Originally posted by goombah:
To paraphrase Vito Corleone: "I'll give you my reasons."
I went through a period where I loved the Doors. Jim Morrison was a great performer. The reason I left him off my list was that some of his lyrics were so very "out there." Some of the imagery was heavily influenced by Morrison's, um, excessive lifestyle ("ride the snake," "weird scenes inside the gold mine," "cancel my subscription to the resurrection," etc.)
Don't get me wrong, Jim wrote some interesting lyrics and some great songs. I just felt that some of his lyrics were created as a direct result of his drug usage.
Believe me, I'm [b]not putting the guy down because he took drugs or drank heavily. Many musicians & songwriters do. I know artists like the Beatles, Hendrix, Clapton, Dylan, the Stones and a slew of others also did more than their fair share of drugs and/or alcohol. [/b]
See, though -- even before that, though -- on the self-titled album, before Morrison got deeply involved with drugs, the lyrics are utterly uh-mazing. Just amazing. But, I think you're looking at it the wrong way, my friend. Whereas most songwriters write an experience of drugs, or "how they make them feel," Morrison did much more and dug much deeper. It's like he carved out a piece of himself. He created much more. He had a way with words; he was an artist. He painted pictures, he developed such an imagination. It's incredible.
Though, remember -- it's not always the topic and how over/under used it is... It's how it's written.
