Many people know Jim Morrison as the frontman for iconic rock group the Doors. Morrision was also a renowned poet. He was a very talented individual that many remember for his inspiring lyrics and somewhat inconsistent performances on stage. Jim Morrison passed away in Paris, France on July 3rd, 1971. He was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Doors in 1993.
In the years following his death, Jim Morrison has become an icon for many. He represents youth counterculture for some and has helped bridge the generation gap for others.
Jim Morrison Quotes
Here are some of Morrison’s more familiar quotes:
1. “Friends can help each other. A true friend is someone who lets you have total freedom to be yourself – and especially to feel. Or not feel. Whatever you happen to be feeling at the moment is fine with them. That’s what real love amounts to – letting a person be what he really is.”
This quote has been shared hundreds of times in the decades since Jim’s passing. His insight to friendship has been a revelation to many. It’s a message that many have followed and adhered to over the years.
2. “I think of myself as an intelligent, sensitive human being with the soul of a clown which always forces me to blow it at the most important moments.”
Jim’s humility and self-deprecation made him human. He wasn’t just another celebrity on a pedestal with a message. He made many of the same kinds of mistakes and had the same types of fear and doubts as anyone else.
3. “I am interested in anything about revolt, disorder, chaos-especially activity that seems to have no meaning. It seems to me to be the road toward freedom…Rather than starting inside, I start outside and reach the mental through the physical.”
Jim wasn’t afraid to challenge the status quo. He went against the grain and ran into trouble with the law multiple times in his life. This quote explains his reasons for challenging authority, especially when it came to rules or regulations that didn’t seem to benefit society as a whole.
4. “Actually, I don’t remember being born, it must have happened during one of my black outs.”
Very few of us actually remember being born. Morrison was known for having black outs from time to time. This line has often been taken as a somewhat tongue-in-cheek reference to people who claim to remember every waking moment of their lives.
5. “Listen, real poetry doesn’t say anything; it just ticks off the possibilities. Opens all doors. You can walk through any one that suits you.”
Jim realized that poetry like all other forms of art is quite often subject to interpretation. One of his poems could be read by a million people and interpreted in a million different ways. He acknowledged that his art created possibilities and it was up to the individual to discover what each song and poem meant to them.
6. “Expose yourself to your deepest fear; after that, fear has no power, and the fear of freedom shrinks and vanishes. You are free.”
Fear limits many of us from accomplishing our goals or using our unique talents to the fullest. Jim had many of those same fears during his life. In this quote, he expresses the importance of facing your fear and acknowledging that it can’t and shouldn’t hold you back from being who you want to be.
7. “I believe in a long, prolonged derangement of the senses in order to obtain the unknown.”
Morrison tended to think outside of the physical self at times. He was known to have taken psychedelic trips in order to better understand himself and the world around him. This quote adheres to his belief that there was more to the universe than just what we can physically experience.
8. “People fear death even more than pain. It’s strange that they fear death. Life hurts a lot more than death. At the point of death, the pain is over. Yeah, I guess it is a friend.”
Jim saw how many people were afraid of death, not realizing that it could happen at any moment. Jim embraced his own mortality after admitting how painful life can be. He saw death as a release from the mental, physical and emotional pain that living beings endure.
9. “When you make peace with authority, you become authority.”
Jim was long known as being anti-authoritarian. He didn’t believe in laws that limited or restricted freedoms or put one person or group down at the expense of others. He was never going to be a conformist and wasn’t afraid to speak up for those who he felt may have been wronged. He was often seen a leader beyond his tenure as the Doors frontman.
10. “People are strange…”
Many people know this song from the Doors’ 1967 album Strange Days. Most of us can relate to the message. It seems like people are always different. Even when we think that we’ve figured someone out, they find new ways to surprise us. His overall message was that people are always going to be unique, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
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11. “I like people who shake other people up and make them feel uncomfortable.”
Morrison was never one to favor the status quo. He liked being different and he liked others who were different. He stood out and stood up for what he believed in. This quote refers to others who felt the same way that he did. He felt that certain people needed to provoke our base emotions and help us discover our true selves.
12. “Whoever controls the media, controls the mind.”
Jim was fully aware of the power of the media on the general populace. He realized how much of an influence it could be. It was something he obviously didn’t like as he went against the grain whenever possible. A good example of that was when the Doors performed their hit song “Light My Fire” on the Ed Sullivan showw in 1867. Jim was told that he couldn’t sing the word “higher” in the song, so of course he did so anyway. The band was banned from ever performing on Sullivan’s show again, but Jim didn’t really seem to care. He made his point.
13. “Where’s your will to be weird?”
Jim liked the “odd ducks” in society, the people who were different and special in their own unique ways. A little quirkiness was always good in his opinion. He enjoyed being different and sometimes sought out the company of others who didn’t always fit in with the rest of society.
14. “There may be a time when we attend Weather Theatres to recall the sensation of rain.”
Morrison noticed the effects of automation and modern technology. This quote referred to a future in which weather and other natural things that we sometimes take for granted would be artificially replaced just like many other things.
15. “I see myself as a big 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…and they won’t be able to forget me-ever.”
This quote could very well sum up Jim Morrison’s existence in the eyes of many fans. He lived a short but rebellious life. He was consistently in the spotlight and was one of the most recognized people in rock and roll in the 1960’s. He embodied the shooting star in this quote for much of his professional career.
16. “One shouldn’t take life so seriously. No one gets out alive anyway.”
Morrison acknowledged his own mortality. He also saw how people interpreted things and events that weren’t as dreadful or catastrophic as they may have seemed. He took a casual approach to life, realizing tha it was only a temporary state of existence. He lived in the moment, because he never knew when it could be his last.
Related: David Bowie Quotes
Jim Morrison Video – Short Bio
Jim was an amazing character. If you want to watch a short bio and get a quick and interesting overview of his life, the history of the Doors, and his contribution to rock and roll, this is worth a watch!
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Did these quotes from Jim Morrison inspire you to listen to the Doors this week?
Regardless of whether you liked Jim Morrison, or were a fan of the band the Doors, it’s hard to ignore the impact that Jim Morrison left on this world. He did some things that shocked people, and he also co-wrote and performed some of the best loved and well known songs in rock and roll. He made music and wrote poetry that reflected the conditions of the world that he was living in. He dared people to question authority and think for themselves.
Morrison had his own issues that he dealt with, and was unfortunately unable to resolve those problems and live a long, healthy life. His passing at the age of 27 from a drug overdose shocked his faithful fans and followers. Jim left a remarkable legacy and made an impact. The world is definitely a much better place for him having lived in it.
Image Credit: Via WikiMedia Commons, contributor Dread83
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