Song Stuck In My Head This Week - 24th October '09 - The Doors - The Soft Parade

The Doors are, without a doubt, one of my favourite bands of all time. From a young age their music enticed me with its almost magical presence. The songs all have great melodies - whether they be standard pop ones or more intriguing flights of musical fancy - and they lyrics often paint pictures beyond the standard ones found in most songs.

Thanks to the near mythical status achieved by their charismatic lead singer Jim Morrison as well as the catchy Robby Kreiger song 'Light My Fire', The Doors were propelled into the spotlight in which they shone for a mere 54 months before Morrison's untimely passing in 1971.

Last weekend, as part of the British Film Festival, I went to see a new documentary about The Doors called 'When You're Strange'. It is a fantastically put together documentary and features footage from 'Feast Of Friends' and 'HWY', both previously unreleased, in full and glorious technicolour. The footage from 'HWY', in particular, is so breath-taking with Jim looking so 'real' and 'alive' that you feel like you could just reach out and touch him. Having seen 'HWY' in its entirety online, but only in the form of scrappy pre-production footage, it's just wonderful to see it as a 'final cut' and I only hope that the Morrison-Courson estate see sense and give this the proper release it, in my opinion, deserves.

Though I love all their music, the album 'The Soft Parade' has always been my favourite and the title track of this album is certainly my favourite Doors song. With its many sections it's like the 'mini rock-opera' style that was developed around that time by Pete Townshend of The Who and shows, in musical form, The Doors’ theatricality that was as much part of the music as it was the performance.

I hope you all enjoy it!!!

The Doors - The Soft Parade

When I was back there in seminary school
There was a person there
Who put forth the proposition
That you can petition the Lord with prayer…
Petition the Lord with prayer…
Petition the Lord with prayer…
You cannot petition the Lord with prayer!

Can you give me sanctuary?
I must find a place to hide,
A place for me to hide.

Can you find me soft asylum?
I can't make it anymore
The Man is at the door.

Peppermint, miniskirts, chocolate candy,
Champion sax and a girl named Sandy
There's only four ways to get unraveled —
One is to sleep and the other is travel at dawn.
One is a bandit up in the hills,
One is to love your neighbor till
His wife gets home.

Catacombs,
Nursery bones,
Winter women
Growing stones,
Carrying babies to the river
Streets and shoes,
Avenues,
Leather riders
Selling news,
The monk
Bought
Lunch.

He he he, he bought a little.
Yes, he did
Woo!

This is the best part of the trip.
This is the trip, the best part
I really like.

What'd he say?
Yeah!
Yeah, right!
Pretty good, huh
Huh!
Yeah, I'm proud to be a part of this number!

Successful hills are here to stay,
Everything must be this way.
Gentle streets where people play,
Welcome to the Soft Parade.
All our lives we sweat and save,
Building for a shallow grave.
“Must be something else”, we say
“Somehow to defend this place.”
Everything must be this way,
Everything must be this way, yeah. Aah, yeah!

The Soft Parade has now begun
Listen to the engines hum.
People out to have some fun,
Cobra on my left,
Leopard on my right, yeah.

Deer woman in a silk dress,
Girls with beads around their necks,
Kiss the hunter of the green vest
Who has wrestled before
With lions in the night.
Out of sight!

The lights are getting brighter,
The radio is moaning,
Calling to the dogs.
There are still a few animals
Left out in the yard,

But it's getting harder
To describe sailors
To the underfed.

Tropic corridor,
Tropic treasure,
What got us this far,
To this mild equator?
We need someone or something new,
Something else to get us through, yeah. C'mon!

Callin' on the dogs,
Callin' on the dogs,
But it's gettin' harder
Callin' on the dogs,
Callin' in the dogs,
Callin' on the dogs,
Callin' on the gods.

You gotta
Meet me Too late, baby!
Shoot a few animals аt the crossroads Too late!
Left out in the yard.
But it's getting harder Whoa!
Gotta meet me You’ve done great, hey!
At the edge of town, Having a good time.
You’d better come along
Outskirts of the city Let’s fun!
Just you and I
And the evening sky. We are so alone.
Better bring your gun You’d better come along.
You’d better bring your gun.
We’re gonna have some fun!
Tropic corridor
Tropic treasure.

When all else fails,
We can whip the horse's
Eyes and make them sleep
And cry