Post by TheWallsScreamedPoetry on Sept 20, 2007 19:32:51 GMT
Autobiography and the Art of Jim Morrison
by Jim Cherry from Wheaton, Illinois
An article that first appeared in the Summer 2002 Scorpywag.
The lyrics of Jim Morrison have been with us for close to 35 years. The bulk of his poetry has come to light only within the past 13 years. The consensus is that these works are not generally acknowledged to be autobiographical. I've been listening and reading his words for 20 years, and I have found that his poetry is more autobiographical than previously thought.
There are two problems that discourage the finding of autobiographical references in Morrison's work. The first is the inherent nature of poetry itself. Being an art form of symbolism and allusion in which the poet paints his words thickly, each having the possibility of two or three meanings. The other is Jim Morrison's love and use of surrealism in his work. Once we make ourselves aware of these two elements we can ferret out meanings a little more clearly and the autobiographical references in Morrison's work are visible.
Among the general reading audience there seems to be the opinion that imaginative works need to be, or should be devoid of autobiographical references of the author.
Even in fictionalized works, autobiographical references are easily found. Autobiography is necessary for an artist. Experience being the raw material for any artist. Be it the novelist who adopts and adapts characters and situations from his personal life and inserts them into his fiction. A prime example of this is Jack Kerouac.
A writer who lifted whole cloth situations and people and put these into his fiction, and was one of the writers that influenced Morrison from an early age.
Even visual artists use persons from their lives to great effect and success.
A famous example of this is Andrew Wyeth's Helga series that came to light in the 80's. Throughout the canon of Morrison's work we find two kinds of autobiographical references, the straightforward factual reference, however the majority of references that you find are not straight factual references but references that are more a reflection
of his inner world, a world that we can witness through his work, and which I'll examine. Although, Morrison's perspective was always on the dark side, at the beginning it was a darkness limned by silver, the "bright midnight". However as his fame and notoriety grew that initial optimism declined and the darkness encroached more and more until his death in Paris.
This is ably demonstrated in a quick survey of lyrics.
Let's, of course, start with the first album which we can see in the lyrics of The Crystal Ship, "deliver me from/reasons why/you'd rather cry/I'd rather fly" is a somewhat obvious statement. Another easily illustratable instance of Morrison's use of autobiography is in The End, the tour d' force that made The Doors legend.
In the Oedipal section, itself a fictional journey of a killer, the family outlined, "he went to the room of his sister/then paid a visit to his brother", before the killer heads off to patricide, is the exact configuration of Morrison's nuclear family.
Strange Days is truly a work of fiction, a novel, or perhaps an aural movie cataloguing the psychic dislocation of the late 60's with The Doors at the apex of their combined creative powers operating as the four points of a diamond. The collaborative art form at it's best, each contributing his best and sparking the others creatively. The result, a noir reflection of their times.
But in the search for autobiographical detail, it is a task in vain, or at the very least the autobiographical details are buried in the piece as to be indiscernible from the art.
The third album is a problem, it is the album where everyone agrees that Morrison lost interest especially after Celebration of the Lizard was cut. In the quest for autobiography there is, of course, Love Street which documents Morrison and Pam Courson living at a house on Rothdell drive, in Morrison's own inimitable style. The rest of the album is either old songs rescued from their demo tape and redone or songs written on the fly to finish the album.
By the time of the Soft Parade, the after effects of Miami were reigning down upon The Doors and especially Morrison, and the reflection of this can be heard reflected in the lyrics such as "the man is at the door" and "cold, grinding grizzly bear jaws/hot on your heels", but he's looking for sanctuary, and as it says in Runnin' Blue, he's hoping to "maybe find it back in LA", there's still hope left in Morrison.
Morrison Hotel is rife with autobiographical references. It may be explained by the fact it is the first full album after the Miami incident and the songs were written when Jim had some time off the road and had time to reflect and perhaps, on some level, to explain himself. Roadhouse Blues starts off with what has been explained as Jim's driving instructions to Pam, "keep your hands upon the wheel/your eyes upon the road", which is rather humorous, but later in the song, a rather frank admission by Morrison, "I woke this morning and grabbed myself a beer" which today is a startlingly admission of alcoholism, and even more startling for the time.
by Jim Cherry from Wheaton, Illinois
An article that first appeared in the Summer 2002 Scorpywag.
The lyrics of Jim Morrison have been with us for close to 35 years. The bulk of his poetry has come to light only within the past 13 years. The consensus is that these works are not generally acknowledged to be autobiographical. I've been listening and reading his words for 20 years, and I have found that his poetry is more autobiographical than previously thought.
There are two problems that discourage the finding of autobiographical references in Morrison's work. The first is the inherent nature of poetry itself. Being an art form of symbolism and allusion in which the poet paints his words thickly, each having the possibility of two or three meanings. The other is Jim Morrison's love and use of surrealism in his work. Once we make ourselves aware of these two elements we can ferret out meanings a little more clearly and the autobiographical references in Morrison's work are visible.
Among the general reading audience there seems to be the opinion that imaginative works need to be, or should be devoid of autobiographical references of the author.
Even in fictionalized works, autobiographical references are easily found. Autobiography is necessary for an artist. Experience being the raw material for any artist. Be it the novelist who adopts and adapts characters and situations from his personal life and inserts them into his fiction. A prime example of this is Jack Kerouac.
A writer who lifted whole cloth situations and people and put these into his fiction, and was one of the writers that influenced Morrison from an early age.
Even visual artists use persons from their lives to great effect and success.
A famous example of this is Andrew Wyeth's Helga series that came to light in the 80's. Throughout the canon of Morrison's work we find two kinds of autobiographical references, the straightforward factual reference, however the majority of references that you find are not straight factual references but references that are more a reflection
of his inner world, a world that we can witness through his work, and which I'll examine. Although, Morrison's perspective was always on the dark side, at the beginning it was a darkness limned by silver, the "bright midnight". However as his fame and notoriety grew that initial optimism declined and the darkness encroached more and more until his death in Paris.
This is ably demonstrated in a quick survey of lyrics.
Let's, of course, start with the first album which we can see in the lyrics of The Crystal Ship, "deliver me from/reasons why/you'd rather cry/I'd rather fly" is a somewhat obvious statement. Another easily illustratable instance of Morrison's use of autobiography is in The End, the tour d' force that made The Doors legend.
In the Oedipal section, itself a fictional journey of a killer, the family outlined, "he went to the room of his sister/then paid a visit to his brother", before the killer heads off to patricide, is the exact configuration of Morrison's nuclear family.
Strange Days is truly a work of fiction, a novel, or perhaps an aural movie cataloguing the psychic dislocation of the late 60's with The Doors at the apex of their combined creative powers operating as the four points of a diamond. The collaborative art form at it's best, each contributing his best and sparking the others creatively. The result, a noir reflection of their times.
But in the search for autobiographical detail, it is a task in vain, or at the very least the autobiographical details are buried in the piece as to be indiscernible from the art.
The third album is a problem, it is the album where everyone agrees that Morrison lost interest especially after Celebration of the Lizard was cut. In the quest for autobiography there is, of course, Love Street which documents Morrison and Pam Courson living at a house on Rothdell drive, in Morrison's own inimitable style. The rest of the album is either old songs rescued from their demo tape and redone or songs written on the fly to finish the album.
By the time of the Soft Parade, the after effects of Miami were reigning down upon The Doors and especially Morrison, and the reflection of this can be heard reflected in the lyrics such as "the man is at the door" and "cold, grinding grizzly bear jaws/hot on your heels", but he's looking for sanctuary, and as it says in Runnin' Blue, he's hoping to "maybe find it back in LA", there's still hope left in Morrison.
Morrison Hotel is rife with autobiographical references. It may be explained by the fact it is the first full album after the Miami incident and the songs were written when Jim had some time off the road and had time to reflect and perhaps, on some level, to explain himself. Roadhouse Blues starts off with what has been explained as Jim's driving instructions to Pam, "keep your hands upon the wheel/your eyes upon the road", which is rather humorous, but later in the song, a rather frank admission by Morrison, "I woke this morning and grabbed myself a beer" which today is a startlingly admission of alcoholism, and even more startling for the time.
