Morrison
CPR Lyrics
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(released June 23, 1998) [Samson Music GC0145]
Morrison (4:45)
Words: David Crosby
Music: James Raymond
He was lost and I don't think
like a gull blown inland
on a stormy day
Lost in round one
spitting out pieces of his teeth
lost in a Paris graveyard
carrying his own wreath
And I have seen that movie
and it wasn't like that
he was mad and lonely
and blind as a bat
To the bridge
and the falling tree
Too deaf to hear his own song
You see
How does anyone get to there
We may never know
How they got that far
Or what made them go
But he had flown from his homeland
You could see him there
A gull circling
In the high desert air
(Chorus)
And somehow I
Have to learn from this
'Cause I can hear him cry
And feel the hiss
Of the wind in his feathers
and the sand on his feet
As he dies in the desert
On that Paris street.
(Chorus out)
David Crosby: Lead Vocal
Jeff Pevar: Vocals, Electric Guitar
James Raymond: Vocals, Piano
Leland Sklar: Bass
Steve DiStanislao: Drums
Luis Conte: Percussion
© 1998 Stay Straight Music (BMI), Proudfoot Music (ASCAP)
The song "Morrison" by CPR explores the theme of the tragic end of Jim Morrison, the lead singer of the 60s rock band The Doors. The lyrics describe the singer's lost and lonely state, as if he was blown off course like a gull in the stormy weather. The image of a broken man is evoked with lines like "spitting out pieces of his teeth" and "carrying his own wreath" in a Paris graveyard. The singer of the song (presumably David Crosby) contrasts this haunting image with what he believes was the reality of Jim Morrison, which was that he was "mad and lonely and blind as a bat."
The lyrics suggest that there was no clear reason for how Morrison ended up where he did, but his travels away from home feature in the song. The metaphor of a gull flying in circles in the high desert air further emphasizes Morrison's aimless state before his untimely death. The song ends with the singer expressing a desire to learn from Morrison's tragic story, as he hears the wind in his feathers and feels the sand on his feet, evoking the image of Morrison dying in the desert on that Paris street.
Overall, "Morrison" is a poignant tribute to Jim Morrison that captures the essence of the singer's tragic end.
Line by Line Meaning
He was lost and I don't think he wanted it that way
He was going through a tough time and didn't know how to handle it
like a gull blown inland on a stormy day
He was disoriented and unsure of where he was going
Lost in round one spitting out pieces of his teeth
He was struggling and fighting to keep going, but was constantly being beaten down
lost in a Paris graveyard carrying his own wreath
He was consumed by his own struggles and felt like he was already dead
And I have seen that movie and it wasn't like that
He didn't fit the narrative that others may have had for him
he was mad and lonely and blind as a bat
He was angry and depressed, and couldn't see a way out of his situation
Too deaf to hear his own song
He was too consumed with his own struggles to see the value he was bringing to the world
How does anyone get to there We may never know
It's impossible to truly understand what someone else is going through
But he had flown from his homeland You could see him there
He had left behind everything he knew in search of something else
A gull circling In the high desert air
He was searching for something, but wasn't sure what he was looking for or where to find it
And somehow I Have to learn from this
Even though it's hard, we have to try to learn from the struggles of others
'Cause I can hear him cry And feel the hiss
His struggles continue to impact those around him, even after his death
Of the wind in his feathers and the sand on his feet As he dies in the desert On that Paris street.
Despite his struggles and search, he died alone, far from home
Contributed by Josiah F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@dekem7137
Simply put, Jim Morrison freaked Crosby out badly and unnerved him while he was on acid by pulling off his sunglasses and telling him he couldn't hide behind them. It caused him to have a very bad trip.
For Morrison it was probably just a moment he instantly forgot about afterwards. For Crosby and his fragile ego he hasn't stopped dwelling on it for half a century.
1) Morrison was authentic, highly intelligent & highly articulate. For a glimpse into the real Jim Morrison read Friends Gathered Together which was co-written by the people around him the most. He was thoughtful, pleasant & easy going when sober. When intoxicated he was mischievous, playful and liked pushing people's buttons.
2) Morrison was very good friends with Crosby's bandmate Stephen Stills who Crosby had an up & down tumultuous relationship with during that time frame. I'm sure this also bothered Crosby...
I find it fascinating that even though Morrison died at 27, and it had been 50yrs. That incident shook Crosby up to his core, so much that he couldn't forgive & forget.
@CatherineSTodd
CROSBY, PEVAR & RAYMOND - "Morrison" lyrics
(songwriters David Crosby and James Raymond)
Mmm ...
He was lost and I don't think
He wanted it that way
Like a gull blown inland
On a stormy day
Lost in round one
Spitting out pieces of his teeth
Lost in a Paris graveyard
Carrying his own wreath
And I have seen that movie and it wasn't like that
He was mad and lonely and blind as a bat
To the bridge and the falling tree
Too deaf to hear his own song you see, yeah
Oh, how does anyone get to there
We may never know
Oh, how they got that far
Or what made them go
But he had flown from his homeland
You could see him there
A gull circling
In the high desert air
And I have seen that movie and it wasn't like that
He was mad and lonely and blind as a bat
To the bridge and the falling tree
Too deaf to hear his own song you see
And somehow I have to learn from this
'Cause I can hear him cry and feel the hiss
Of the wind in his feathers and the sand on his feet
As he dies in the desert on that Paris street
[Instrumental (Electric Guitar)]
And I have seen that movie and it wasn't like that
He was mad and lonely and blind as a bat
To the bridge and the falling tree
Too deaf to hear his own song
And I have seen that movie and it wasn't like that
[Instrumental (Electric Guitar)]
To the bridge and the falling tree
Too deaf to hear his own song
I have seen that movie and it wasn't like that
@markkeller2723
Boris, at least part of it, is it's ingenious structure. This is an imperfect analogy, but music is sort of like architecture -- but made of sound rather than stone and wood. Two things about the chord sequence -- it is very unusual for a pop song, many of which are variations on just three or four chords, and those chords often just consist of three notes or four notes. The chord sequence in each verse is complex and deep, and often there are 5 notes in a chord (normally limited to Jazz), and there is one point that is very poignant and unusual where both the major and minor sounds of a chord are implied at once. Second, a lot of the "driving and intense" quality you have identified has to do with the chorus, wherein David Crosby does some serious soul searching in the lyrics (remembering that he himself had been battling drug and alcohol addictions):
"And somehow I
Have to learn from this
'Cause I can hear him cry
And feel the hiss
Of the wind in his feathers
And the sand on his feet
As he dies in the desert
On that Paris street"
His voice and harmony becomes richer, and goes higher, with more harmony notes, and builds to a peak...
Then there is a devastating and moving callback, just before the end, where, accompanying "to deaf to hear his own song" the music builds and builds on an extended base note just before a virtuosic drum sequence prefigures an abrupt ending, meant to really wake up and confront the listener. Crosby ingeniously confronts the hard, un-romantic reality of Morrison's death, as a warning to himself, and all the rest of us.
@terencejones9044
R.I.P. David Crosby
@dekem7137
Simply put, Jim Morrison freaked Crosby out badly and unnerved him while he was on acid by pulling off his sunglasses and telling him he couldn't hide behind them. It caused him to have a very bad trip.
For Morrison it was probably just a moment he instantly forgot about afterwards. For Crosby and his fragile ego he hasn't stopped dwelling on it for half a century.
1) Morrison was authentic, highly intelligent & highly articulate. For a glimpse into the real Jim Morrison read Friends Gathered Together which was co-written by the people around him the most. He was thoughtful, pleasant & easy going when sober. When intoxicated he was mischievous, playful and liked pushing people's buttons.
2) Morrison was very good friends with Crosby's bandmate Stephen Stills who Crosby had an up & down tumultuous relationship with during that time frame. I'm sure this also bothered Crosby...
I find it fascinating that even though Morrison died at 27, and it had been 50yrs. That incident shook Crosby up to his core, so much that he couldn't forgive & forget.
@sweetsuetrublu
The best ever.. this band was one of the greatest and short lived bands of out time. Im so sorry that they never made more music together.. AWESOME BAND!!
@thetruthissweet2847
R.I.P. David Crosby.
@johnalexhall7
I love this song. Hearing this song back at the Wiltern concert gave me chills
@gurusoft1
Masterpiece by David and his son Jams Raymond, sung by by PVR, about Jim Morrison.
@britkingsley9516
Crosby was cravenly jealous of Morrison.
@gsmalley10
@@britkingsley9516Bullshit.
@martymetcalf
I Sure wish I had the actural Album Cover so I could just sit and stare at it and read every thing on it and listen to the amazing music that David Crosby and his son and band have made. Thank you for being.
@andyinoregon
Walter Becker and Donald Fagen must have ben very flattered when they heard this. Sounds like mid-70s Steely Dan, and that's about as good as music gets. Are you with me, DrWu?