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Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.
Log in to Spotify to save the songs. You can use desktop mode on smartphone browsers to remove the 30-second limitation on the Spotify player.

The Doors "The End"

The Doors (1967)

"The End" by The Doors is the final track on their 1967 debut album and stands as one of the band's most iconic and enigmatic works. Originally written by Jim Morrison as a breakup song about his ex-girlfriend Mary Werbelow, it evolved through live performances into a sprawling, nearly 12-minute epic that explores themes far beyond personal loss12.

Composition and Recording

  • The song was recorded live in the studio in August 1966, with the band capturing its improvisational spirit and intensity in just two takes, the second of which appears on the album2.
  • Musically, it blends elements of acid rock, raga rock, and spoken word, with Robby Krieger’s guitar work drawing inspiration from Chopin’s “Funeral March”4.

Themes and Lyrics

  • Multiplicity of Meaning: Morrison himself stated that the song’s meaning shifted for him over time, describing it as “sufficiently complex and universal in its imagery that it could be almost anything you want it to be.” He noted it began as a simple goodbye song, but could also be interpreted as a farewell to childhood or innocence156.
  • Death and Finality: The refrain “This is the end, beautiful friend, this is the end, my only friend, the end” frames the song as a meditation on endings—of relationships, phases of life, or even existence itself7.
  • Oedipal and Mythological References: The most controversial section is the spoken-word passage where Morrison invokes the Oedipus myth: "Father? Yes, son? I want to kill you. Mother, I want to..."
    This explicit reference to patricide and incest, drawn from Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, shocked audiences and led to the band’s ban from the Whisky a Go Go club1568. Morrison, who had worked on a student production of Oedipus Rex, used these lines to channel primal psychological and mythological themes.
  • Symbolism and Imagery: The song is filled with surreal images—“the blue bus,” “the snake,” “the Roman wilderness of pain”—which have been interpreted as symbols of depression, transformation, and the journey into the unconscious or the afterlife768.
  • Psychoanalytic and Societal Layers: Some interpretations see the song as an allegory for breaking free from societal and parental constraints (“kill the father”) and embracing personal freedom and the unknown (“fuck the mother” as a metaphor for embracing the nurturing, creative forces of life)76.

Cultural Impact

  • Live Performances: "The End" became the dramatic finale for many Doors concerts, with Morrison often improvising new lyrics during performances.
  • Film and Legacy: The song gained further notoriety when used in the opening and climactic scenes of Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now, cementing its association with themes of war, chaos, and existential dread46.
  • Critical Acclaim: It is regularly cited among the greatest rock songs ever, praised for its ambition, intensity, and poetic depth1.

Summary Table

AspectDetails
AlbumThe Doors (1967)
Length11:43
WriterJim Morrison (The Doors)
Initial InspirationBreakup with Mary Werbelow
Evolved ThemesDeath, endings, Oedipal myth, childhood, freedom, existentialism
Notable Lyrics“This is the end, beautiful friend…”, “Father? Yes, son? I want to kill you…”
RecordingLive in studio, second take used, no overdubs
Cultural ImpactUsed in Apocalypse Now, banned from Whisky a Go Go, critical acclaim, enduring mystique

"The End" endures as a haunting, poetic exploration of finality, transformation, and the shadowy depths of the human psyche, its meaning as open and mysterious now as when it was first recorded157682.