The Doors’ debut album is undeniably one of the greatest psych-rock records of all time, producing both powerful rock classics like ‘Break On Through (To The Other Side)’ and mind-melting freakouts in the shape of ‘The Crystal Ship’ and ‘The End’. Not only that, but it was the world’s first introduction to Jim Morrison, the band’s enigmatic, bonkers and game-changing singer, one who was full of quotes to both inspire you and leave you utterly dumbstruck. Here are 10 of his finest.
1On his birth
“I don’t remember. It must have happened during one of my blackouts.”
2On his life philosophy
“I believe in a long, prolonged derangement of the senses in order to obtain the unknown.”
3On drugs
“I was testing the bounds of reality. I was curious to see what would happen. That’s all it was: curiosity.”
4On drinking
“Being drunk is a good disguise. I drink so I can talk to assholes. This includes me.”
5On rebellion
“When you make your peace with authority, you become authority.”
6Onstage in LA
“I don’t know what’s gonna happen, but I wanna have my kicks before the whole shithouse goes up in flames”
7On his place in history
“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 – ever.”
8On being The Lizard King
“I used to see the universe as a mammoth snake, and all the people and objects, landscapes, as little pictures in the facets of their scales. I think peristaltic motion is the basic life movement.
9On how he wrote ‘The End’
“I had this magic formula to break into the subconscious. I’d lay there and say over and over, ‘Fuck the mother, kill the father.”
10On describing The Doors
“Think of us as erotic politicians.”