46 years on from his tragic death in Paris at the age of just 27, The Doors’ enigmatic frontman Jim Morrison continues to inspire and bewilder a new generation of fans.
Known as one of rock ‘n’ roll’s greatest thinkers and is viewed by many as its poet laureate, the ever controversial man left thousands of pearls of wisdom both within his songs, writings and interviews. In celebration of a man that will forever be enshrined in music’s lore as one of the most intriguing figures to ever grace a stage, here’s some of his most revered and closely held remarks
Jim Morrison on Love:
“People are afraid of themselves, of their own reality; their feelings most of all. People talk about how great love is, but that’s bullshit. Love hurts. Feelings are disturbing. People are taught that pain is evil and dangerous. How can they deal with love if they’re afraid to feel? Pain is meant to wake us up. People try to hide their pain. But they’re wrong. Pain is something to carry, like a radio. You feel your strength in the experience of pain. It’s all in how you carry it. That’s what matters. Pain is a feeling. Your feelings are a part of you. Your own reality. If you feel ashamed of them, and hide them, you’re letting society destroy your reality. You should stand up for your right to feel your pain.”
“That’s what real love amounts to – letting a person be what he really is. Most people love you for who you pretend to be. To keep their love, you keep pretending – performing. You get to love your pretence. It’s true, we’re locked in an image, an act – and the sad thing is, people get so used to their image, they grow attached to their masks. They love their chains. They forget all about who they really are. And if you try to remind them, they hate you for it, they feel like you’re trying to steal their most precious possession.”
“Love cannot save you from your own fate.”
On friendship, fear and freedom
“Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free.”
“A friend is someone who gives you total freedom to be yourself-and especially to feel, or not feel. Whatever you happen to be feeling at any moment is fine with them. That’s what real love amounts to – letting a person be what he really is.”
“No one here gets out alive.”
‘The Future’s uncertain and the end is always near.”- Roadhouse Blues
“No eternal reward will forgive us now for wasting the dawn”
I am interested in anything about revolt, disorder, chaos-especially activity that seems to have no meaning. It seems to me to be the road toward freedom… Rather than starting inside, I start outside and reach the mental through the physical.”
On Jim Morrison
“I see myself as a huge fiery comet, a shooting star. Everyone stops, points up and gasps “Oh look at that!” Then- whoosh, and I’m gone…and they’ll never see anything like it ever again… and they won’t be able to forget me- ever.”
“I think of myself as an intelligent, sensitive human being with the soul of a clown which always forces me to blow it at the most important moments.”
“It may have been in pieces, but I gave you the best of me.”
On Life and Death
“The most loving parents and relatives commit murder with smiles on their faces. They force us to destroy the person we really are: a subtle kind of murder.”
“Time to live, time to lie, time to laugh, and time to die. Take it easy baby. Take it as it comes.”
In addition to all of the above, he also arguably predicted the future of music during an interview. Check it out and ‘An American Prayer’ below:
