Jim Morrison (The Doors) - where does he stand lyrically?

What is notable is that no other rock lyricist get's this kind of debate going.

 

His poetry books are terrible. He was a pretty good rock lyricist and has a great, great voice.

 

I don't know anything about poetry so I won't opine on that. But, I do think he was a great song lyricist, probably one of the best of the rock era.

 

100% true.. Why do you think this is?

I think a big part of it is that people don't like fans who are fans of Jim Morrison. They're judging Jim Morrison because handfuls of young people will call him a god.

I just saw names like Leonard Cohen, Bruce Springsteen, Patti Smith, and I could easily say they are bad poets.

It's just like criticizing a melody. Or someone's taste in food.

 

Well, they're not bad, but you could indeed say it. Where are the threads on "Where does Neil Young stand lyrically?" The only other that comes close is Dylan. But still not nearly so heated or regular a debate.

 

To me a successful lyricist grabs my attention and provokes thought with a simple turn of phrase. Jim Morrison definitely fits that description. The Doors were most assuredly unique in concept and practice. They would not have been that without Jim Morrison though not because of him. IMHO worthy of the attention he (and they) still garner.

 

"Death and my cock are the world"

Uh..

 

Indians scattered on a dawn's highway bleeding
Ghosts crowd the young child's fragile eggshell mind

 

People are just jealous of Morrison.

 

Isn't that what a thread like this is really about? Is it anything other than expressing your personal opinion on art and having fun with it? If your primary vehicle is rock lyrics and not poetry books, it's up to the listener whether this is poetry regardless of what I or anyone else thinks about Morrison or the Doors. (IMO I was rather gentle with my opinions there.)

 

Jim was a very well-educated and well-read intellectual young man when he wasn't passed out in the bushes on La Cienega Boulevard. He was an outstanding lyricist, great imagist. I could go on. As for poetry apart from the Doors, I haven't read stuff like the Lords and New Creatures, but I am a big fan on An American Prayer and the Brian Jones elegy. Love the Doors.

 

for me this is also the main criteria in reading literature... but i must confess i also think that
"I'm a street walking cheetah
With a heart full of napalm..."
is one of the best lyric lines ever... so maybe i am not the best judge...

 

A poet.
And his voice is a cross of Sinatra with some unknown old bluesman.

 

Great lyricist, great vocalist and great front man in my opinion.

I don't see "poet" as better or more prestigious than "lyricist."

Insofar as Morrison writing poetry qua poetry, which I know he did to some extent, I'm not very familiar with it. In general I'm not a big poetry fan, though there is some poetry I like.

 

It's the next line that I like "I'm a runaway son of the nuclear A-bomb". That's how my young wayward self felt growing up in the cold war.

 

also great... i think as was stated, in pop music it is sometimes essential that you can identify or think about the words.... and with the doors you get plenty to think about... "five to one", "the unknown soldier", "peace frog" etc...

 

I don't know much about poetry so my opinion would be worthless regarding that but I always liked his lyrics.

 

My least favorite songs
Horse latitudes
throw the horses over till ship starts sailing

 

"My only friend .. the End"

 

Morrison wrote books of poetry, I have some, so he's a poet. I don't care whether his lyrics are considered poetry but I like them a lot. His lyrics are more interesting than most bands'.

 

Look at the taste in music of some of those throwing shade.

 

There's a HUGE gap between those 2 examples, but it only strengthens your point. Somebody had to do it. The Doors were the first band to see to it that old black guys started getting checks (not Zeppelin...), and at the same time, the Doors were never bad businesspersons or shy about their monetary aspirations. Jim doing a Vegas stay in 1975 wouldn't have been that shocking.

 

yeah he was a poet .... and accomplished much in his realtively short life ..... how old was he when he wrote 'the end' ?

was he 'great' at age 27?

i dont know ....

 

Well...the doors seem to be many things to many people. they had strenghts and weaknesses like any other band. i dont buy any on the "lizard king" myth thats been peddled along the way, but neither im going to go on a crusade against them, like many people seem to do. their detractors are just as pompous and pretentious (if not a LOT more) as the typical morrison lunatic.
His poetry is hit and miss imho. i get the feeling he was experimenting until lightning struck, which it did sometimes. but he`s a great lyricist. very evocative.

 

I was never really a huge Doors Fan. Don't get me wrong, I think they're a great band and I do like listening to them. They just don't hold a place in my regular rotation. With that said, I think Morrison can be ranked amongst the great lyricists, at least by my standards. To me, the hallmark of an excellent lyricist is that they can take you to a specific place with their lyrics. Kind of like painting a picture with their words. In my opinion, there are very few songwriters who have done, or can do that. Amongst that short list are names like Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Robbie Robertson, Sam Beam, Robert Hunter, Cat Stevens, and yes Jim Morrison. There are others, but those are the ones that come to mind at the moment. These are people who not only tell a story with their lyrics, but do so with such imagery as to transport the listener into the song.