
Jim Adam’s Song Lyric Sunday gives us the chance to share familiar, and sometimes not so familiar, songs. Jim has given us Begin/ End/ Finish/ Start this week to be included in the title or lyrics.
If you fancy sharing one of your favourite songs you can find out how to participate, and also listen to all the great entries, here.
This week I’m pushing my luck a bit. I really do not expect many readers to listen to the whole of this song. To help out I am including an extract of a film that the song featured in.
I love this song. I love the film that it features in, but I know that it is not to everyone’s taste and some will find it rather strange.
It is a song by Jim Morrison of The Doors, written, initially, as a farewell to a girlfriend. It ended as a much longer song, at 12 minutes, and was released on 6th January 1967, just before my 19th birthday.
The lyrics contain the words “My only friend, the End” and when interviewed by Lizze James, he commented : “Sometimes the pain is too much to examine, or even tolerate … That doesn’t make it evil, though – or necessarily dangerous. But people fear death even more than pain. It’s strange that they fear death. Life hurts a lot more than death. At the point of death, the pain is over. Yeah – I guess it is a friend.”
Jim Morrison’s death came two years to the day after the death of Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones and approximately nine months after the deaths of Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin — all of whom died at the age of 27 as did so many musicians, artists, and actors.
The song is The End and it featured in the Francis Coppola epic film Apocalypse Now.
Apocalypse Now Intro (1979)
This full length version of the song accompanies a video tribute made by QueenOfTheHighway who says “This is a tribute to the amazing James Douglas Morrison, who died far too young. His life was incredibly tragic, and he was so misunderstood and under appreciated. He was so much more than just a talented musician. He was a true genius and a poet with a beautiful soul. I love him because he knew what it was like to battle unbearable demons, and yet still retained his childlike wonder and love for life. I do not own any footage used-all belong to The Doors.”
The End
This is the end, beautiful friend
This is the end, my only friend
The end of our elaborate plans
The end of ev’rything that stands
The end
No safety or surprise
The end
I’ll never look into your eyes again
Can you picture what will be
So limitless and free
Desperately in need of
some strangers hand
In a desperate land
Lost in a Roman wilderness of pain
And all the children are insane
All the children are insane
Waiting for the summer rain
There’s danger on the edge of town
Ride the king’s highway
Weird scenes inside the goldmine
Ride the highway West baby
Ride the snake
Ride the snake
To the lake
To the lake
The ancient lake baby
The snake is long
Seven miles
Ride the snake
He’s old
And his skin is cold
The west is the best
The west is the best
Get here and we’ll do the rest
The blue bus is calling us
The blue bus is calling us
Driver, where you taking us?
The killer awoke before dawn
He put his boots on
He took a face from the ancient gallery
And he walked on down the hall
He went into the room where his sister lived
And then he paid a visit to his brother
And then he walked on down the hall
And he came to a door
And he looked inside
Father?
Yes son
I want to kill you
Mother, I want to…
Come on, baby, take a chance with us
Come on, baby, take a chance with us
Come on, baby, take a chance with us
And meet me at the back of the blue bus
This is the end, beautiful friend
This is the end, my only friend
The end
It hurts to set you free
But you’ll never follow me-aca
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Alexandria Rae Koehler / Kathryn Sarah Goodman / Monica Cassia Grzymkowski
The End lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
This may be one of the greatest intros of all times!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It was very appropriate to that movie. The 60’s were a strange and disturbing time in a whole different way to 2020. For one thing, I was young and wondered a lot about the future. I had left SE Asia as things were heating up. I remembered the peace of the paddy fields, the smiles on faces of the village people. Seeing images of napalm and all the rest was very disturbing. so many young people came back seriously messed up and no wonder. A sad sad time.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, an unforgivable moment in history. I found the movie compelling. I didn’t really want to watch, I had to watch!
LikeLike
Morrison has such a haunting quality to his voice.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I don’t know why, but before I finished reading your intro, I felt, in my bones, that you were going to give us “The End”. Excellent choice. And he was such a beautiful poet and misunderstood man who was the perfect type to end up dying so tragically. That damn 27 Club.
Now excuse me, I am going to go watch the videos now!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Did you ever read “No One Here Gets Out Alive”? Bio on Jim Morrisson… Fascinating.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, I did. It is amazing what can be packed into 27 years!
LikeLiked by 1 person
No kidding!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve had this one tucked away just waiting for the right prompt!
LikeLiked by 1 person
With good reason!! I love it and watched both videos.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I can’t help but link it with The Moody Blues Legend of a Mind!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oohhh… another good one.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nice choice Peter and I love the smell of napalm in the morning. Drugs caused the end of a lot of talented musicians and I did more than my fair share, so I am lucky to still be around. I am more familiar with the long version from the album, but this is the first time that I watched the entire video. I hope that I never run into any of those seven mile long snakes. This was a great song for Morrison to do some adlibbing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
GREAT song choice, Peter!
Jim’s voice always gets to my heart. I was too young to listen to him much before his tragic too-soon death…but an older friend got me listening to his music. We still listen to him to this day. My friend got to see Jim in concert in the ’60’s.
(((HUGS)))
LikeLiked by 1 person
Did the 60’s really happen? It seems so near and yet so far away. Does that mean I’m old?
LikeLiked by 2 people
You are not old. You are well-seasoned AND young-at-heart! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pity about the rest of me!
LikeLiked by 1 person
HA! 🙂 Yes, I feel 21 inside, but when I look in the mirror it’s like, “Yikes! Where did the years go?!” 😉 😛
LikeLiked by 1 person
It was the perfect opening to the movie. Matched up so well! 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Just checking in to say Hey!
I hope you are all doing well!
(((HUGS)))
LikeLiked by 2 people
I am thanks Carolyn, although very busy at the moment with a charity I help out with. I’ve just lost my treasurer due to ill health so am doing that as well as my Chairman duties. It’s budget setting time so my writing has had to take a back seat. Hope you are keeping safe and well.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Oh, good…on being doing well and on doing your charity work. I’ve done a lot of charity/volunteer work in my life…so I know the difficulty when someone has to bow out due to ill health. I know it adds to the work load of the others. Hope it all goes well as you set a budget. And I hope your former treasurer will gets well.
We’re doing well and keeping safe, so far! (((HUGS))) 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
God. They were beyond brilliant. Stunning to watch all of this. Just…..wow. Sigh. Thank You, Peter. ❤️
LikeLiked by 2 people