The Crazy History Behind "The Alabama Song"

[@noahwellington1729]

More doors content please, love this stuff

[@brickwallace1122]

100% Agreed. It’s my favorite band and I love to suck it all up

[@mirec14]

For sure

[@hugostiglitz491]

Agreed 💯

[@pozitivepaul]

YES

[@joshuaadams8240]

I would absolutely love to learn more about their debauchery. I enjoy their music, I appreciate their psychedelia, and I heard that they were a bunch of poetry majors, but I didn't know about their debauchery.

[@joshhale9355]

Dude, your editing is insane! Your videos are some of my favorites to watch because it’s straight eye candy for me.

[@maaauel]

can confirm

[@fujithegreat6069]

I've noticed that other video essay channels use this format that Vox may have directly or indirectly influenced. It's neat.

[@Kaderlid13]

Same here! ❤❤❤

[@strawberryfields253]

it legit looks like a documentary its fantastic

[@georgelacatus1495]

Ray Manzarek was a GOAT. Always loved that his keyboard work on Hyacinth House was inspired by Chopin's Polonaise in Ab Major 🎹

[@rocknroll_jezus9233]

Such a standout on L.A. Woman but I love it all

[@EmperorNerox]

Jim Morrison pointed at Ray manzerek once and said see that guy he IS the doors

[@dylanhealy8126]

IIRC he was classically trained and was a big Chopin fan. And Densmore was a jazz drummer, which was a key component of The Doors style

[@chriscoughlin9289]

@@EmperorNerox And - no small thing - he was also indisputably the fifth member of X a decade later.

[@EmperorNerox]

@@chriscoughlin9289 I recall he produced them but did he play in the band too??

[@jacktowers7533]

The moment in "The World's End" when they're all heading around town avoiding the evil robots with a Drunken Paranoid Uniform March to Alabama Song is my favourite use of this song ever

[@trentc7329]

Weird thing is this wasn't just a deep cut on an album. They played this live a lot. Usually like the second or third song of the show. I always wondered if it was kind of their warm up, get in synch and set a mood song. They obviously enjoyed playing it or they would have dropped it out of the set list in later years. It wasn't a hit the people expected.

[@damotheman4196]

Now that I've read that and thought on it, I think you're right. I mean it'd be a good one for everyone to warm up their instruments.. (Jim's voice included) good comment bud. 👍

[@bartonprice2993]

Great video. Plan to use it in class. It's important to keep in mind that Morrison and Manzarek were film school students, and were likely versed in avant garde theatre of the 20th century (similarly, the Living Theatre in NYC at the same time was inspired by Arnaud's Theatre of Cruelty). One slight correction is that Brecht couldn't have been subject to scrutiny by Sen. McCarthy if Brecht left the U.S. in 1949. McCarthy rose to prominence in 1950. It's more likely that Brecht encountered opposition from the self-censorship by Hollywood due to the Hays Code.

[@dirkturtle3354]

Brecht testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee (which, obviously, no Senator was part of). This is governmental body that led to the blacklisting of Hollywood writers. The recording of his testimony is terrific as he slyly dunks on the questioners while they don't even realize he's running up the score on them. All while he had a ticket to Berlin in his pocket.

[@bartonprice2993]

@@dirkturtle3354 You are correct.

[@neugey]

I love the duality in this song, how different the verses are than the chorus. It sounds like a medley, but it's not. Bowie doing this song live is probably the best version.

[@rickwilliams967]

Can you explain how the verse and chorus are different? That's a pretty common change in this style.

[@CorbCorbin]

@@rickwilliams967 If one has never heard that style of music, or even known of that era of musical theater, and where it originated, they usually associate the song with the Doors, and other rock acts, who covered it. In the first half of that Doors album, it’s a pretty odd departure from 20th Century Fox, into it. So, too many it sounds like polka, during the verse, into a near country thing, with the chorus.

[@kjelleriksson2793]

The Doors didn't do the first verse (little boy) on record but they did it on stage.

[@rickwilliams967]

@@CorbCorbin but they did it correctly, so how did they make it different. They just used different instruments.

[@bootyshortsband]

​@@rickwilliams967 it changes from minor to major?

[@mykeadelic]

morrison died in 71 not 70 but other than that this is on point!!! haha love the doors. so much to talk about with them as a microcosm of the psychedelic era

[@tme3305]

alabama song is one of my favorite doors tracks, this was a super fun video for me also can we talk about how the city of mahogany is literally just las vegas

[@noahwellington1729]

8:49 minor mistake, Jim died in 71 not 70.

[@Polyphonic]

Whoops. Good catch!

[@noahwellington1729]

@@Polyphonic all good! Loved the video otherwise

[@_ratherBursadboi]

I am still alive

[@fbicappuccino]

@@_ratherBursadboi iiiim whooaa im still alive yeeah iii whoooaa im still alive (pearl jam)

[@jayskywalker5049]

@Summitelse hey Jim 👋 we miss you man

[@jackorion7157]

This song turned me on to the Doors and made me listen to them which quickly made them my favorite band. I never heard chord changes like that before

[@paulnolan4971]

Jack Orion man, nice.

[@vtchka6727]

same

[@jayskywalker5049]

Right it made me appreciate them more

[@jamesnicol3831]

morrison knew about the importance of brecht/weill

[@retroecho]

From Ray’s autobiography. It was all totally Dorothy’s idea. “Dorothy had a record of Bertolt Brecht & Kurt Weill’s ‘Threepenny Opera’ with a couple of cuts from ‘Mahagonny’ at the end of the disc. It was an original cast recording from 1932. It was her kind of music. … … one day Dorothy said, “why don’t you guys do ‘The Whiskey Bar’? As long as you’re doing other people’s material, you might as well do Brecht and Weill too. “ Early in Chapter 7 So Dorothy is the MVP.

[@janhanchenmichelsen2627]

So many great artists have played Weill/Brecht. Such an important part of modern music. "Lotte Lenya Singt Kurt Weill" (1955) is a favourite of mine. In German, of course.

[@onthewattle]

Same mate love it. Her best rendition of Mack the Knife

[@karlkarlos3545]

Speaking of Brecht. Tom Waits did an interesting version of What Keeps Mankind Alive? Also from The Threepenny Opera.

[@stefstaf]

The original libretto of the opera "Rise and Fall of the city of Mahagonny" is in German except from the Alabama song which was written in English by Brecht. It is a delight to listen to Lotte Lenya (or better yet Ute Lemper) sing "for vee must find the next Viskey bar..."

[@oliverpiers6603]

When I was a kid I used to get night terrors so my mum bought me a Bowie singles CD collection, which I played every night in order to get to sleep. I have vivid memories of listening to Alabama Song again and again on loop, it was on that fine line between enthralling and terrifying.

[@victorwright5358]

that sounds awesome! Bowie’s version is definitely my favorite rendition of the song

[@Carbon8edmilk]

Ditto

[@andrewmurphy9601]

This album is a masterpiece

[@aoisejadore4]

I can't wait until more people get interested in classic rock and roll. Your channel is a great resource, thank you!

[@jimmorrison8021]

The doors Music is intellectual, charismatic, mesmerizing and able to grab your spine and shake it.

[@avachristiansen7703]

You truly have the best music history videos out there, I really look forward to your uploads. Your editing is insane, you are a great storyteller, and I am always intrigued

[@andresmarticanta]

Love your content! About Mack the Knife, it even made its way to salsa. There is a masterpiece by Rubén Blades called Pedro Navajas, that builds on Mack the Knife with a jazzy experimental salsa vibe. I think it's crazy how you can trace a line between Weill and Brecht and salsa. It goes to show how far-reaching their influence is.

[@GamesWithBrainz]

i absolutely love these well edited obscure and interesting stories from musical history.

[@hugostiglitz491]

I love the visuals in your videos, this is straight eye candy

[@riveraf.b]

This was the first song, by chance, that I heard of the Doors. I immediately fell in love with the keyboard and guitar tone. And I heard for the first time that rare but exquisite sound that seemed to be made with bells... a marxophone. Together with the subtle touch on the drums and Jim's vocals, they make this song a psychedelic carnival.

[@Sevetamryn]

Great Video and Greetings from Berlin, in walking distance to the "Volksbühne", the place where Bertholt Brecht plays performed back then, around 100 years ago.

[@Vickyeverythingelsewastaken]

Hello neighbour!

[@marivg8948]

I was just watching The Doors' PBS show and then this pops up. Great! Thanks, Polyphonic!

[@iloveyoutubeshortskillme]

w daria pfp

[@Purplenpinkk]

One of my favorite Doors songs - I've been a fan since '80. I did not know this. Thank you.

[@victorwright5358]

great video, as always! i absolutely LOVE that you included shoutouts to David Bowie and Nina Simone!

[@taplaos]

Ohhh wow! I didn't know the origin of this song! Just gives you a deeper appreciation for it. My Mother and Father loves this song. Enough to see them super drunk singing along with it as they dance through the night. For sure, I'll be showing this video to them.

[@sticky-fingers]

The Doors'first album is one of the best 1st record, and one of the best of rock history. The first time i listened it, i listened it over and over the entire night. I don't thank you, my "The Doors period" will start again 😀

[@DaniboyBR2]

Nirvana's first album is also their best though.

[@smucklehead89]

​@Dan 123 bleach is a great album but I have to disagree, in utero is an incredible album

[@chriscoughlin9289]

There are countless legendary candidates for that 'best 1st category' - a few of them STILL revolutionary today in ways even Morrison and Co. couldn't touch. Off the top of my head: Televosion - Marquee Moon Byrds - Mr. Tambourine Man Ramones - Self titled debut X - Los Angeles (Manzarek - Producer) And Ray and Jim would've been the first to tell you about the debt they owed to Elektra Records label mates Love for their sharp eyed take on the LA street scene circa 1965-66.

[@DaniboyBR2]

@@smucklehead89 I have both, I like their first better, both are great though I agree on this, then they just started to suck, Kurt got really sick and too fucked on heroin and lost focus.

[@gabriellegilbert4872]

Beautifully done, appreciate you Polyphonic

[@rebekahm6672]

The doors is my mom’s favorite band and after these videos I’ve gained a lot more appreciation for them and feel closer to her.

[@mgeorge487able]

As children in the late 80’s, my sister and I had made up a dance to this song and loved to perform it. The carnival-like sound appealed to us although we had no idea what it was about. Same with the Beatles’ Maxwell’s Silver Hammer and a few Cheech and Chong songs. Fun times

[@andrewkruszka1674]

This song is so good. So is your video quality and editing. Keep it up! Can't wait for more Doors music!

[@ListieShadows]

Man, imagine my surprised to find out that Bertolt Brecht wrote "Mack The Knife". Like, I didn't come into this video expecting to think about Mac Tonight-which, I mean, it's entirely my fault that I did, but y'know.

[@marquamfurniture]

Thank you for super well done graphics that accompany story.

[@GaryT1952]

So well done...thank you

[@macronencer]

This was a connection and a topic of which I was pretty much entirely ignorant. I'd heard the Doors version of the song, of course - and I believe I'd heard Bowie's too. But I had no idea whatsoever of the whole Weil/Brecht background. Astonishing! Thank you for the lesson.

[@bobjones-sf7bn]

great job.. I've been a big doors fan since the 70s ..and got to work on a community theater of 3 penny opera.. thank you

[@EphemeraEssays]

I never even knew it was a cover! Fantastic video

[@AlexRaesYouTubeChannel]

It’s no coincidence that the Alabama song was also used in the movie “the worlds end” which is about accomplishing a bar run!

[@Asmallcorneroftheinternet]

My favorite use of the song is in The World's End from 2013. I won't spoil the plot, but when the 5 main characters realize that they're in massive danger. They have to pretend that to pretend that they're still doing their bar crawl to survive. Cue the Alabama Song, the perfect song to sum up 5 gentlemen who are trying to pretend that they're not in danger. Yet it's clear as day that they know what's going on.

[@jacktowers7533]

I forever associate this song with the scene now, Edgar just knows the best song for any given scene

[@EmperorNerox]

Brilliant video man. Absolutely brilliant

[@OuterGalaxyLounge]

1920s kids were already hip to this.

[@dotdot1743]

I love your videos, and it’s so crazy to see you almost at 1 million!! Been watching some 100k, so this is an unbelievable milestone! You deserve it all, awesome stuff man

[@Newton-Reuther]

I love how you cover the context and history I didn't know about the music I love but also introduce me to new music. Keep it up!!

[@happyron]

Always wondered about this song after hearing it a zillion times in the 1980s due to my friend being a hardcore Doors person, thanks for the context.

[@bigfootandthebunny]

Very cool, I know a stupid amount of rock trivia and did NOT know this. Thank you!

[@SuperStarr817]

I loved learning more about this song now I think I need to look into this man's plays.

[@Kaderlid13]

You’ll not be disappointed! ❤

[@TahoeNevada]

As a moody teen in the 80’s, I absolutely *loved* The Doors!

[@steveclapper5424]

As a moody teen in the sixties so did I.

[@markokecman1177]

As a 30 year old guy I still love The Doors.

[@lakrids-pibe]

You must have been the perfect age when the biopic came out in 1991, with Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison. The music was everywhere! Haha!

[@HankBukowski]

Same but 90s.

[@EmperorNerox]

@@lakrids-pibe manzerek called the movie an assassination of Jim Morrison. It was really really bad . Stone had no clue of what Morrison was about and val kilmer walked around and spoke in riddles like Jim talked like that ,lol was so bad. Music wass good though

[@giddyaunt9953]

Thanks for this video - I've been intrigued by this song since first hearing the Bowie version - a minor hit in the UK oddly - I never really knew what it was about (and assumed - it seems wrongly - that the english lyrics were a much later translation). From there I discovered songs like Mack the Knife and foiund out the lady with the deadly pointy shoe in that Bond film was part of this world. Somehow discovered Jacques Brel along the way too.

[@petederek7174]

Another great and informative vid from you on one of my favorite bands (also a big fan of Kurt Weil's music). One small note, Morrison died in '71 not '70 but, that aside, nice work my man. Keep em coming!

[@edpowers9865]

Fantastic video essay. I had no idea the connection with Mack the Knife.

[@hugostiglitz491]

Clicked as soon as I saw Jim Morrison in the thumbnail

[@SomniRespiratoryFlux]

Classic Polyphonic move right here, bring people/the algorithm in with a title and thumbnail about a classic rock band, then use that as a segue to something overtly political and lesser known. Great video, Noah!

[@davidbanan.]

I had absolutely no clue that this was a cover

[@Riz2336]

I had no idea this song was so old. Great album and their cover is classic

[@petsounds3612]

Awesome vid. Would love a minidoc on LA Woman and the Doors getting back to their roots as a band after the drug-induced tumult of Jim's addiction

[@rayc4244]

Remember that Jim & Ray were film students. I'm sure they know all about the derivation of the song. Cool video!

[@GizzyDillespee]

Excellent choice and background. Thank you for doing this.

[@Thathorrorguy12FU]

Probably the best record out of all their albums. This says a very lot and it's because all their albums are excellent. Now that I look back, not realizing it at a younger age, and The Doors are definitely before my time. But in the amount of time they were together making albums and it wasn't a very long time, between 67-71? Right, six years. And The Doors, Strange Days, Waiting for the Sun, The Soft Parade, Morrison Hotel, and LA Woman. These were all great albums that you could listen to from front to back and enjoy every song. So every album was good! So to say that their debut album was the best imo says a hell of a lot! And looking back, they were definitely one of the best bands to ever come out of America hands down! They were very consistent, and with great material every time. Doing in a matter of 5 years what most bands still have never achieved.

[@chriscoughlin9289]

The Byrds had every bit of that track record over their first six albums. They all but invented folk rock, psych rock, country rock and brought the arrival of the singer-songwriter(Gene Clark, David Crosby and Gram Parsons) in that time period. Even had the Beatles lifting their riffs (listen to McGuinn's arrangement of 'Bells of Rhymney' and 'If I Needed Someone' back to back.) Easily the most influential American band of the mid 60's - as Petty, REM, Television, Eagles, U2, and countless others have been telling their audiences for decades.

[@frankfrank7921]

@@chriscoughlin9289 "Even had the Beatles lifting their riffs (listen to McGuinn's arrangement of 'Bells of Rhymney' and 'If I Needed Someone' back to back.". That's George Harrison though, who hadn't really developed as a songwriter yet. Lennon, though was infatuated with Roger McGuinn for awhile even adopting the granny glasses Roger favored.

[@chriscoughlin9289]

@@frankfrank7921 It's all speculation on my part, but Lennon almost certainly had to be more than a little impressed that Dylan had given McGuinn, Clark and Crosby his standing stamp of approval for so many of their now legendary arrangements - Tambourine Man, Chimes of Freedom, My Back Pages, Spanish Harlem Incident, He Was A Friend of Mine, You Ain't Goin' Nowhere,... Every one of these can be stood alongside ANY of the most indelible Dylan covers in the history books - including 'All Along The Watchtower by Hendrix or I Shall Be Released by The Band. I believe that the rising fortunes of the Byrds were helped along greatly by Dylan's simultaneous understanding that the folkie troubadour era was passing - even if he himself was still in the process of deciding what might replace it. For about 4-5 years there, the Byrds were just untouchable on the American scene - at least until the advent of CCR, The Band and eventually Eagles.

[@frankfrank7921]

@@chriscoughlin9289 I will add that the Beatles and the Doors did not need to use "Wrecking Crew" musicians on their albums.

[@chriscoughlin9289]

@frankfrank7921 The Byrds have their detractors on the basis of their use of the Crew during Tambourine Man. Unfortunately almost none of them are honest enough to acknowledge that the rest of their catalog is theirs alone (apart from acknowledged ringers on Sweetheart.) To me? Perpetuating that myth after 60 years is just as fraudulent as the thing they’re decrying. Most of them are too wet behind the ears to have had the good fortune to have seen a reunited McGuinn, Clark and Hillman (and occasionally Crosby) in the late 70’s to know any better. But that still doesn’t excuse their lie.

[@mikegim9954]

"Mahogany: A place of wealth and debauchery built by criminals in the middle of the desert"... So basically Las Vegas

[@The1trueDave]

That's the first thing I thought but it seems that Las Vegas didn't really get going until after WWII. Maybe Buggsy Siegel was a fan of Bertholt Brecht too? :-)

[@hmlee5264]

@@The1trueDave or Mahogany is more Kapitalismus than "Las Vegas itself"

[@Austin-31557]

This song was the first song by the doors I heard and it got me into the doors, I remember when I first heard ray’s keyboard I was instantly in love, 5+ years later and I am still in love

[@geraldtanderson9044]

From a 50 year fan of the Doors...I love that you love the doors!

[@Emersonlakeorpalmer]

Same here I was listening to the album and the catchy melody of Alabama song caught my attention for the doors. Ray’s organ and the marxophone with Jim’s haunting voice. Doors and Ray Manzarek inspired me to pick up the organ. Wish I was alive during their era but I’m just a 17 year old doors fan

[@Papparratzi]

The irony of this song starting off as a poem, and Jim Morrison, starting off as a poet has not escaped me. It seems destiny that they were determined to meet each other to tell the story for generations to come. Thank you.

[@FinnJGiese]

I'm German, and I did not know this! Thanks for reaching out to non-Anglo cultures and back to other periods of time ♥ EDIT: You should really credit Elisabeth Hauptmann for this. She has been behind a lot of Brecht's supposed genius, never grabbing attention, instead being taken advantage of by Brecht sexually and artistically. An experience women all too often share up to the present day. We should at least honour her memory. Still, a great video!

[@wochenendsonnenschein5853]

Traurig. Nie was von Brecht gehört? Ich hab´s in der Schule gelernt. 60er jahre.

[@FinnJGiese]

@@wochenendsonnenschein5853 nie was von Brecht gehört und nie was von den Ursprüngen des Alabama Song gehört sind zwei unterschiedliche Dinge ;) habe drei Bücher von ihm gelesen, ein bisschen mehr als man in der Schule macht

[@c2e.7877]

Hätte echt nie gedacht das Alabama Song von Brecht geschrieben wurde, garnicht.

[@slothDAMN]

Dagmar Krause's versions of Brecht/Weill (and Hanns Eisler) are some of my favourite recordings ever.

[@angryyordle4640]

thank you for covering Berthold Brecht. He was a genious

[@jayskywalker5049]

Never heard of him but definitely knew some of his material via Satchmo and Nina and of course THE 🚪s

[@angryyordle4640]

@@jayskywalker5049 He's very well known in germany, one of the most well known modern german playwrites I'd say. He also wrote the lyrics to several worker's songs and generally was an important figure in the socialist movement of his time.

[@Carbon8edmilk]

Wonderful production, as always, Polyphonic!

[@FlightRiskWizard]

I get so happy when people post about the Doors! This is a wonderful video! :D You always make the coolest videos!

[@R.A.D.G59]

You are incredible at what you do! Love you work! Thank you.

[@provincialfish]

There's a really interesting version by Georgia Brown on her album "Georgia Brown sings Kurt Weill" from 1962. It's got a weird early 60's orchestration and strange vocal timing in parts. I'm not really musically literate enough to describe properly, but it's worth checking out at least to hear the difference in interpretation between 62 and 67. I found the album while looking through used vinyl and knew nothing about it, but it looked interesting enough and was worth getting. I love that Bowie "Baal" ep as well. It sounds really great, really cranked up.

[@The_real_Y2]

"The Alabama Song," also known as "Whisky Bar" or "Moon of Alabama," got its name from its appearance in the 1927 German opera *Mahagonny-Songspiel* by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill. Despite its title referencing the U.S. state of Alabama, the song is not specifically about Alabama but rather about themes of hedonism, alienation, and escape. Brecht and Weill frequently used American-sounding names and themes in their works to evoke a sense of detachment or to critique modern capitalist society. The name "Alabama" likely adds to this exotic and foreign atmosphere, playing into the opera's overall satirical nature.

[@Kaderlid13]

You’re simply insanely good at what you do! Thanks so much and warm greetings from 🇩🇪! ❤

[@geraldtanderson9044]

One of my many favorite songs by the Doors. I had no idea of the history of it. When I was still singing, it was a part of my Karaoke List. It wasn't exactly a crowd pleaser, but I didn't care, it was fun to sing. I was aware of the Doors and "Hello I Love You" from the 60's, but never listened to a full Doors album until 1973. Wow...50 years ago this year.

[@redbannerradio]

One tiny little correction: Jim died in 71, not 70, as you briefly said in the video. Other than that, fantastic video as a lifelong Doors fan myself.

[@analogue_microwave]

YES. Love the doors so much. They deserve way more recognition and this video will definitely help with that

[@frankez99]

The Doors are recognized as one of the best bands ever, it’s not like they are obscure or anything 😂

[@c.d.dailey8013]

Oh I know that album. I listened to it plenty of times. The big highlight for me is "End of the Night". It is one of my favorite Doors songs. It is a fine example of creepy but beautiful. I just listened to it shortly before watching the video. It is on a KZbin playlist of songs by various artists. The song has a great scene in the Oliver Stone movie. It is where Jim has an affair with Patricia. Lets just say that scene and similar scenes got me excited. This movie is R rated for a reason. The Alabama song is great too. It is one of my mom's favorite Doors songs. It is so catchy. I didn't know Doors were psychedelic. I would describe the music as weird, creepy, beautiful and shamanic. Interestingly Pink Floyd had its origins in psychedelic music. Then it move one into being the main band for prog rock. The Doors and Pink Floyd are two of my favorite bands. They even go together in my mind. Both bands are very weird, but they are very good. They go off and do their own thing. Being so different really makes these bands stand out from their contemporaries. My biggest musical guilty pleasure is Lady Gaga. She is a more modern musician. She works the same way. Oh my gosh! Those outfits. The sixties is the best decade for music. There was so many varieties, and the music overall was so amazing. Psychedelic was around during that time. I didn't think it was one of the better musical styles at the time. It was a bit too weird and funky. My top favorite band was the Beatles. They were the top famous band of the sixties. They did a variety of music. Personally I thought they did their best music right before their psychedelic phase. Three of my favorite albums are from the time. There is Beatles For Sale, Help! and Rubber Soul. I think the band jumped the shark after Revolver. After that the psychedelic phase started. The later music was good but not as good. I will give it this. Another one of my favorite albums is Magical Mystery Tour, and that was psycadelic. I also like the movie a whole lot. It is my biggest guilty pleasure of movies. I just had a whole new appreciation for psychedelic music. The Doors and Pink Floyd were awesome bands. They had thier connection to psychadelic music. So I can appreciate that two good things happened from that kind of music. There is also a fun fact. The Beatles had Sgt. Pepper as thier first psychadelic album. They made lenty of album before. Pink Floyd had their debut album called Piper at the Gates of Dawn. This new band started out with a psychadelic phase of their own. Interestingly both psychadelic albums were produced in the same music studio at the same time. That is cool that there is such a connection. Alabama Song is so goofy. I had no idea there was so much history and meaning behind it. The story about the German musicians and playwrights is interesting. In America, hippies were getting all upset about the Vietnam War. So they had protests. Part of that became protest music. Oh I just come up with a more modern example. I was a teenager back during the W. Bush presidency. There was the war in the Middle East. There was protesting against that. I personally was against it too. Funny enough, I was more in tune with the music that was popular with my peers. I still enjoyed some oldies though. One contemporary album I enjoyed was American Idiot by Green Day. I used to play that CD a lot, especially when doing housework. My favorite song was "Wake Me Up When September Ends". That album plus the use of CDs makes me feel old. I am so ancient. That album was a protest against the war in the Middle East. So there are two cases where a war sparked protest music or just protest art in general. The Nazis of WWII is perhaps the most notorious regime of history. So if anything will provoke protest, it is this one. There are examples of movies where the bad guys are either Nazis or thinly veiled parallels of Nazis. That kind of story is protesting against such a regime. Such movies are things like Indiana Jones, Capitan America, Star Wars and Harry Potter. It is nice to know that not all Germans are bad fascists. After the fall of the Nazis, Germany has made strides with suppressing such activities. It has laws against things like displaying the swastika and denying the Holocaust. There is also a Germain movie with thinly veiled Nazi bad guys. This movie is called Felidae. It is great that there were other Germain artists that protested the Nazis in their art. When I thought of this, I got a brilliant idea. There is a Doors song that fits the Nazis perfectly. It may even fit better than the original meaning. The new meaning is not exactly literal but it is close. It refers to the killing that the Nazis did. I did Google things to look up lyrics and find major German cities that Nazis were involved in. I tweak the lyrics a little to be about Nazis. The lyrics are violent and gruesome. So I do give a warning. This video briefly showed Martian Luther. That is another German guy. He protested against the Catholic Church. More specifically he criticized the greed and hypocrisy of the pope and other high ranking priests. There was a weird practice where priests can grant a better afterlife if they get paid. It seems like a bribe to me. That does go along with the Alabama Song being about debauchery. In more recent times there are scandals where clergy members commit child abuse. I am putting "child abuse" very lightly. Catholic clergy is especially plagued by such scandals. So I thought there was a way to tweak the lyrics of Alabama song to be about crooked Catholic priests. The lyrics may sound like swearing, but they aren't. There is a literal Hell as in the realm of the Christian afterlife.

[@c.d.dailey8013]

Here are my song ideas. The Vatican Song (The Catholic Song) Oh show me the way to the next tithing box. Oh don't ask why. Oh don't ask why. For If we don't find the next tithing box. I tell you go to Hell. I tell you go to Hell. Oh show me the way to the next little boy... Peace Camp (The Nazi Song) WARNING- Explicit lyrics. Reader discretion is advised. Disclaimer- This song is meant to protest the Nazis, not glorify them. They are bad in all the horrendous killing they did. Blood in the streets in the town of Munich. Blood in the streets in the town of Hamburg. Blood in the streets in the town of Berlin. Blood in the streets in the state of the Third Reich. Blood stains the stoves and the chambers of Auschwitz. Blood in the hate in the barbaric murder. Bloody red sun of the swastika Nazi.

[@mudcatz3564]

A terific essay! One note tho: Morrison died in '71, not '70. That being said, a great effort! As a Doors fan for 40 years, you gave an education!

[@kevinmulcahy7991]

Thanks for posting! Very informative and well researched. Two subjects close to my heart, Jim Morrison and Bertold Brecht.

[@gabrielvasconcelos9484]

The doors is my all time favourite band and your videos on them are just the best. Hoping to see one about The Soft Parade

[@ShyDethKittenOfficial]

My first experience with this song was the Manson cover, but man there is so much more than i first thought!

[@mutantryeff]

Check out the cover of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "On The Hunt" by "The Obsessed". Scott Weinrich nailed it.

[@CoasterMan13Official]

I don't think anyone has ever reviewed this song called broken arrow by Buffalo Springfield. It was on their 2nd album. It sounds like it has a hidden meaning behind it, and it'd be cool if you guys could do a video about it.

[@sofaking1627]

Love your videos man, this was great

[@silversam]

I never noticed til now the way you move some of the cuts btwn still images. Subtly effective 😃 Almost all of this info was a surprise to me. Had heard of epic theatre & the Weimar scene but basically just that - 'heard of' not 'knew about.' when I heard Alabama Song, it felt anachronistic and like a genre departure, but I had no idea it wasn't a Doors original. One of those things where you learn the truth and it's like "oh duh"

[@bjsvec]

More about “the end” please. That song is so interesting.

[@Polyphonic]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/nXuvlpihZaedmZY

[@BrandonYusufToropov]

Great start. Morrison and Manzarek were heavily influenced by the ideas of Grotowski and Artaud. The "Lizard King" persona was part of a frontal assault on audience preconceptions that parallels Brecht's. They saw rock concerts as a new theatrical form, and they were quite consciously following in the footsteps of these theatrical innovators.

[@noah_d_turtle1435]

The Doors version has been on my drinking playlist mix for years, I had no idea of the songs history. Thanks for an awesome video. 😍

[@Jack_all]

I had no idea the Alabama song was a cover song.. Fascinating.. Side note : The City of Mohogany sounds just like Las Vegas.

[@isaiahvoss]

Could you do Linkin Park content as well especially the life of Chester Bennington and how he reached millions of people through his lyrics? That would be interesting to watch.

[@KK-lb6kr]

Such a cool story and the video! Thanks!

[@sohamroy5234]

Amazing video! Please make one on "Desolation Row" by Bob Dylan

[@unovox]

I grew up in Alabama!!!!! Loving it!

[@nevar23]

I have a fun compilation of Weill songs called "September Songs" that includes a David Johansen cover of this song, but I do love the Doors version best.

[@blahpunk1]

Great video! I was always taken by some of the Doors' more unusual pieces, this one included.

[@BMJ1999]

i'd love to see a video about your top albums of all time or something!

[@scottbubb2946]

I like to watch videos on weird things found on the internet. One of the things I've seen on a few of these list type videos is a game supposedly found on the "dark web" (which I don't believe) called Sad Satan. It looks like someone took a maze type game and tried to make it look scary. I don't know, it's pretty silly and you could probably easily find it with a Google search if you wanted. Anyway, the "game" had this weird music on it that was creepy, but kind of sounded familiar. Then, I realized it was The Doors version of Alabama (Whiskey Bar) just slowed way down. Hilarious. 😂

[@heinz812]

Polyphonic is such a great channel. I always love the content. Back story on a Doors song? you can’t go wrong! Keep it up. Maybe some content from The Band😁

[@anthonycrumb5753]

I have listerned to The Doors since they first came out in the 1960s - love em - I had absolutley no idea of the connection between The Doors and Kurt Wiel, Brect et al. Thanks for that - you live and learn. PS - IF you are interested in the Weimar Vibe check out Philip Kerr's Bernnie Gunter books - the Sam Spade of the 3rd Riech, VERY atmospheric and full of obscure details like the Sing Sing Nightclub/ Caberet with its own electric chair to give the patrons a 'bit of a shock'. Strange but true.

[@t_mac41603]

“The Soft Parade” is the strangest in my opinion.

[@paulnolan4971]

Epic strangeness. An Opus of Strange 😁

[@LLH961]

My Canadian brother has been making straight bangers lately; although he always does🔥

[@joshuaburke5725]

This was Awesome! I'm a big fan of The Doors and I had no idea of the basis for The Alabama Song.Thank you for all your hard work.Noone Here Gets Out Alive is a great book about The Doors if you are interested!