The End (The Doors song)

"The End" is an epic song by the American rock band the Doors. Lead singer Jim Morrison initially wrote the lyrics about his break up with his girlfriend Mary Werbelow, but it evolved through months of performances at the Whisky a Go Go into a much longer song. The Doors recorded a nearly 12-minute version for their self-titled debut album, which was released on January 4, 1967.
"The End" was ranked at number 336 on 2010 "Rolling Stone" magazines list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The song's guitar solo was ranked number 93 on "Guitar World"s "100 Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time".
Lyrics and recording.
In an interview in 1969, Morrison explained about the lyrics:
When interviewed by Lizze James, he pointed out the meaning of the verse "My only friend, the End":
Shortly past the midpoint of the nearly 12-minute-long album version, the song enters a spoken word section with the words, "The killer awoke before dawn/he put his boots on". That section of the song reaches a dramatic climax with the lines, "Father / Yes son? / I want to kill you / Mother, I want to..." (with the next words screamed out unintelligibly). Morrison had worked on a student production of "Oedipus Rex" at Florida State University. Ray Manzarek, the former keyboard player of the Doors, explained:
In John Densmore's autobiography "Riders on the Storm", he recalls when Morrison explained the meaning:
According to "Mojo" magazine, during the recording sessions, Morrison was lying on the floor of the studio, mumbling the words, "Fuck the mother, kill the father." Then suddenly he rose and threw a TV at the control room window. After the incident, he was sent home by producer Paul A. Rothchild. However, Morrison who had taken LSD, returned in the middle of the night, broke into the studio and drenched it with a fire extinguisher. The agent marked only the instruments that were in the studio. Rothchild came back and advised the studio owner to charge the damage to Elektra.
The genesis and the use of the word "fuck" is described by Michael Hicks as follows:
The "Pop Chronicles" documentary reports that critics found the song "Sophoclean and Joycean."
"The End" was recorded live in the studio with no overdubbing. Two takes were recorded, with reportedly the second being used for the album. It was the last song the original group performed at their last concert on December 12, 1970, at The Warehouse in New Orleans.
Musical style.
"The End" has been characterized as a precursor of the gothic rock genre. In a review published in "The Williams Record" in October 1967, critic John Stickney described the Doors collation as "gothic rock", which was one of the first pronounces of the term; most notably, he was more pensive for their contribution to "The End". In 2017 "Pitchfork" included it on their list of "The Story of Goth in 33 Songs". In his column, Rusty Pipes indicated the track to be as one of the early examples of art rock music.
The track features influences from Indian music, mostly the guitar style. Robby Krieger used a guitar tuning which he had learned from Ravi Shankar's music lessons at the Kinnara School of Music in Los Angeles, to create a sitar or veena sound; this escalate a raga rock mood. Author Peter Lavezzoli featured "The End" in his book, "The Dawn of Indian Music"; stating that Krieger also developed with his tuning an "Indian jhala style" with "rapid strumming alternating with the melody line" in his guitar playing. "The End" has also been classified as a psychedelic rock and hard rock tune.
Other versions.
Studio.
While the 1967 release of the song is the best-known version, there are other, slightly different versions available.
Marilyn Manson cover.
Marilyn Manson recorded a cover of "The End" for use on the soundtrack to the miniseries "The Stand". The recording was produced by country musician Shooter Jennings, who also produced Manson's eleventh studio album, "We Are Chaos". The song was released for digital download and streaming on November 22, 2019, with a 7-inch picture disc scheduled to be released via Loma Vista Recordings on March 6, 2020. The vinyl would have been limited to 2,000 copies worldwide, and all pre-orders were accompanied by an immediate download of the track. The vinyl artwork consisted of an original watercolor piece painted by the vocalist. A music video based on the single's artwork was created by Zev Deans, which utilized watercolor self-portraits created by Manson.
The 7" vinyl release was canceled, however, and the song and its music video were removed from all download, streaming and video hosting services shortly after release. An interviewer with "Guitar World" later said the vinyl release was "nixed" by the Doors, with Jennings saying the band claimed the pair were "taking liberties" with its release. "The Stand" director Josh Boone also confirmed the cover would not appear in the miniseries, saying the recording "ultimately proved too expensive to use. The show was made on a very tight budget and some of the dreams we had went to the wayside."
Manson had previously released a version of the Doors song "Five to One" as a b-side on their 2000 single "Disposable Teens". He later performed "Five to One" – as well as "Love Me Two Times" and "People Are Strange" – alongside Ray Manzarek and Robby Krieger at the 2012 Sunset Strip Music Festival. In 2016, he performed "Not to Touch the Earth" with guitarist Johnny Depp during an event at Amoeba Music.