolutely masterful. A very underrated drummer, but so much on the beat :)

[@proschoolaudio]

JD..Incredible drummer!!! Absolutely underrated and one of rocks finest!!

[@BaldJean]

You can clearly hear John Densmore has a jazz background. Not just in this song, in many other songs of The Doors as well.

[@atheist101]

@@BaldJean I feel like they all had a jazz influence, but I agree with you 100%

[@mattjohn4731]

JD killed this track! He did scary crashing rolls and stuff. Seems like a jazz drummer. I assume he was versed in jazz. Even Jim was a bit jazzy, I suppose the band was.

[@jurgenmagnus4041]

Absolutely! I always say that to people discussing this song and how great Jim is. This song has the best drums and percussion there is. Every little accent is just spot on and perfect. Lots of so-called 'great drummers' couldn't pull this off. I'll tell all of you here in the comments what I tell everyone: now listen to the song again and focus ONLY on the drums and be amazed. Perfection!

[@bobholtzmann]

My first "video" of this song was watching the opening scene of "Apocalypse Now" - could never think of this song without seeing Hueys flying over tropical jungles, and Martin Sheen getting drunk in a Saigon hotel room.

[@kevinhodgson2990]

Yes, me too.

[@kirbywilliamson2942]

Best movie opening...The napalm is chilling.

[@sandymiller3577]

Same here

[@wendyt7958]

His voice is so haunting...love it

[@dionisioiacobelli6689]

The greatly underrated Robbie Krieger on guitar.

[@nagaslrac]

Not so underrated that his 5 to 1 solo hasn’t been copied more than once.

[@cadanrichards2615]

The End. to one of the greatest debut albums ever. They used to expand this live.

[@JustJP]

Such a strong debut, really amazing

[@gog583]

I knew someone who saw them at the Hollywood Bowl (like the scene in the movie). He said they played for 5 hours.

[@jfergs.3302]

Well here we are. Last track on their debut album, and what a finisher. There are certain tracks that on hearing just blow your mind, and for me, this was one of those. This is a masterpiece, a modern classic. Starting off slow, it's a dark brooding piece initially that builds majestically to its crescendo, then reprises with that moody ending. Likewise the lyrics/the narrative dark, and with those Oedipal themes. This is definitely in my top ten of all time.

[@dennispope1355]

Of all the albums I have (over 1000) this could be the best album ending. Magnificent. I think the term you were looking for is highway hypnosis. Thanks for another great reaction piece. Enjoy

[@joelliebler5690]

Awesome legendary tune from this monumental and unique band never to be forgotten!👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻❤️❤️❤️☮️🎤🎼🎹🎸

[@Bill_Jones.]

I like the scene from the movie “The Doors” where they drop acid and go out into the desert and ends with them onstage at the Whiskey in L.A. playing it for a mesmerized crowd. If you haven’t seen it you ought to check it out. Val Kilmer was great as Jim Morrison and also looked the part.

[@godbluffvdgg]

He really did...The book the movie is based on is even better! :)...

[@kelvinkloud]

what kilmer nailed, that few get w/ morrison, was he was really split between being a very youthful adventure seeking junkie w/ a childlike innocent side. yet, right on the other side or below (depending on how you view it) was this heavy weight of old man wisdom & all the vision, yet burden that goes w/ that. many people see one or the other w/ him. for as many people who claim he was a spoiled idiot rich kid gone mad on booze and degradation. others will claim hes this prophetic yoda seer. The truth imo is he was both & he wrestled w/ that all the time. hence, the inconsistency, yet also the flashes of pure brillance... kilmer evoked that well in the movie, even though the script weighed too much on the debauchary.

[@Rhiannon011]

@@godbluffvdgg I thought the movie sucked! The book it's based on was much better. It really ticked me off when in the movie they made Nico (who hung out with Velvet Underground and Andy Warhol and became a very influential musical artist in her time) out to be some bleached blonde big bosomed "air head" woman, who just slept with Jim for no reason, like she was a groupie or something was total BS! Nico was NONE of those things at all! She was German, had a deep voiced German accent, was very very slim, she was NOTHING at all the way the movie portrayed her. She actually had her own version of "The end" in one of her albums. Kilmer did a good job as he does kind of look like Jim, but I believe they EXPLOITED everything about Jim in that movie. I had met Jim a few times in Venice Beach and knew two close women friends of his, before he became real famous, who also agreed with me "the movie sucked and was so non factual and exploitive about Jim". They hung out with him at the beach when the doors first got together. I believe his alcoholism is what killed him not necessarily the drugs. When not drinking Jim could be a very kind sweet gentlemen, and was incredibly intelligent. He was actually an introvert. I believe very strongly that Jim (though young when he died) was a very "old soul" who put all his poetry and music into this lifetime with great intellectual and spiritual knowledge of "the other world" i.e. >"The Gods and Goddess's of mythology and ancient "tribal" knowledge. HIs poems proved that to me. If you read the book "The American night" the writings of Jim Morrison volume 2 you may get that.

[@Bill_Jones.]

@@Rhiannon011 I agree with you overall about the movie. You would have thought that Pam would have had a calming influence on Jim, but the bottle was never very far from his reach. That’s so cool you knowing Jim personally. I imagine he was tuned into a different frequency than the rest of us.

[@Rhiannon011]

@@Bill_Jones. Very sad that Pam died a year or two later, after Jim died,, from an overdose of heroin I believe.

[@emilpr8119]

Definitely do Strange Days after this, you need to hear When The Music's Over!

[@marcfriedman7339]

I experienced this song for the 1st time shortly after it was released. I was only 6 when it was released, but I have a brother who is 6 years older. He was my connection to great music. As soon as this song starts, it just flicks a switch. I know every little nuance of this song no matter how long it has been since I heard it last. This is some of the best music of the era.

[@justintime42000]

Only Jim Morrison could make the thought of dying sound so damn sexy and compelling! Listening to this song was definitely enhanced by mind altering substances back in the day. Mesmerizing on its own, the intensity is magnified by a thousand on psychedelic drugs. This song was inspired by and created for tripping. It’s worth mentioning that the rhythm of the opening notes “This is the end” is the same as the opening notes of Beethoven’s Fifth symphony, which has always had a fatalistic feeling about it. The fourth note goes down a major third in Beethoven’s Fifth while it stays the same in “The End.” Glad you enjoyed it so much! Amazing how timeless it sounds after so many years. This remastered version sounds amazing!.Thanks, Justin.

[@emanuelrock0667]

Let's smoke Salvia and travel with this song, ma'am.

[@ricobonifacio1095]

Song gives me chills every time i heard it. Great choice JP!

[@anthonyblakely399]

And Once Again Justin you Get it Right!!!! The Feel of The song is a night trip on the road......mountains ahead in the far distant looking black shaped and omniscience.......this song is on....while you are driving.....stop for a break by the road.....take a shot or two of whiskey.....smoke 4 hits of weed......jump back in the car....or truck......and drive towards the middle of those mountains......You got it correct!!!! However......the song has many deep levels......

[@kenl2091]

This is an area of music that I find fascinating - what would usually be termed psychedelia but having some elements which would find their place in prog (Vanilla Fudge and especially Touch - the sixties US band, not the later band with the same name - both belong in this category) The End is The Doors' masterpiece in my opinion and is loaded with atmosphere - very cinematic and ideally placed in Apocalypse Now. It's great to see someone born, what, 25 years? (Guesswork) after this was released react to it with enthusiasm. Good music remains good music no matter how old it is.

[@kenl2091]

btw, the killer section is basically the story of Oedipus (written by Sophocles in 429 BC) It's nice to see how much he got away with the...ahem...fruity lyric. Did it get played on the radio in 1967? I doubt it, or if it did, the powers that be weren't really listening.

[@kelvinkloud]

well said.... ray and jim's background in film gave them an edge few if any had... I always felt like bowie and roger waters put the doors under the microscope. morrison liked floyd. not sure if he got to ever meet syd (who was at the whisky in '68), but I think floyd also influenced ray and jim. the velvet adn 13 floor elevators, along w/ VF, love, beatles were certainly milling around in the same ore. I just feel like the doors extended it further by '66 then anyone in the industry. this has the scope, insight, darkness, beauty, free form etc. masterpiece. b/c the doors were also commercial & morrison was inconsistent and wreckless, it didnt get the same praise among the snob hiearchy in the press & indust. But time & history have a way of distilling the most precious. the end is timeless & standsout as vital from the era.

[@jayburdification]

I would classify this as a freakout.

[@jayburdification]

An Oedipal dirge for the ages. With weird scenes inside the gold mine. The F-bombs did not make it in the original 1967 mix, nor did the “kill! Kill! Kill,” this is the properly restored version. Complete with true shock value. You made an excellent point when you said they’re opening doors and closing them. It’s more like they’re opening doors and inviting you in with them and then closing them and showing you the imagery inside each room, until you go finally go through the Oedipus door, which is promptly locked behind you, forcing you to deal with the most shocking imagery. “The End” can be interpreted as a break up, as you say. But Jim was mostly talking about death. You will want to listen to this often :)

[@kathleensmith3555]

The face from the ancient gallery is Alexander the Great who Jim resembles and was fascinated with - Fun fact Jay Sebring gave Jim his Alexander the Great hairstyle - there is a statue in our old Ancient History books back in the day and I like to think Jim saw it too and weaved it sparked his imagination-or maybe he reincarnated lol

[@Bill_Jones.]

Is that the same Jay Sebring who was murdered along with Sharon Tate by the Manson family ?

[@kathleensmith3555]

@@Bill_Jones. Yes -- I read about it in Jay Sebrings Wiki that he designed Jims famous haircut -- but if he personally cut it himself or had someone else at his Salon do it wasnt clear --- Jay reinvented how mens hair was cut and styled and had several successful Salons

[@markspooner1224]

One of the stand out tracks of an era. For many of us it will always bring the drone of helicopters and napalm bombing, the use of the song for those images was a very clever idea. Great reaction.

[@TheJinjo75]

That smile when the "Ride the snake" line pop up. lol

[@stephanevilleneuve9450]

Since l’d hear it on The Doors, the movie, this song fascinating me. The hypnotic atmosphere is fantastic.

[@MegaFreddie46]

The best rock "song" ever, period. I cannot think of something going further than it sonically, lyrically, conceptually, structurally, historically. Greek and Roman culture, Freudian sphere, American landscapes, and then love, death, family, childhood, sex, and other ingredients, all combined together. The definitive rock opus, the perfect atmosphere for its generation and the other ones, past and coming. Thanks for reacting to it, and to the whole album, which is the best rock LP ever for me. I can't wait to see you reacting to all of the tracks from "Pink Moon" by Nick Drake, that is my absolute favourite album ever, regardless of any genre. Have a good day! ☺

[@jmpmusva]

Best song ever??? Are you forgetting "Having my baby?" by Paul Anka?

[@HeatherErin]

It makes you wait for each note, word. You're uncomfortable in the best possible way bc you never know what's coming and u get the feeling neither do they 🧡

[@paulhart3812]

The End and Riders On the Storm are my two favorite Doors songs.

[@Alohaadi]

Close your eyes and Walk through „ The Doors „ 🌴🤙🔥😶‍🌫️

[@StanSwan]

The End started out as a short love song about Jim's first gf in Alabama. They never played a lot of covers and had 4 sets a day to fill for almost nothing when they started out. The End evolved as Jim just added and too out bits of lyrics and poems he threw in there. Every part has a meaning but it just paints a picture of someone wondering, never feeling quite at home that questions everything and in the end knows all our love, pain, anger, etc end up having no meaning when he die.

[@ajm25100]

This song was featured on the move Apocalypse Now.

[@Tonyblack261]

The lyric where the singer wants to kill his father and he then approaches his mother - that last bit becomes a sort of primal cry. This was put into the recording as a form of censorship as the original lyric was, let's say - an Oedipus suggestion to his mother.

[@frankgobel2168]

Well, shortly after this Jim repeats the F*** word again and again as the music rises to a climax.

[@itsmedrooms6071]

Oedipal reference with the father and mother. Can you imagine a band coming out with material like this today? Maybe, but no one has ever done it quite like The Doors in terms of the melancholy mood and deliberately provocative subject matter. It is true that Freud’s theories have become discredited somewhat...yet It still stands the test of time though because the themes in this song are timeless and ancient as well.

[@mickcapewell6369]

Now just carry onto the second lp. It’s similar but smoother and, if anything, even more creepy 🤔

[@merlinscat]

This so trippy My favourite Doors track

[@arideronthestorm]

Just found your page today. Came for LA Woman and saw many more. Love your style of reactions and your personality. Keep it rocking and I’ll meet you at the back of the blue bus tonight.

[@gregdavis4978]

I've been visiting my son and daughter-in-law in Washington State and am taking some time to try and catch up on the past few days since they've gone to bed. And what a great track to rejoin you with. Simply one of the greatest album closers ever. In the early Eighties I was living in Reno and I had a fondness for driving out of town on weekend nights into the desert, get stoned and sleep on the hood of my car until sunrise. This song captures that vibe perfectly and I am delighted that you made the connection here.

[@JustJP]

Ty! Hope youre having a great time with your family!

[@edwardmeradith2419]

Yes the Oedipal section is the “climax” of the song (pun intended) The song was used to great effect in Apocalypse Now (a different mix ?)

[@marcribe6483]

The End is what was then perceived or labeled as "Art Rock". One of its best examples and equal in impact to A Day In The Life. Completely different to anything heard before.

[@JeromeDukes]

My first time hearing this song might be from the movie "Apocalypse Now". This song was on a few mixed tapes of mine back in the day. Love the drone of the guitar and the soothing, hypnotic feeling you get chilling to this song. I sometimes noodle around in an open tuning on the guitar to see if I can come up with a killer haunting melody, it's (open tuning) a lot of fun to mess around with. Anyway cool reaction JP, song brought back a ton of memories.

[@yw1971]

14:44 - Not too far from the image (when the song played) in the film 'The Doors' by Oliver Stone.

[@lynnsmith3976]

Oh my Justin, I'm so glad that you enjoyed this song as much as your subscribers thought you would. It really is haunting and mood setting. Thanks for more Doors.

[@technomagemiami]

Clearly I have subscribed to right channel JustJP ! One of my very favorite songs. One of the many things I miss from "contemporary"(pop) music is looonnnnggg cuts that can create an atmosphere and take you on a journey. Having watched a lot of Doors concert footage my interpretation of the lyrics is much different but that's the beauty of great Art - it means different things to different people based on one's own unique set of experiences - and yet it can speak so deeply to all of us.

[@markgatica12]

I have always considered this an eleven minute horror film soundtrack. It's all there. Great video. Now on to "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts."

[@danielmarone5757]

Want the birds to EAT MY EYES as here I lye...the clouds fly by...

[@kelvinkloud]

one of the most important songs of its period... a blazing arrowhead of its period. think about this, this song was in completed form & performed in the summer of '66! nobody was in this same zipcode at this period. dylan had no doubt broken the barrier lyrically & length wise. & the velvets had seeped in w/ a darkness mood & theme. & syd barret/13 floor elev had lengthened psychedlia into free form near madness, but no one took that expansion to this level wh/ converged cinematic mood, visionary insight forward & an honest look into both the beauty & tragedy, hope & warning of the period right on the edge of where it was going. this is foreshadowing global maddness wh/ was just around the corner & cyclically can & does raise its dangerous head. this song borders on the prophetic (& thats not an understatement imo).. say whatever you will about morrison's excesses & inconsistencies, but dont deny this, when this cat was dialed in, he was dangerously uber talented. this song encompasses that. a major footprint of the era, that will be listened by people a century from now.

[@maruad7577]

The one thing this song is not short of is mood. The guitar and organ speak so much of the psychedelic era. Lyrics, of course, speak for themselves. Listening to this, I think of the Burton Cumming's attempts, with the Guess Who, on "Friends of Mine" to get this mood but their lyrics never quite got it (unless they were meant as a lampoon of the Doors) though they did manage some decent funk during part of it and to mention a lot of their buddies one way or another.

[@kirbywilliamson2942]

Burton wanted to be Jim, ended being much less🇨🇦.

[@maruad7577]

​@@kirbywilliamson2942 Burton was best being Burton. I think it took him and the band awhile to figure that out. Burton lives in Moose Jaw and has a facebook account these days. He chats with people there all the time. I know my sister knew him back in the day and now touches base with him. Neat part is her boyfriend, back in the day, was asked to be the drummer before they got Gary Peterson (I think this is when it was still Chad Allen and the Reflections iirc). He decided against. lol.

[@kelvinkloud]

@@maruad7577 burton is vastly underrated. amer woman is straight up balls to the wall rock. beats jagger in that era imo. and very insightful lyrics to the appetites of western culture.

[@maruad7577]

@@kelvinkloud I think the whole band was underrated but part of it was their decsion to aim for commercial success, which considering their economic backgrounds, I understand. They were very much a bunch of guys lifting themselves up by their bootstraps. Funny that we had them and Neil Young playing the local communites clubs at the same time on their way up.

[@kevinpropst1385]

The End by The Doors is one of my favorite songs and I'm so glad you checked it out and liked it you should move on to their second album thanks man

[@daveking9393]

The American Prayer album is fantastic and its own unique way which also shows off this song

[@randystevens9274]

When he recorded it the studio was totally dark the only light was a candle burning right next to Jim with his back turned to the control room.

[@romanrodriquez3816]

PLEASE DO MORE DOORS!! You're the best reactor to them that i've seen and your analysis's are so good. Strange Days, The Soft Parade, and L.A. Woman are all soo good that go very deep

[@JustJP]

Thanks Roman!

[@827dusty]

Used in the "79" Vietnam war movie, "Apocalypse Now."

[@brucefelger4015]

Always the deep cut off this album. for late night FM radio back in the day.

[@godbluffvdgg]

~member berries~ "member tripping and driving down to the beach with this playing over and over on your 8 track"...I member...:)

[@jimcarlson6157]

when the DJ had a leak or a reef

[@jakerichardson6296]

@@godbluffvdgg member the Death Star member Han Solo…I Member…!

[@godbluffvdgg]

@@jakerichardson6296 I member

[@thomasmcintosh390]

When I was back there in seminary school There was a person there Who put forth the proposition That you can petition the Lord with prayer Petition the lord with prayer Petition the lord with prayer You cannot petition the lord with prayer! A bit of context for the quote from another song: Back in the smoky haze of the early 70's we had a local DJ that was somewhat of a hero to us late night listeners. He'd commonly drop this section from Soft Parade into another Doors song's instrumental just to play with our heads. Rick West, if you're still out there, thanks for the memories.

[@missblink4611]

Can you give me Sanctuary?

[@doplinger1]

I don’t remember if I had ever heard this before seeing “Apocalypse Now”, but you’ll never forget the song after seeing that movie.

[@kelvinkloud]

anyone see the movie ex machina?...best sci fi of the last decade... bank on this, that scene where she walks down the hall & goes up to the mask & holds it & ponders... screenplay idea wise, was taken directly from this song.

[@hippydippydude8895]

My two favorite songs are The End & Echoes. Trip to the other side lol😛🤯😱✌👍

[@hippydippydude8895]

Some other psychedelic gems & suggestions- Somebody to love - Jefferson Airplane White Rabbit - Jefferson Airplane Incense & Peppermints - The Strawberry Alarm Clock I Had Too Much To Dream - The Electric Prunes Journey To The Center Of The Mind - The Amboy Dukes Expecting To Fly - Buffalo Springfield In A Gadda Da Vida - Iron Butterfly Smell Of Incense - The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band Morning Dew - Grateful Dead

[@shane7073]

Cool reaction

[@JustJP]

Ty!

[@brucster99b2]

Hmm...., it kind of feels to me like this song could be about the aftermath to the Summer Of Love imploding (i.e. things were wild 'n groovy..., but where do we go from here?). I kinda get a Velvet Underground vibe from the song as well.

[@justintime42000]

Recorded the year before the Summer of Love snd released in January of 1967, thats strictly an interpretation, but Jim Morrison certainly had a way of sounding prophetic in his lyrics, even about his own untimely death, if you want to interpret them that way. Once he died it was hard not to think he had a sense his life would be cut short. Of course he made sure of it by drinking himself to death. A legend.

[@brucster99b2]

@@justintime42000 That's just me ramblin' on Kathy. It was the end of something though. Had to react to my fave band.

[@cornellrosiu8818]

Could be wrong but i think maybe The Doors got the idea of their name from Aldous Huxley's book,The Doors of Perception published in 1954. About a psychedelic experience he had in May 1953 under influence of mescaline.

[@BertJamesMcKinney]

Of course, the version we heard did not have the profanity. That was added back in much later versions.

[@KevinStriker]

It was always there, just very low in the mix if you listen closely with headphones. But with 3 inch speakers it might as well have not been there.

[@kben036]

I lived in Germany in the 90s and a local radio station had gone out of business but must have had the license for the rest of the month b/c this song was on repeat 24/7! Anytime I needed some of Morrison’s paoti-tinged poetry I knew where to turn. 🙂

[@JustJP]

Old reliable!😃

[@chrisguevara]

"Blue bus" is the name of the Santa Monica bus system

[@SteveLaneGalway]

So many interpretations of this song, but to help you: All the children are insane=A reference to the flower children, the SF hippies of his era, which he disliked and cynically saw through. Weird scenes inside the goldmine=California is sometimes referred to as the goldmine state. It was weird scenes in 1966/1967 in the goldmine state. Ride the snake=Could be interperted as the highway from los angeles to the desert/lake comparing it to a snakes coil. Jim was always heavily interested in snakes,lizards,reptiles and their imagery. The blue bus = It used to be a bus that ferried Ray and Jim around LA before the time of the doors c.1964, and is a call back to that. The narrative of the main story is Jim's retelling of the Oedipus story, and the Oedipus complex. This is a piece of music that will be listened to in amazement in 100 years time. I don't think that's an understatement. Who does this on their debut album?? Every instrument is perfect but this is a tour de force from the drummer John Densmore. World-class. He gets overlooked completely in the list of great drummers.

[@Drummingvulture]

You missed the Oedipus analogy, "Kill the father, f*** the mother." Not every lyrics site has the full content of the salient line. And the vocals are muddled and incoherent, intentionally, on the recording. I don't think Jim had any concrete meaning to the lyrics. It's just "take what you want" and good luck. LOL! And I really enjoyed your interpretation, especially the parking on the desert road at night imagery. Their second album, 'Strange Days', is basically songs they had left over from the recording of the first album, not that they're throwaways, not by a long shot, but it explains the similarity of the two albums, mood-wise. And the ending epic, "When The Music's Over", is almost as historically important as "The End" Lastly, I love the shirt. If you have merch and this is available, I will definitely be buying it. After all, gotta represent. edit: I looked, but couldn't find anywhere to puchase JustJP merch.

[@JustJP]

Ah gotcha, I dont think the lyrics i was reading had that part (on Genius) And ty! Here the link: Merch: justjp.creator-spring.com/

[@pleasantvalleypickerca7681]

The Oedipus analogy was always obvious to me too. Thing is that's a small part of the song as it seems to be about so many things. The line "I'll never look into your eyes again" rips at my heart as I've been there a few times. It's saying goodbye to a love. It's such a complex song and great for it.

[@schuylersouthwell2554]

In my Top 3 or 4 Doors songs. I love the sitar-like tuning and the raga-like build in the beginning. Hey, JP, how about some Raga reactions? Maybe "Maha Ganapathim" with bassist Mohini Dey? Anyway, in the July 26, '69 issue of Rolling Stone, Morrison addresses the Oedipal imagery and the fallout. "Yeh, I’d say there was a similarity, definitely. But to tell you the truth, every time I hear that song, it means something else to me. I really don’t know what I was trying to say. It just started out as a simple goodbye song. .... Probably just to a girl, ... "

[@utubernow1]

This song is heavily featured in the climax of the great Martin Scorsese film "Apocalypse Now". Classic!!! Thanks for the great reaction.

[@Yesquire0]

Alice's Restaurant by Arlo Guthrie, with its discussion of father rapers and mother stabbers, would be a good follow-up to this one. The End was very adventurous for its time. The long song form was only beginning to be explored by various bands. Overall, the musical value is a bit sparse for the length of the song, IMHO, but I always appreciated the effort, and the controversial subject matter of the lyrics.

[@maruad7577]

I always think of Alice's Restaurant as a Thanksgiving song what with the story line and all.

[@DavidB-2268]

@@maruad7577 so do most people. I believe it's regularly played on NPR at American Thanksgiving in November.

[@avlisk]

Shovels and rakes and implements of destruction!

[@gog583]

Now THIS....is The Doors! According to the movie "The Doors" (w/Val Kilmer as Morrison), a live performance of "The End" is what got The Doors signed (after said performance got them thrown out of the venue). Also, you need to at least watch the opening to the movie "Apocalypse Now". It fits so well in that movie. BTW, there is a more sanitized version. lol Also, "When the Music's Over".....to me anyway, has a similar vibe.

[@rk41gator]

Have always loved the eerie sparseness and middle Eastern vibe. The sitar drone is down. Tell me Genesis and Pink Floyd didn't listen intently to The Doors. They seem on the edge....of insanity. Can you tell me they are not Prog?

[@tomneile4025]

A few thoughts. The Snake is a river. The Snake River. In the West. His skin is cold. The Oedipus thing. Kill dad. Sleep with mom. Think of how you felt hearing this. Then imagine an entire generation of people who have been influenced by this (and by Floyd and others). Imagine being among them. Among us. Then imagine how dismayed many of us are with the world (musically, intellectually, politically) today. Try to imagine a time when The End wasn't just a quirky blast from the past. Imagine how it shaped the humans, and how the humans of the time shaped Jim Morrison to create it. That planet has fled and we are marooned on this one. If you try to imagine it, it is just a little bit staggering. The End indeed.

[@justintime42000]

I remember wanting to leave the planet in the early 70s. I had this drug fueled vision that something was going to come from above and just take all the cool people away to somewhere where we could truly be free, where love ruled. Teenage identity/soul searching plus LSD can create some pretty weird delusional thoughts. I kinda wish it would happen now! Most of us who were around then would be closer to the old folks in the 80s Cocoon movie today though! 🤣

[@jimhardiman3836]

Reminds me of Apocalypse Now. The horror... No wonder our parents were so freaked out about the counter culture. Great reaction!

[@anthonyblakely399]

The Doors.......among the gods of Rock n' Roll...................not a group like them...........and Jim......Legendary!!!! "The End" one of their Masterpieces!!!! And I usually play the Doors on Saturday!!!!! lol

[@robertcartier5088]

You were trying to think of Highway Hypnosis. Wiki says: Highway hypnosis naturally occurs when your attention is occupied with things other than your driving. It might be a song on the radio, a review of something significant that happened at work that day, or anything else that you get absorbed in while you're driving your car.

[@JustJP]

Yup thats it!

[@brumleyhall]

I would suggest continuing the the Doors' next album, "Strange Days". Full of great songs, and it also has a long final song, which is the highlight, "When the Music's Over".

[@johng.8517]

You really have to watch the scene in "Apocalypse Now" to appreciate this song even more. It was a great choice for that part of the movie near the end with Marlon Brando.

[@davidstenton4365]

*JP* Living thru that, having loved it for decades, and being captivated by the endless metaphors & themes, let me break down *just some key parts brother* Just some to avoid a book, but to give you some perspective.... 1) The King's highway/ride the snake, he's long...7 miles, he's old & his skin is cold refers to an old highway in the California desert.! It switches back and forth and looks like a snake from there the air and ends at a lake. So your feeling of riding thru a desert is spot on... 2) The Father I want to Kill you, Mother, etc.... refers to Sigmund Freud's *Oedipus Complex* A psychosexual stage of development where a son has an inate desire for the Mother, wants ALL of her attention and displays anger and jealousy towards his father because he's in the way of all that love coupled with the competitive desire of a young man coming of age. 3) The Blue Bus is a double entendre... Blue Buses were a common site used for tours & such as well as a reference to a downer pill that was shaped like a blue bus.! The response in the song says "driver where you taking us" addresses both.... That's a few to give you a scope on the magnificence of Jim's lyrics/poetry There, I've done my duty.... get there and Jim will do the rest, lol... David ...

[@kelvinkloud]

well done. blake symbolist meets joseph campbell. enter morrison... the 7 mile snake also ties to eastern philosphy, cycle of life etc. 7 is also biblical... if you notice w/ morrisons best long scape poems, there is also a symbol metaphor for movement across large scape. in this case, the snake & bus. imo also metaphors for large swaths of time alluding to cultures, civilizations etc. The hint is the direct reference to Rome & its fall. Ancient Rome, Greece & egypt are the cradle of western civilization. 1966 LA was were that civiliz had morphed to. the Bible hints that Rome really wouldnt completely die off, just reshed itself into a newer form. look around are we all that removed from that culture in our appetites, vice & ambition?... thus the snake imo is also the culture working itself across time, but near its final destination. the snake eventually consumes then goes into dormancy. perhaps morrison saw the culture near implosion and ready to submerge. ie., the snake across the path of time, rome, europe, conquest, n amer, desert, LA ---> blue bus, ancient lake (pacific).... guess we'd have to ask the driver, lol.

[@JustJP]

I appreciate that breakdown David! Ty ty

[@hubertvancalenbergh9022]

The piece always reminds me of the film Targets. And Apocalypse Now, of course.

[@cometogether999]

"White Line Fever" is definitely a thing, or otherwise known as highway hypnosis, mostly to long haul truckers.

[@JustJP]

I have that after driving 10 minutes in Orlando😔

[@jimjames8660]

great movie with Jan Michael Vincent

[@wolfhart1444]

My favorite song from them✌️

[@cutthr0atjake]

I enjoy The End, but I prefer When The Musics Over from their next album.

[@linusfotograf]

Great video and thoughts Justin. Their second album "Strange Days" next?

[@jasontharp699]

John Densmore would talk about taking cues from Morrison. The whole band did, actually. But if you do the Strange Days album, the last song on that one (When The Music's Over) has a lot of great examples of the drums reacting to what the singer is doing.

[@mariosandri4010]

Great song, love the Arabic flavour of guitar and organ. And like classic Arabic compositions, some may find it too repetitive and long. It requires full attention and time.

[@BaldJean]

The guitar has a slight oriental flair in this track. By the way: The French have an expression that applies to both the orgasm and the post-coital sadness: "La petite mort" meaning "The little death". The expression nicely attributes to this song.

[@derekmeade6350]

Great debut album, and just watch Apocalypse Now and see how perfectly the climax fits with The End

[@bobholtzmann]

White Line Fever, or Highway Hypnosis - I might have experienced it too, or might have been too bored or sleepy to remember the trip.

[@generoberts9151]

Always dig this Doors tune. And then there’s G L O R I A!

[@theplanetruth]

I know what I’d do and where I’d go with a time machine.

[@hongfang2508]

No other group that was charting hits put out music anywhere close to this on the same albums.

[@kelvinkloud]

good point... I cant think of any band, aside from dylan and later beatles, who had major commercial success and hits, yet also just as significantly also concurrently impacted the underground. no amer band ever carried both of those plates in different hands as well. no easy feat.

[@hongfang2508]

@@kelvinkloud --Dylan wasn't a top 40 guy so much...maybe a couple songs made it that high (Knockin on heaven's door maybe another song). But after I made opening post, Beatles did come to mind. Late Beatles were doing lots of experimental music that was never going to be a hit while producing top 40 singles on the same album. So, oddly enough, Beatles are the only other group (that comes to mind) that is similar to Doors in regard to putting hits and non-mainstream music on same albums. That said, I don't find many other similarities between Beatles and Doors.

[@avlisk]

You need to follow this up with (what I consider to be ) its companion piece, Friends Of Mine from Wheatfield Soul by The Guess Who. You'll be surprised.

[@maruad7577]

Indeed. Not their best work but coming, as it did, on their breakthrough album, it holds a place in the hearts of many from that generation.

[@bobholtzmann]

It's more of a sequel of some kind - was definitely influenced by "The End". Burton Cummings does an impressive Jim in this one.

[@kelvinkloud]

the lead singer was a big morrison fan. he also got to hang out w/ him for a spell at a party in LA.

[@twelvemonkeys8786]

Unique music at its best..

[@mrbrad4566]

It's not for us to explain how this fits with Apocolypse Now, but for you to discover.

[@pinkaaron398]

never really heard a song quite like this afterwards..

[@bobmessier5215]

Made me think of the tragic Greek play, "Oedipus Rex".

[@ResilientOne2112]

You're getting closer, it's "In The End " by Rush from Fly By Night, this is a MUST REACTION, you'll love this tune, Geddys lyrics and Alex's guitar are featured and it will melt your face!

[@snowdog87]

What can you say about this song Theatre and Mythology That's Jim Thought Densmore was awesome on drums Just the right accents at the right time for dramatic effect Should be in the conversation about great drummers great feel Gotta hear there other epic track When the Music's Over Great job JP

[@godbluffvdgg]

Too short lived and too profound for the general public...The Doors, along with many other bands from that era will be being studied and dissected for centuries to come, just as Bach, Beethoven, DaVinci, Plato, Socrates et al. have been for their long gone centuries....:)

[@NotData]

The original mix on early pressings had fewer Jim Morrison grunts during the sped up climax. I'll let you guys decide which version is better or which one should be the mainstream version.

[@atheist101]

I don't know if you listen to rap but you should check out Tech N9ne's strange days remix. He got full permission from the remaining members of the group and they even played on the track. They also sampled Jim into the song. Tech loves the Doors, he named his record label Strange Days. When he went over there to record with them he visited Jim's grave to pay his respects. Tech is an extremely talented artist and finds way to push his genre with every album

[@mattharvey968]

Great 🍄🎶

[@beatledad]

another in this vein THE GUESS WHO.........FRIENDS OF MINE great late night fm radio tune.... black light song

[@billhawkins1236]

Okay, I have to jump in, The Door's was, my 1st album, and 1st concert, I think I have every album, compilation s included, and I don't know where the version you played comes from but the Oedipal section never had the swearing, it was just implied. Not even sure if that was Jim's voice. Now, you are ready for "celebration of the lizard" from Absolutely Live.👍❤️

[@kelvinkloud]

how good were they live?... did they standout in their era & was the mystique around morrison the same as it is now. there was so much talent then in the industry I wonder if now or certainly in the '80s if the doors were bigger after morrisons death, then when he was actually alive and performing... I do know their music has aged well, imo, better then most of their peers (who by the way, many of them didnt like or seem to get the doors).

[@billhawkins1236]

@@kelvinkloud Honestly, my personal opinion is I think they were a better studio band, Paul Rothschild and Bruce Botnick did an amazing job of engineering the sound. I like their live performances but I think they had more of a garage band feel live, Densmore and Ray always sounded good live, Robbie's guitar work never translated that well in concert, IMO.

[@billhawkins1236]

There was a tremendous amount of musical material that sprang forth in 1967, but at the top of that list was "Sergeant Peppers, Surrealistic Pillow, and The Door's" and every person I knew, had a copy or wanted to borrow yours.