Rock Poetry Line by Line

"The End"

The blue bus is calling us

Driver where you taking 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 walked on down the hall

And he came to a door

And he looked inside

Father?

Yes son

I want to kill you

Mother, I want to………….

Come on, baby, take a chance with us

Come on, baby, take a chance with us

Come on, baby, take a chance with us

And meet me at the back of the blue bus

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

“If my poetry aims to achieve anything, it’s to deliver people

  from the limited ways in which they see and feel.” –Jim Morrison.

“The End” is the grand finale of The Doors’ self-titled first album,

the most analyzed of all of Jim Morrison’s songs.  This extraordinary

poem/song, Sophoclean in its drama, with a Joycean stream of

consciousness, was originally written as a farewell to his high school

sweetheart.   Over time, and with numerous performances, it evolved

into deeper meanings for Morrison. 

 In 1969, Morrison spoke of the lyrics’ meaning:  “Every time I hear that

song, it means something else to me.  It started out as a simple good-bye

song...  but I see how it could be a goodbye to a kind of childhood.  I really

don't know.  I think it's sufficiently complex and universal in its imagery that

it could be almost anything you want it to be.”  In an interview, Morrison

explained "My only friend/ The End": “Sometimes the pain is too

much to examine, or even tolerate... That doesn't make it evil, though

 – or necessarily dangerous. But people fear death even more than pain.

It's strange that they fear death.  Life hurts a lot more than death. At