Music as Poetry

"The End" by Jim Morrison of The Doors

PART 1: THE LYRICS-

This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end

Of our elaborate plans, the end
Of everything that stands, the end
No safety or surprise, the end
Ill never look into your eyes...again

Can you picture what will be
So limitless and free
Desperately in need...of some...strangers hand
In a...desperate land

Lost in a roman...wilderness of pain
And all the children are insane
All the children are insane
Waiting for the summer rain, yeah

Theres danger on the edge of town
Ride the kings highway, baby
Weird scenes inside the gold mine
Ride the highway west, baby

Ride the snake, ride the snake
To the lake, the ancient lake, baby
The snake is long, seven miles
Ride the snake...hes old, and his skin is cold

The west is the best
The west is the best
Get here, and well do the rest

The blue bus is callin' us
The blue bus is callin' us
Driver, where you taken us

The killer awoke before dawn, he put his boots on
He took a face from the ancient gallery
And he walked on down the hall
He went into the room where his sister lived, and...then he
Paid a visit to his brother, and then he
He walked on down the hall, and
And he came to a door...and he looked inside
Father, yes son, I want to kill you
Mother...i want to...fuck you

C'mon baby, take a chance with us
C'mon baby, take a chance with us
C'mon baby, take a chance with us
And meet me at the back of the blue bus
Doin' a blue rock
On a blue bus
Doin' a blue rock
C'mon, yeah

Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill

This is the end
Beautiful friend
This is the end
My only friend, the end

It hurts to set you free
But you'll never follow me
The end of laughter and soft lies
The end of nights we tried to die

This is the end

Part 2: Validation as poetry -

"The End" is poetry by virtue of its intent, and its structures including rhyme, metaphor, and its (although inconsistent) meter. The poem/song is trying to convey an emotion throughout the peace, an emotion of seeming desperation, clearly illustrated through the straightforward opening and closing line "this is the end" and through colorful imagery. Jim Morrison sets pictures of a slithering cold snake in which the snake may symbolize how we go through time. He uses the cold scene of "a killer [waking]... before dawn" illustrating, with relatively simple language the processes of his thinking. This might be a self-reflection of Morrison's own mind, or it could be further illustration of the general theme and mood of the song. Many of the lines in the song rhyme and stanzas seem to alternate, somewhat consistently, between short and long meter. In terms of techniques and structure this would be a very free form poem with a semblance of rhyme and informal meter, but because of the deep emotion, mood, and theme consistently pounded in throughout the duration of the song it would qualify, more so than a narrative song, as poetry, due to the nature of its lyrics.


Part 3: Post a video -

I have no idea of how to post a video, and won't pretend that I do, but I can post this link to a video of The Doors playing "The End." Enjoy...
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8480903906215539826&q=The+Doors+The+End&total=1843&start=0&num=10&so=0&type=search&plindex=1

The Tower of Fear

Fear dominates all other emotions. It is at the same time the essence and the antithesis of human nature. It is the essence because often times fear is what drives us towards emotions like anger or embarrassment, while it is also a path away from human instinct and emotion by driving us to shut down. In this way fear is a double edged sword. On the one hand it is what leads us to our most primal defensive emotions, it "closes us off" from the outside world. On the other hand, only when we conquer fear can we freely express our true selves, our true emotions.

Fear dominates our emotions through locking us up. The homecoming game is a wonderful example of this premise. Everyone is afraid of rejection, they only want to be accepted as a part of the group, so most people chant when others chant, and sit or stand according to the crowd. The fear they have of sticking out causes them to suppress what they may want to do, be it start their own cheer, or not yell at all, or maybe to sit during a climactic moment of the game. Fear dictated the actions of the majority of the Hopkins student body at the homecoming football game. Fear also controls other emotions. When we are afraid we repress our tendencies to be emotional. This is often caused by the primal want for acceptance, and fear of rejection. Among a larger group a friend of mine wasn't able to express his anger at another friend for shortchanging him on more than one occasion, however, when the larger group wasn't present he complained to me about his annoyance and impatience with the third party.

Conquering fears is the best course towards emotion. When we fear things we act differently, however, a lack of fear can open the floodgates of deep thoughts. This is the reason why you only truly get to know people well after a long time. At first they may be afraid of your judgment, however, at a certain point they feel ready to lose that fear, or face it, and lay themselves on the line. The prime example of this is also, coincidentally from homecoming weekend, although, not exactly an example of a close relationship. My esteemed colleague Timmy Van Sickle made the decision at homecoming to conquer a fear. He took off his clothes and ran around the football field barring all for the crowd. While this may not be viewed favorably by all it supplies a demonstration of my thesis. While he ran people said to me, "Noah, you should do that next year!" My response, was one of fear. I was afraid of being arrested, of suspension, and of my parents' reaction. However, I noticed that Timmy seemed genuinely happy and excited, even while being escorted y law enforcement from the field. Why? Timmy had released himself from his fears to streak across the field. Because he ignored, or conquered his fear of the consequences of his actions he was able to truly show his emotions. However distastefully some might have thought his display, I thought it was a beautiful demonstration of the highest form of human freedom and emotion, only demonstrated by freedom from fear.

Fear can come from numerous places, often for teens from peer pressure, or from the want to meet or exceed expectations. However, it is readily clear that fear is the most powerful emotion as it dictates other emotions when it is not kept in check.