"People Are Strange" was composed in early 1967. Doors' drummer John Densmore recalled the songwriting process in his book "Riders on the Storm" he and Doors guitarist Robby Krieger, who had then been roommates, were visited by Jim Morrison, who appeared to be "deeply depressed". At Krieger's suggestion, they took a walk along Laurel Canyon in the Hollywood Hills area of Los Angeles. Morrison returned from the walk "euphoric" with the early lyrics of "People Are Strange". Intrigued by the new lyrics, Krieger was convinced that the song was a hit upon hearing the vocal melody: [Morrison said] 'Yeah, I feel really good about this one. It just came to me all of a sudden ... in a flash - as I was sitting up there on the ridge looking out over the city. His eyes were wild with excitement. 'I scribbled it down as fast as I could. It felt great to be writing again.' He looked down at the crumpled paper in his hand and sang the chorus in his haunting blues voice. - John Densmore
Exactly. Morrison was not only a poetic genius...but he also suffered from manic depression. He was also a pretty heavy drinker...and experimented with narcotics. At 62 years old....I do remember The Doors, especially how unique his music was and how the lyrics to a lot of his song's were pretty deep. I also remember how many times he got in trouble with local Law Enforcement during his concerts, and how he pissed off Ed Sullivan when he had The Doors on his show. Too bad he died so young....
Jim was incredibly depressed and he arrived at Robbys house near suicidal. Robby suggested they go for a walk and check up the morning sun come up. Jim went, took a notepad and came back exuberant and had written the lyrics.
@R W How rude! Jim was a genius his IQ proves that. All his lyrics came from him not drugs.....if drugs cause you to write sic lyrics then I should be a rock star from way back. I'm clean now and my thinking is hella better. You should try it out....Be smart agian!
I don't know this man, but I remember that "Glenn Strange" played the bartender in Gunsmoke. But I remember him...because the name was...well...Strange.
Jim Morrison was incredibly depressed and he arrived at Robbys house near suicidal. Robby suggested they go for a walk and check up the morning sun come up. Jim went, took a notepad and came back exuberant and had written the lyrics.
@Bornaking Ray is mistaken he wasn't there. Just Robby and John. Robby " Yeah. Jim came up to my house in Laurel Canyon one night, and he was in one of his suicidal, downer moods. So John said, “Come on, Jim, we’ll go see the sunset. That’ll get you out of this.” We went up to the top of Laurel Canyon and it was incredibly beautiful-we were looking down on the sun reflecting off the top of the clouds. Jim had a total mood flip-flop, and said, “Wow! Now I know why I felt like that. It’s because if you’re strange, people are strange.” And he wrote the lyrics right there. Then I came up with the music and we went back down the hill."
Bornaking No, the original comment is correct. Densmore tells the story of Jim, being depressed, going to watch the sun either set or rise, and he came back with these lyrics. I actually just heard John tell the story on Pandora.
Jim was a poet, literally, with a voracious appetite for reading(like Neal Peart). The song could have come from anywhere, imagination, observation, personal experiences. Its likely a combination of all those things.
The quote Morrison was referencing is from William Blake: "If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, Infinite."
Serai3 Yep, Blake wrote that in his The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, Huxley used it for his book title, & the Doors named their band after reading Huxley
The Doors were a very talented group of guys that come together to deliver a message to their generation, and yes, this generation can also gleem from their message. Iam a 67 year old soul Brother and I listen to their music some times but I was not into their style of music. I can tell you that if that lead singer wood have survived that era he along with lots of other people would have spill the beans sort a speak. He was definitely on to something and tragically he didn't even know it. He was very cavalier, I admired the cat great singer, writer and musician.
Jim Morrison, a musical icon, suffered from manic depression. He saw things differently during these episodes. He truly felt alone and unwanted and this song expressed those deep feelings.
What he is saying is...The character of an individual is found in hard times...the rain. We tend to accessorize ourselves to appease others, not realizing we are selling ourselves short to placate to THEM. We worry so much about views outside of our own that we lose view of ourselves. When we understand that another's view to our character is alien in nature, only then can we grow from understanding. That makes us STRANGE. When you're strange...no one remembers your name. No one care's about individual thought. You die alone. In the rain...with faces of understanding. One of the deepest songs ever. Dude is Legendary.
agree.... morrison is actually underrated as a lyricist... sparse symbolist who didnt waste words.... they connect to draw a much more layered and transcending theme.
@@zerocool4835 I think the comment was pointing out that Jim Morrison always felt like the outsider, never quite comfortable even in his own skin, never quite at ease. The Doors music is intentionally evocative of just such emotions
In 1974, when I was 10, my family moved from Dayton, OH to Parkersburg, WV. I was strange. "You talk funny". My surname is a Lithuanian name that most people won't try to pronounce & make fun of it when I offer the correct pronunciation plus I was a foot taller than even the tallest boys. This song always evokes that time for me. Now, I appreciate being strange.
I think thats a cover because on there first album they did a couple of covers but obviously The Doors version of everything they covered is the best version of those songs. I said cover to much with what I just said good day.
Morrison was an enigma. I don't think we'll ever know what was running through his head when he wrote the lyrics he wrote. DO check out "When the Music's Over".
Man, he could write some lyrics. Everyone feels strange....like a bad few hours or day or week....but the upbeat music is like a reminder....its a passing thing and you come out of it and sometimes real positivity emerges with you from this darkness. It's timeless. And no coincidence that every generation coming through falls in love with these cats.
The song perfectly describes how it is to be on the autism spectrum. Nobody remembers us, we dont fit in, and woman wont date. We are shunned, because we look normal but not quite. And that makes people freak out and stay away. Even though we have tried to be the ones changing to fit into every aspect of it all. We are the ones trying to be like normal people, and yet, we are not remembered. We do not get a date. And people would rather forget that we excist..... Meh'. The world goes on, and eventually we all, are no more than worm food in the end.
I know the story about how the song "People Are Strange" came about. I either read it in a book or heard it in an interview with one of The Doors members years ago. Apparently Jim Morrison wrote the song in the late summer of 1967, while he was visiting two of his bandmates (John Densmore & Robby Krieger) up in the Hollywood Hills (they had bought a house together). Despite the huge success of Light My Fire and their debut album, Jim was extremely depressed over a woman and wanted to quit the band and possibly end his life. Yes, he was that distraught. His bandmates tried to cheer him up to no avail. Finally he decided to take a walk and when he returned his mood had completely changed. He was ecstatic. He had come up with the lyrics and melody to "People Are Strange." When he sang it to his bandmates, they said they knew instantly that it was going to be a hit. They could hear all of the different musical arrangements in their heads. I thought it was a very interesting story. Probably why I can recall it after so many years.
Thanx Jamal... The Doors have been my favorite group since the 70's ! Jim was a poet first so I wouldn't read much into the lyrics ✌😎 Don't think Jim was never down........ if you get my drift 😉 Request: Moonlight Drive & Touch Me For a great live song.... "Gloria" Break On Through Light My Fire Five To One When The Music's Over Love Her Madly Here are few more Doors classics you should check out !
If you like Great Lyrics.... Check out Ani DeFranco arguably the Best Lyricist of the past 30+ yrs.... She's Basically a Chick with a Guitar. But her lyrics are FRELLING AMAZING. Like there is one song where in the chorus she switches back and forth between "I adore" and "I abhore" you
How much I do love this music, I can't help but always find myself left with sadness of Jim Morrison dying at 27... Almost 50 years ago... I would have wished him more happiness in his life... And a longer life...
jim didnt always write about himself - this song is about feeling alienated and alone, inferior. if you listen to interviews with jim he’s very intelligent and sweet natured
Jimmy Brunson my grandparents met him and they said he was a jerk. Like some pompous celebrity or something. They said the rest of the band members were nice tho
@@nathanhull8302 yeah he was such a great lyricist but he definitely was a jerk. I've watched The Doors movie where Val Kilmer plays Jim Morrison and I finished that thinking that he was totally a dick, but it was a great movie about a great band
He was an extremely introverted person that never seemed to be comfortable with being a celebrity or famous. More of a tortured artist struggling to relate to people then simply a jerk. He was a genius and a heavy drug user, that combination leads one to being brash and unpredictable. I’ve been intrigued by his poetry and song writing for years and have learned to separate his personal flaws from his brilliance.
@@andjustjizzforall Ray Manzarek decried that movie and said if Jim was like that he wouldn't have wanted to know him. I'm sure Jim could probably be a jerk while drunk but that goes for anyone. Overall he was much more intelligent and caring than Oliver Stone portrayed
This song was on their 2nd studio album, STRANGE DAYS, which the band always felt best expressed what THE DOORS were all about. Ironically enough, it sold FEWER copies than any other studio album of theirs. If you watch them onstage, check out Ray Manzarek playing BOTH keyboards AND organ. One with his right hand and the other with his left. Because of this, the Doors didn't need a bass guitarist. They just had drummer John Densmore, guitarist Robby Krieger, Manzarek and Jim Morrison on vocals (occasionally playing a tambourine). But, Manzarek's instrument had one keyboard above the other. Truly AMAZING to watch him play.
awesome and reflective song by the Doors. About the meaning behind the song, this comes from Wiki: "People Are Strange" was composed in early 1967. Doors' drummer John Densmore recalled the songwriting process in his book "Riders on the Storm": he and Doors guitarist Robby Krieger, who had then been roommates, were visited by Jim Morrison, who appeared to be "deeply depressed". At Krieger's suggestion, they took a walk along Laurel Canyon in the Hollywood Hills area of Los Angeles. Morrison returned from the walk "euphoric" with the early lyrics of "People Are Strange".Intrigued by the new lyrics, Krieger was convinced that the song was a hit upon hearing the vocal melody: [Morrison said] 'Yeah, I feel really good about this one. It just came to me all of a sudden ... in a flash - as I was sitting up there on the ridge looking out over the city. His eyes were wild with excitement. 'I scribbled it down as fast as I could. It felt great to be writing again.' He looked down at the crumpled paper in his hand and sang the chorus in his haunting blues voice.
Morrison's baritone is exquisite!! Jim Morrison was a poet as well as a songsmith. You have to bear that in mind when you listen to his lyrics...otherwise they might not make sense. Like your studio, Jamel !!!
When Jamal calls people from all walks of life like Jim Morrison "Brother", it touches my Wife's Heart because to her it means all of Humanity is "One Family". To me it coincides with the meaning of The Allman Brothers' album called "Brothers and Sisters", which says it all. So, we thank you deeply Jamal. Keep up the wonderful, "Wall Tearing Down" work!
Jim Morrison wrote these lyrics on the back of a matchbook cover. He was depressed & on the advice of Robby Krieger, went to Laurel Canyon & was happy again after he wrote those lyrics.
They're some choice Doors songs. I love Shaman's Blues, the best. Better than all the rest. Think I'll go listen to Hyacinth House, now. Haven't heard it in ages.
In early 1967, Jim Morrison was exhibiting symptoms of depression. Guitarist Robby Krieger, suggested they hike to Laurel Canyon to watch the sunset, at which time Morrison came up with the lyrics for “People Are Strange,” a song about alienation.
this lyrics gets me every time People are strange When you're a stranger Faces look ugly When you're alone Women seem wicked When you're unwanted Streets are uneven When you're down
Sadly, I was a toddler. I have always wished I could have seen them in concert. I have a vague memory of them on tv singing Light My Fire. Love their music. Trivia here. David Pack formerly of Ambrosia did a project in Napa Valley and Ray Manzerak contributed to it. He died shortly afterwards. It was his last musical project.
Morrison was an army brat who was always moving from school to school as a kid. I'd bet that played into writing these lyrics just a tad... That's a Slumdog Millionaire fact that I only know because a girl I went to high school with was a HUGE Jim Morrison fan, and she knew this because her mother had actually gone to school with him for a year- she told the story one day when she brought in mom's yearbook and was showing it around.
If your dad's job involves moving every two or three years, you would feel the mental strain of having to give up your old friends and make new friends over and over quite deeply.
Jim Morrison came up with some lyrics for this song during a walk with Robby Krieger to Laurel Canyon. They went there because Morrison felt depressed that day, came to Krieger's place, and they decided to watch the sunset in the canyon.
I was in the movie Break on Thru: Celebration of Ray Manzarek, and in the movie, Ray said Jim - the vocalist sometimes got these depressive moments in his life, when he though everything was bad and he's useless so one day Ray took him somewhere beautiful and if I remember correctly, told him that people and surroundings are only strange if you make them to be like that, Jim really felt that and wrote this song at that moment on a piece of paper
Absolutely love this song.....keep in mind they write songs for others to also relate too when they are also going through it...just being alone down and out
JIM MORRISON WAS A LYRICAL GENIUS!! A RARE TALENT/TORMENTED SOUL. HE WROTE SOME OF THE DEEPEST,INTROSPECTIVE AND ABSTRACT LYRICS. REGARDLESS, GENIUS IS NEVER APPRECIATED OR UNDERSTOOD UNTIL IT'S TOO LATE.
Jim Morrison was depressed, and he and had come to visit John Densmore and Robbie Kreiger. They took a walk along Laurel Canyon, and at some point Morrison’s spirits were lifted and he and Kreiger wrote the song. Tribute was given to each Door member though. This is paraphrased from John Densmore’s account, excerpted from his book, from Wikipedia.
It’s really a simple straightforward ditty about feeling lonely. He was one of those who, although talented, was dismissed by some as an oddball. He felt alienation and sang about it. A lot of Jim’s words were not so much meant to be interpreted, but felt. The man also liked to keep us guessing. That’s what poets do.
Morrison’s voice was never more lovely and exquisite than on “Spy in the House of Love,” “Crystal Ship (which is about a relationship breakup in the face of impending musical success, not about drugs), and especially the second part of “Peace Frog/Blue Sunday.”
I am a singer songwriter for over fifty years. Played out on stage most of that time. I came to learn that you can never really guess what a songwriter has written about. Unless you get the answer directly from the artist, we are wrong most of the time. Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds comes to mind.
This is from their second album, "Strange Days," which is my favorite of their albums. There are several good songs on it, and I wonder what you'd think of "My Eyes Have Seen You."
JM was the classical definition of a manic depressive- extremely artistic, lived in his head, and emotions cartwheeled from up to down at the extreme spectrum. Plus add in he was a brilliant genius, and on heavy drugs & alcohol. I'm an artist, I understand this, although not this extreme. Manic depressives often lead short but brilliant lives that flare out AKA Vincent Van Gogh
JAMES BLUNT - "THE GREATEST" I highly recommend this song. It's about this virus thing we're going through right now. He's so underrated. This song should be globally no1
Jim Morrison had an extremely high I Q... Most of his songs and poetry are sad and obscure. Women loved him!!! He was a sad guy and had major drug and alcohol problems. He went to college for film. ALOT of people were cruel to him about his films so he quit school. His work including his songs and poetry were way ahead of his time.He is a Legend. He sadly belongs to the 27 club.
He was popping acid on the daily for a while... I doubt this is from “high paranoia”. Specially cannabis high... It’s more of how society gives prejudice looks to people that act “differently” or “weird” or... you know “strange”. Like said before it’s poetry but of course you can only see the top layer of it all.
Work on your skills, have some money for dates (not even a crazy amount, just some meals or festicals or the like here and there), take decent care of your body, and don't be desperate, maintain cool confidence (but not to point of being emotionless). Boom! Now you should be able to find a nice date, and if that one doesn't last? Who cares, there are many more, and one will fit right with ya 😁
@@jimmybrunson2553 It can be both. I tripped a LOT back in the day and the worst thing to do was be alone and especially looking at yourself in a mirror.
@@Davidsword He did have some art projects people didn't seem to understand. Maybe people isolated him a bit 🤔 Could be the isolation of fame where no one is real around you
@@menwithven8114 i disagree. I always thought trippin alone got you deeper inside your own head. Trippin with people is alot more fun though. Different trips. I used to love dropping a couple and going to sleep and setting my alarm for about 2 hours later. Waking up trippin is crazy. I never really dove that deep into any Doors lyrics cuz who the hell knows.... but this one always reminded me of trippin alone.
@@rosshixon6796 sometimes being alone inside your own head (specifically while tripping) is the bleakest place to be. Especially when you have mental illness. I speak from experience.
The band got their name from from one of the 20th century's greatest thinkers, the writer Aldous Huxley and his book The Doors of Perception. With Orwell easily the 2 greatest dystopian novel writers of the 20th century.
Jim had a way of painting metaphoric pictures w/ his music. He had some great musicians playing w/ him. 2 I know of are the blues guy Lonnie Mack who he mentions in a song. The other was a bass guitarist Jerry Scheff who was in Elvis Presley's tour group in the 70s.
Jim Morrison always looked high whenever he was on TV! I don’t know if it was the drugs or depression but the man definitely was fighting something. This is my favorite song of his. Such a loss when he died so young! 😪❤️🎵
He had left a party at Andy Warhol's early morning in New York and the people on the street were not so friendly...found it all rather strange..thanx for taking our minds off all this chaos for a few minutes- it really does mean alot - the best things in life are usually the smallest. 🙂
He was deptessed, and alcohol made it worse. He had a difficult childhood with his father, who was a military officer, and Jim was so intelligent, he was a poet and it was his keyboardist, Ray Manzarek, who put music to the poetry. Jim was such an introvert that for the first few months, his gigs were all sung with his back to the audience, then when he was finally facing the audience, his eyes were closed. Jim, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix all died within a few months of each other and were all close to the same age. The book "No One Gets Out Alive" is a biography of his life and death, though some speculate that he might not have really died, since only his girlfriend, Pamela and the coroner in Paris saw his body. I _think_ that the movie "Eddie & the Cruisers" was loosely based on that speculation.
This poem talks about "freedom"; Solitude generates independence, being free makes you strange to the world...greetings brother from Guanaqueros; Chili.
It goes a little deeper than that: Morrison was into the philosophy and art that was part of the counter culture and was pretty well read. One of his favourite sources was Albert Camus' 1942 novel "L'etranger" (The Stranger) which is considered a literary cornerstone in the absurdist/existentialist philosophy, and has been used as a reference in countless pop cultural products. "People are strange" is one of several The Doors tunes that in various ways spin off of the elements in this philosophy. These elements also happen to mesh with both the counter culture clashing with traditional values in the US, the use of psychedelics, as well as Morrison's feeling of being lost or misplaced. On a side note, I remember what houses and streets and people looked like when I was lost and homeless, and they were not nice. I can recommend the book. Though the subject matter is deep once you start digging, it's neither boring nor hard to read.
I always took it as a bluesy thing....when you're new in town, and things aren't familiar, you are unsettled. But the place isn't strange....you are....you are what's different
Ed Sullivan told the Doors not to use the word in Light My Fire. Jim used the word and Ed S. said he would never have them on again. Jim Morrison was a poet in college.
So if you like how amazing it is to watch a group like Rush, then you will lover watching Stanley Jordan. He is a guitarist who uses a finger-tap technique. His first album, back in the 80s, was a huge hit on the jazz charts. His cover of Stairway to Heaven is amazing to watch, and was in the top ten of the jazz charts. In the live video, he is using two guitars at the same time, playing with separate hands. He played himself in a cameo in Bruce Willis first movie, blind date. He has gone on to be one of the premiere jazz guitarists over the last 40 years.
Jim Morrison was depressed. He went to Robby Krieger's house, they went to a canyon to watch a sunset, at which time Jim realized he was depressed because "if you're strange, people are strange." He then wrote the rest of the lyrics, which are about feeling alienated. Krieger, The Doors' guitarist, wrote the music. He did his guitar solo in one take.
"Streets are uneven, when your down. " Wow! That just resonated with me even tho ive known this song for 20 years. I never paid much mind to that part, but it's deep.
Jim Morrison had a unusual voice for a rock star, compared to the others in the 60's. It was almost like a coroner's voice, rich and smooth. Another singer with a sublime voice who became famous in that period and (thankfully) continued to work up to his death last year was SCOTT WALKER. I think you might appreciate some of his songs, seeing as you're open minded and have good taste! It's Raining Today, Rosemary, The Old Man's Back Again, Farmer in The City for example.
![MISSING: SLIM SHADY [Expanded Mourner’s Edition Trailer]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/xh8qgHrOO1g/mqdefault.jpg)
I can never hear this song without thinking of the movie The Lost Boys
It's too bad they didn't use this but a cover version.
Me too.. It was featured in the movie 😊
I was just thinking the same thing. I mean until The Doors movie came out.
Richard_N haha oh my gosh same!! Never think of anything else lol
Though the Echo and the Bunnymen cover is excellent.
"People Are Strange" was composed in early 1967. Doors' drummer John Densmore recalled the songwriting process in his book "Riders on the Storm" he and Doors guitarist Robby Krieger, who had then been roommates, were visited by Jim Morrison, who appeared to be "deeply depressed". At Krieger's suggestion, they took a walk along Laurel Canyon in the Hollywood Hills area of Los Angeles. Morrison returned from the walk "euphoric" with the early lyrics of "People Are Strange". Intrigued by the new lyrics, Krieger was convinced that the song was a hit upon hearing the vocal melody:
[Morrison said] 'Yeah, I feel really good about this one. It just came to me all of a sudden ... in a flash - as I was sitting up there on the ridge looking out over the city. His eyes were wild with excitement. 'I scribbled it down as fast as I could. It felt great to be writing again.' He looked down at the crumpled paper in his hand and sang the chorus in his haunting blues voice.
- John Densmore
Wow
Really good book isn't it
Exactly. Morrison was not only a poetic genius...but he also suffered from manic depression. He was also a pretty heavy drinker...and experimented with narcotics.
At 62 years old....I do remember The Doors, especially how unique his music was and how the lyrics to a lot of his song's were pretty deep. I also remember how many times he got in trouble with local Law Enforcement during his concerts, and how he pissed off Ed Sullivan when he had The Doors on his show.
Too bad he died so young....
@@larryd4352 Set up.
Yeah. That's what I heard and read about it. So Jim wrote it immediately after a bout of depression and in a very Happy state of mind. Genius.
If you're trying to figure out where Jim Morrison's head space was when he wrote this songs.... good luck. Just enjoy the offered beauty.
Jim was incredibly depressed and he arrived at Robbys house near suicidal.
Robby suggested they go for a walk and check up the morning sun come up.
Jim went, took a notepad and came back exuberant and had written the lyrics.
I love me some tylenol!
@R W How rude! Jim was a genius his IQ proves that. All his lyrics came from him not drugs.....if drugs cause you to write sic lyrics then I should be a rock star from way back. I'm clean now and my thinking is hella better. You should try it out....Be smart agian!
Lol
@@twomindz79 you just completely made that up! Absolutely no basis for that whatsoever!
You will reply that I read this, read that. Nonsense.
"When you're strange no one remembers your name..." I knew a guy whose last name was Strange. Fifty years later, I remember his name.
Danny McCune, Brilliant!!
I don't know this man, but I remember that "Glenn Strange" played the bartender in Gunsmoke. But I remember him...because the name was...well...Strange.
Also know a guy name John strange he passed away I still remember his name as well
Jim Morrison was incredibly depressed and he arrived at Robbys house near suicidal.
Robby suggested they go for a walk and check up the morning sun come up.
Jim went, took a notepad and came back exuberant and had written the lyrics.
REAlly
@Bornaking Ray is mistaken he wasn't there. Just Robby and John.
Robby "
Yeah. Jim came up to my house in Laurel Canyon one night, and he was in one of his suicidal, downer moods. So John said, “Come on, Jim, we’ll go see the sunset. That’ll get you out of this.” We went up to the top of Laurel Canyon and it was incredibly beautiful-we were looking down on the sun reflecting off the top of the clouds. Jim had a total mood flip-flop, and said, “Wow! Now I know why I felt like that. It’s because if you’re strange, people are strange.” And he wrote the lyrics right there. Then I came up with the music and we went back down the hill."
Bornaking No, the original comment is correct. Densmore tells the story of Jim, being depressed, going to watch the sun either set or rise, and he came back with these lyrics. I actually just heard John tell the story on Pandora.
@@Meyzen76 yeah true . I first heard the story when he wrote ' riders on the storm ' ( the book ) in the 80's.
Yep... he was high on acid too
I just can't understand why people haven't yet done When the Music's Over. It's a fucking work of ART.
"When the Music's Over" is a 10 minute Masterpiece! Get it done Jamal!
been waiting for people to do when the musics over. They all shine on that one, but especially the drums.
Even the live version is amazing, his scream is legendary.
Art Meddaugh the absolutely Live version is over 15 minutes if I’m not mistaken
Gotta add Soft Parade to the list!!
Bonita Tanner you know what’s up
Riders on the Storm is my favorite Doors song, but this is a goodie too. Jim was a true poet at writing lyrics. Thanks for doing this one. ✌🏻
Jim was a poet, literally, with a voracious appetite for reading(like Neal Peart). The song could have come from anywhere, imagination, observation, personal experiences. Its likely a combination of all those things.
Okay
Odd fact- Jim Morrison in his early years could not perform in front of a live crowd so he performed with his back to the crowd
source?
@@andreasstahl2614 Jim Morrison. He was painfully shy. It took years for him to build his confidence.
The Doors named their group after the classic psychedelic tome “The Doors of Perception” by Aldous Huxley.
I have that book
Who tried psylocibe
The quote Morrison was referencing is from William Blake: "If the doors of perception were cleansed every thing would appear to man as it is, Infinite."
Serai3 Yep, Blake wrote that in his The Marriage of Heaven and Hell, Huxley used it for his book title, & the Doors named their band after reading Huxley
The Doors were a very talented group of guys that come together to deliver a message to their generation, and yes, this generation can also gleem from their message. Iam a 67 year old soul Brother and I listen to their music some times but I was not into their style of music. I can tell you that if that lead singer wood have survived that era he along with lots of other people would have spill the beans sort a speak. He was definitely on to something and tragically he didn't even know it. He was very cavalier, I admired the cat great singer, writer and musician.
Jim Morrison, a musical icon, suffered from manic depression. He saw things differently during these episodes. He truly felt alone and unwanted and this song expressed those deep feelings.
Yes, was going to comment that he was classic bipolar - great creative manic highs, and then deep dark depressions. So sad.
What he is saying is...The character of an individual is found in hard times...the rain. We tend to accessorize ourselves to appease others, not realizing we are selling ourselves short to placate to THEM. We worry so much about views outside of our own that we lose view of ourselves. When we understand that another's view to our character is alien in nature, only then can we grow from understanding. That makes us STRANGE. When you're strange...no one remembers your name. No one care's about individual thought. You die alone. In the rain...with faces of understanding. One of the deepest songs ever. Dude is Legendary.
agree.... morrison is actually underrated as a lyricist... sparse symbolist who didnt waste words.... they connect to draw a much more layered and transcending theme.
I think Morrison was just describing an outsider's worldview. Life is a little weird when you're "strange."
Yea like down on your luck or no family at all left.. Would make you feel like a 100% stranger weirdo outcast ect.
@@zerocool4835 I think the comment was pointing out that Jim Morrison always felt like the outsider, never quite comfortable even in his own skin, never quite at ease. The Doors music is intentionally evocative of just such emotions
1980, freshman in college, the herb's afire, this song wafting through the breezes through big ass 70's headphones. THAT was a generation!!!
"The Crystal Ship" from The Doors. Same album. Orgasmic!
Sally Schramm-Block different album - their debut. This is their 2nd. Bit great just the same 🤪
@@bapples Thanks!
AWESOME song..... 🤘
Just in case you wondered where the nickname for the RV in "Breaking Bad" came from. LOL
The Crystal Ship is from their first album, this is from their second, Strange Days.
In 1974, when I was 10, my family moved from Dayton, OH to Parkersburg, WV. I was strange. "You talk funny". My surname is a Lithuanian name that most people won't try to pronounce & make fun of it when I offer the correct pronunciation plus I was a foot taller than even the tallest boys. This song always evokes that time for me. Now, I appreciate being strange.
"Strange Days", "When the Music's Over", and "Moonlight Drive" are musts from their second album, called Strange Days! Hit it Jamal!
Strange Days (the album) is a gloomy journey into the mind of somebody teetering on the edge. Horse Latitudes is bonkers!
I keep asking for Not to touch the Earth, that’s a trip.
@@andreshernandez1180 For sure!
@@andreshernandez1180 gotta have the whole tour de force though i would think. on the live from new york album its 4 tracks but really 1 song
Jim was not just a great Singer, Performer and could write awesome Songs. He was a real Poet.
I highly recommend “Love Me Two Times” by the Doors. My personal favorite of theirs.
I love the live version in black and white, with the Texas Radio intro!!
I think thats a cover because on there first album they did a couple of covers but obviously The Doors version of everything they covered is the best version of those songs. I said cover to much with what I just said good day.
Mine is Tell All the People
Morrison was an enigma. I don't think we'll ever know what was running through his head when he wrote the lyrics he wrote. DO check out "When the Music's Over".
“Strange Days” is another great Doors song: highly recommend
Also Crystal ship
Man, he could write some lyrics. Everyone feels strange....like a bad few hours or day or week....but the upbeat music is like a reminder....its a passing thing and you come out of it and sometimes real positivity emerges with you from this darkness. It's timeless. And no coincidence that every generation coming through falls in love with these cats.
The song perfectly describes how it is to be on the autism spectrum. Nobody remembers us, we dont fit in, and woman wont date. We are shunned, because we look normal but not quite. And that makes people freak out and stay away. Even though we have tried to be the ones changing to fit into every aspect of it all. We are the ones trying to be like normal people, and yet, we are not remembered. We do not get a date. And people would rather forget that we excist..... Meh'. The world goes on, and eventually we all, are no more than worm food in the end.
I'm glad you make these videos. Makes me feel not so alone when I listen to music
Very true
I know the story about how the song "People Are Strange" came about. I either read it in a book or heard it in an interview with one of The Doors members years ago. Apparently Jim Morrison wrote the song in the late summer of 1967, while he was visiting two of his bandmates (John Densmore & Robby Krieger) up in the Hollywood Hills (they had bought a house together). Despite the huge success of Light My Fire and their debut album, Jim was extremely depressed over a woman and wanted to quit the band and possibly end his life. Yes, he was that distraught. His bandmates tried to cheer him up to no avail. Finally he decided to take a walk and when he returned his mood had completely changed. He was ecstatic. He had come up with the lyrics and melody to "People Are Strange." When he sang it to his bandmates, they said they knew instantly that it was going to be a hit. They could hear all of the different musical arrangements in their heads. I thought it was a very interesting story. Probably why I can recall it after so many years.
Thanx Jamal... The Doors have been my favorite group since the 70's !
Jim was a poet first so I wouldn't read much into the lyrics ✌😎
Don't think Jim was never down........
if you get my drift 😉
Request: Moonlight Drive & Touch Me
For a great live song.... "Gloria"
Break On Through
Light My Fire
Five To One
When The Music's Over
Love Her Madly
Here are few more Doors classics you should check out !
If you like Great Lyrics.... Check out Ani DeFranco arguably the Best Lyricist of the past 30+ yrs....
She's Basically a Chick with a Guitar. But her lyrics are FRELLING AMAZING.
Like there is one song where in the chorus she switches back and forth between "I adore" and "I abhore" you
How much I do love this music, I can't help but always find myself left with sadness of Jim Morrison dying at 27... Almost 50 years ago... I would have wished him more happiness in his life... And a longer life...
jim didnt always write about himself - this song is about feeling alienated and alone, inferior. if you listen to interviews with jim he’s very intelligent and sweet natured
Jimmy Brunson my grandparents met him and they said he was a jerk. Like some pompous celebrity or something. They said the rest of the band members were nice tho
@@nathanhull8302 yeah he was such a great lyricist but he definitely was a jerk. I've watched The Doors movie where Val Kilmer plays Jim Morrison and I finished that thinking that he was totally a dick, but it was a great movie about a great band
He was an extremely introverted person that never seemed to be comfortable with being a celebrity or famous. More of a tortured artist struggling to relate to people then simply a jerk. He was a genius and a heavy drug user, that combination leads one to being brash and unpredictable. I’ve been intrigued by his poetry and song writing for years and have learned to separate his personal flaws from his brilliance.
@@andjustjizzforall Ray Manzarek decried that movie and said if Jim was like that he wouldn't have wanted to know him. I'm sure Jim could probably be a jerk while drunk but that goes for anyone. Overall he was much more intelligent and caring than Oliver Stone portrayed
@@jro3213 Yeah that makes sense I guess. It's just strange that they made him out to be such an asshole even though everyone loves him
This song was on their 2nd studio album, STRANGE DAYS, which the band always felt best expressed what THE DOORS were all about. Ironically enough, it sold FEWER copies than any other studio album of theirs.
If you watch them onstage, check out Ray Manzarek playing BOTH keyboards AND organ. One with his right hand and the other with his left. Because of this, the Doors didn't need a bass guitarist. They just had drummer John Densmore, guitarist Robby Krieger, Manzarek and Jim Morrison on vocals (occasionally playing a tambourine). But, Manzarek's instrument had one keyboard above the other. Truly AMAZING to watch him play.
You will love the bass line to Peace Frog. No way you can sit still through that funk!
He’ll just try to understand and find meaning to the lyrics and forget about the music
awesome and reflective song by the Doors. About the meaning behind the song, this comes from Wiki: "People Are Strange" was composed in early 1967. Doors' drummer John Densmore recalled the songwriting process in his book "Riders on the Storm": he and Doors guitarist Robby Krieger, who had then been roommates, were visited by Jim Morrison, who appeared to be "deeply depressed". At Krieger's suggestion, they took a walk along Laurel Canyon in the Hollywood Hills area of Los Angeles. Morrison returned from the walk "euphoric" with the early lyrics of "People Are Strange".Intrigued by the new lyrics, Krieger was convinced that the song was a hit upon hearing the vocal melody:
[Morrison said] 'Yeah, I feel really good about this one. It just came to me all of a sudden ... in a flash - as I was sitting up there on the ridge looking out over the city. His eyes were wild with excitement. 'I scribbled it down as fast as I could. It felt great to be writing again.' He looked down at the crumpled paper in his hand and sang the chorus in his haunting blues voice.
Peace Frog and Maggie M'Gill from their album Morrison Hotel.
YES!!! Peace Frog !!! It has such a funky sound. I love love that song.
Morrison's baritone is exquisite!! Jim Morrison was a poet as well as a songsmith. You have to bear that in mind when you listen to his lyrics...otherwise they might not make sense. Like your studio, Jamel !!!
When Jamal calls people from all walks of life like Jim Morrison "Brother", it touches my Wife's Heart because to her it means all of Humanity is "One Family". To me it coincides with the meaning of The Allman Brothers' album called "Brothers and Sisters", which says it all. So, we thank you deeply Jamal. Keep up the wonderful, "Wall Tearing Down" work!
Hey, man, when you cut me, I bleed red. I'll bet you do too. So we're all the same on the inside then, aren't we?
Jim Morrison wrote these lyrics on the back of a matchbook cover. He was depressed & on the advice of Robby Krieger, went to Laurel Canyon & was happy again after he wrote those lyrics.
Waiting for the Sun is a great one from The Doors. I’d also recommend Hyacinth House, Spanish Caravan, and Peace Frog.
They're some choice Doors songs. I love Shaman's Blues, the best. Better than all the rest.
Think I'll go listen to Hyacinth House, now. Haven't heard it in ages.
In early 1967, Jim Morrison was exhibiting symptoms of depression. Guitarist Robby Krieger, suggested they hike to Laurel Canyon to watch the sunset, at which time Morrison came up with the lyrics for “People Are Strange,” a song about alienation.
this lyrics gets me every time
People are strange
When you're a stranger
Faces look ugly
When you're alone
Women seem wicked
When you're unwanted
Streets are uneven
When you're down
Have you done "Paint it Black" by the Rolling Stones?
Sadly, I was a toddler. I have always wished I could have seen them in concert. I have a vague memory of them on tv singing Light My Fire. Love their music. Trivia here. David Pack formerly of Ambrosia did a project in Napa Valley and Ray Manzerak contributed to it. He died shortly afterwards. It was his last musical project.
Morrison was an army brat who was always moving from school to school as a kid. I'd bet that played into writing these lyrics just a tad...
That's a Slumdog Millionaire fact that I only know because a girl I went to high school with was a HUGE Jim Morrison fan, and she knew this because her mother had actually gone to school with him for a year- she told the story one day when she brought in mom's yearbook and was showing it around.
If your dad's job involves moving every two or three years, you would feel the mental strain of having to give up your old friends and make new friends over and over quite deeply.
The Doors. Dark. Hypnotic. Groovy. He touched a very lot of people who had such darkness inside, and made it ok.
The Changeling and Love Street!!!
Jim Morrison came up with some lyrics for this song during a walk with Robby Krieger to Laurel Canyon. They went there because Morrison felt depressed that day, came to Krieger's place, and they decided to watch the sunset in the canyon.
My favorite Doors song. Makes me want to watch The Lost Boys.
I was in the movie Break on Thru: Celebration of Ray Manzarek, and in the movie, Ray said Jim - the vocalist sometimes got these depressive moments in his life, when he though everything was bad and he's useless so one day Ray took him somewhere beautiful and if I remember correctly, told him that people and surroundings are only strange if you make them to be like that, Jim really felt that and wrote this song at that moment on a piece of paper
Absolutely love this song.....keep in mind they write songs for others to also relate too when they are also going through it...just being alone down and out
JIM MORRISON WAS A LYRICAL GENIUS!! A RARE TALENT/TORMENTED SOUL. HE WROTE SOME OF THE DEEPEST,INTROSPECTIVE AND ABSTRACT LYRICS. REGARDLESS, GENIUS IS NEVER APPRECIATED OR UNDERSTOOD UNTIL IT'S TOO LATE.
“This is the end, beautiful friend.”
This is the end, my only friend, the end.
Jim Morrison was depressed, and he and had come to visit John Densmore and Robbie Kreiger. They took a walk along Laurel Canyon, and at some point Morrison’s spirits were lifted and he and Kreiger wrote the song. Tribute was given to each Door member though. This is paraphrased from John Densmore’s account, excerpted from his book, from Wikipedia.
You would love:
Love Her Madly
Touch Me
Break On Through
I agree 💯%
@@johnm.7849 thank you so very much
Those are 3 excellent suggestions. I was going to recommend "Love Her Madly" myself, but you beat me to it.
@@otisdylan9532 I beg you for your forgiveness...lol!!!!
Excellent suggestions!
It’s really a simple straightforward ditty about feeling lonely. He was one of those who, although talented, was dismissed by some as an oddball. He felt alienation and sang about it. A lot of Jim’s words were not so much meant to be interpreted, but felt. The man also liked to keep us guessing. That’s what poets do.
Actually, one of my favorite Doors tunes. Long time back.
Morrison’s voice was never more lovely and exquisite than on “Spy in the House of Love,” “Crystal Ship (which is about a relationship breakup in the face of impending musical success, not about drugs), and especially the second part of “Peace Frog/Blue Sunday.”
Gotta listen to The Soft Parade by the Doors. It’s like 3 songs in one. Quite a journey.
My favorite album
I agree.
The live PBS broadcast version.
erokraider Yes! That's the best one. 🤘
The Soft Parade will take you on a journey. “You cannot petition the Lord with prayer”.
I am a singer songwriter for over fifty years. Played out on stage most of that time. I came to learn that you can never really guess what a songwriter has written about. Unless you get the answer directly from the artist, we are wrong most of the time.
Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds comes to mind.
This is from their second album, "Strange Days," which is my favorite of their albums. There are several good songs on it, and I wonder what you'd think of "My Eyes Have Seen You."
JM was the classical definition of a manic depressive- extremely artistic, lived in his head, and emotions cartwheeled from up to down at the extreme spectrum. Plus add in he was a brilliant genius, and on heavy drugs & alcohol. I'm an artist, I understand this, although not this extreme. Manic depressives often lead short but brilliant lives that flare out AKA Vincent Van Gogh
The song isn't about depression. He's tripping and when you trip you realize how fake and unreal people actually are
James Lee a cynical persons theme song 😂. People are fake
Psychedelics Truly show you the world for what it actually is, not the perception of reality. We go through life with blinders on
Exactly. Thank you
I believe this comment more then any of the others. Def tripping.
Yep you defently have a different optical outlook it's like you see in a different dimension when tripping not that I'd know 😉
JAMES BLUNT - "THE GREATEST"
I highly recommend this song. It's about this virus thing we're going through right now. He's so underrated. This song should be globally no1
Great song by a great band. such a shame that Jim entered that 27 years old club...
This could of course relate to being a little paranoid when you’re high. Not necessarily real deep!
Jim Morrison had an extremely high I Q... Most of his songs and poetry are sad and obscure. Women loved him!!! He was a sad guy and had major drug and alcohol problems. He went to college for film. ALOT of people were cruel to him about his films so he quit school. His work including his songs and poetry were way ahead of his time.He is a Legend.
He sadly belongs to the 27 club.
You nailed it precisely! That is exactly it. Cannabis induced paranoia.
He was popping acid on the daily for a while... I doubt this is from “high paranoia”. Specially cannabis high...
It’s more of how society gives prejudice looks to people that act “differently” or “weird” or... you know “strange”. Like said before it’s poetry but of course you can only see the top layer of it all.
"Women seem wicked when you're unwanted" that describes my thought pattern.
Ain't it just
Work on your skills, have some money for dates (not even a crazy amount, just some meals or festicals or the like here and there), take decent care of your body, and don't be desperate, maintain cool confidence (but not to point of being emotionless). Boom! Now you should be able to find a nice date, and if that one doesn't last? Who cares, there are many more, and one will fit right with ya 😁
It do be feelin' that way tho
Boy, that lyric rang like a bell when I was single. LOL
@@McHobotheBobo after spending most of life alone it's tough not really believing those lyrics.
We are all Strange,in our own way... That's what makes us Human... Always be You!🙏👍🎶🎼🎵 Different Colors of the 🌈 Makes us who we are!!
I think this song is highly influenced by Jim Morrisons use of certain drugs, especially hallucinogenics...
Carol Hartung i dont think so - seems just about alienation
@@jimmybrunson2553 It can be both. I tripped a LOT back in the day and the worst thing to do was be alone and especially looking at yourself in a mirror.
@@Davidsword He did have some art projects people didn't seem to understand. Maybe people isolated him a bit 🤔
Could be the isolation of fame where no one is real around you
@@menwithven8114 i disagree. I always thought trippin alone got you deeper inside your own head. Trippin with people is alot more fun though. Different trips. I used to love dropping a couple and going to sleep and setting my alarm for about 2 hours later. Waking up trippin is crazy. I never really dove that deep into any Doors lyrics cuz who the hell knows.... but this one always reminded me of trippin alone.
@@rosshixon6796 sometimes being alone inside your own head (specifically while tripping) is the bleakest place to be. Especially when you have mental illness. I speak from experience.
The band got their name from from one of the 20th century's greatest thinkers, the writer Aldous Huxley and his book The Doors of Perception. With Orwell easily the 2 greatest dystopian novel writers of the 20th century.
Have to do a reaction to Peace Frog by The Doors. It is an especially funky track from them, stank face will be activated for sure!
sbunc92 peace frog is my favourite song. Dark deathly lyrics but you can dance to it.😆
YES!!
...but only if he runs it all the way thru "Blue Sunday"! 👍😀
Jim had a way of painting metaphoric pictures w/ his music. He had some great musicians playing w/ him. 2 I know of are the blues guy Lonnie Mack who he mentions in a song. The other was a bass guitarist Jerry Scheff who was in Elvis Presley's tour group in the 70s.
Morrison was the proto-goth rocker. On a lighter note, check out Soul Kitchen & Spanish Caravan.
Jim Morrison always looked high whenever he was on TV! I don’t know if it was the drugs or depression but the man definitely was fighting something. This is my favorite song of his. Such a loss when he died so young! 😪❤️🎵
Check out “Peace Frog” by The Doors next! Awesome video as always.
He had left a party at Andy Warhol's early morning in New York and the people on the street were not so friendly...found it all rather strange..thanx for taking our minds off all this chaos for a few minutes- it really does mean alot - the best things in life are usually the smallest. 🙂
Crystal Ship The Doors
It’s amazing
Yes ,Great Tune My fave was Peace Frog.
He was deptessed, and alcohol made it worse. He had a difficult childhood with his father, who was a military officer, and Jim was so intelligent, he was a poet and it was his keyboardist, Ray Manzarek, who put music to the poetry. Jim was such an introvert that for the first few months, his gigs were all sung with his back to the audience, then when he was finally facing the audience, his eyes were closed. Jim, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix all died within a few months of each other and were all close to the same age. The book "No One Gets Out Alive" is a biography of his life and death, though some speculate that he might not have really died, since only his girlfriend, Pamela and the coroner in Paris saw his body.
I _think_ that the movie "Eddie & the Cruisers" was loosely based on that speculation.
"When the music's over" should be next! :)
This poem talks about "freedom"; Solitude generates independence, being free makes you strange to the world...greetings brother from Guanaqueros; Chili.
Please react to “Light My Fire” by The Doors, if you haven’t already. It was one of their biggest hits. Thank you.
It's got that Lonely-People-in-a-Pub-United-By-Their-Loneliness singalong feel.
Jim Morrison was a theater student. He plays characters.
They were all dropping acid at this time. Not sure what was in his head.
It goes a little deeper than that: Morrison was into the philosophy and art that was part of the counter culture and was pretty well read. One of his favourite sources was Albert Camus' 1942 novel "L'etranger" (The Stranger) which is considered a literary cornerstone in the absurdist/existentialist philosophy, and has been used as a reference in countless pop cultural products. "People are strange" is one of several The Doors tunes that in various ways spin off of the elements in this philosophy. These elements also happen to mesh with both the counter culture clashing with traditional values in the US, the use of psychedelics, as well as Morrison's feeling of being lost or misplaced.
On a side note, I remember what houses and streets and people looked like when I was lost and homeless, and they were not nice. I can recommend the book. Though the subject matter is deep once you start digging, it's neither boring nor hard to read.
New day- same request- Stones - Can’t you hear me knocking!!!!!!
My favorite RS song all time.
YASS
Also my favorite RS song, that and Monkey Man, just dirty dirty sound to them. So bad ass!!
I always took it as a bluesy thing....when you're new in town, and things aren't familiar, you are unsettled. But the place isn't strange....you are....you are what's different
The Doors - Waiting for the Sun (the song, not the album) ✌
Yes it is one of my all time favorites by them
The Doors, probably my favorite American band. Many great songs. Light My Fire might be their most well known song.
Jamel you gotta do Long Distance Runaround by Yes their songs are so trippy and good and would be right up your alley!!!
It helps to remember the times we were living through when he wrote this. People looked at all of us hippies as aliens...very common.
“Light My Fire”-The Doors
Ed Sullivan told the Doors not to use the word in Light My Fire. Jim used the word and Ed S. said he would never have them on again. Jim Morrison was a poet in college.
So if you like how amazing it is to watch a group like Rush, then you will lover watching Stanley Jordan. He is a guitarist who uses a finger-tap technique. His first album, back in the 80s, was a huge hit on the jazz charts. His cover of Stairway to Heaven is amazing to watch, and was in the top ten of the jazz charts. In the live video, he is using two guitars at the same time, playing with separate hands.
He played himself in a cameo in Bruce Willis first movie, blind date.
He has gone on to be one of the premiere jazz guitarists over the last 40 years.
As a kid Jim Morrison was overweight and considered “ugly”. He sure knew the feeling of being down and getting rejected.
Jim Morrison was depressed. He went to Robby Krieger's house, they went to a canyon to watch a sunset, at which time Jim realized he was depressed because "if you're strange, people are strange." He then wrote the rest of the lyrics, which are about feeling alienated.
Krieger, The Doors' guitarist, wrote the music. He did his guitar solo in one take.
Jim was very complex. Had MANY demons. One rarely knows Jim's motivation.
"Streets are uneven, when your down. " Wow! That just resonated with me even tho ive known this song for 20 years. I never paid much mind to that part, but it's deep.
Great react bro. Try out the Doors - love me two times.
Jim Morrison, the lead singer who wrote most of the lyrics and melodies for Doors songs was homeless living on Venice Beach before his rise to fame.
Check out Soul Kitchen and Back Door Man by The Doors!! 🤘🏻
Jim Morrison had a unusual voice for a rock star, compared to the others in the 60's. It was almost like a coroner's voice, rich and smooth. Another singer with a sublime voice who became famous in that period and (thankfully) continued to work up to his death last year was SCOTT WALKER. I think you might appreciate some of his songs, seeing as you're open minded and have good taste! It's Raining Today, Rosemary, The Old Man's Back Again, Farmer in The City for example.
"When you're strange" = trippin' balls.
I want to assure you that you are helping with our mental health during this pandemic. Love you for that!
We still need to see your reaction to Peace Frog from The Doors!
Tack on "Blue Sunday," though! "Peace Frog" without "Blue Sunday" is like "Brain Damage" without "Eclipse." (okay, not really...but still!)