# "Riders on the storm"-Profound poetry or dreck? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 13, 2009, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riders-on-the-storm-profound-poetry-or-dreck/485720 "2009-02-13T18:55:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riders-on-the-storm-profound-poetry-or-dreck/485720/21 "2009-02-13T20:02:46Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > What does it mean? To my mind, the menace of possible fate. All I see is a string of unrelated couplets that don’t add up to anything. In other words, I vote dreck. Not the worst song lyrics ever written, by far, but people take Morrison fairly seriously as a rock poet and I don’t think his writing merits that treatment. ---
**Author:** ![Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/le_ministre_de_l_au-dela/32/12181_2.png) [@Le\_Ministre\_de\_l\_au-dela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Le_Ministre_de_l_au-dela)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riders-on-the-storm-profound-poetry-or-dreck/485720/22 "2009-02-13T20:03:34Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Heh.. I was thinking just the opposite. The toads under the deck used to just sit there looking brown & lumpy. Sure, they wiggled and pee’d if you picked 'em up, but who’s picking up killer brains? 😛 Zombies. What? ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riders-on-the-storm-profound-poetry-or-dreck/485720/23 "2009-02-13T20:08:03Z")
> [@Marley23](#): > > All I see is a string of unrelated couplets that don’t add up to anything. In other words, I vote dreck. Not the worst song lyrics ever written, by far, but people take Morrison fairly seriously as a rock poet and I don’t think his writing merits that treatment. Disagree, in the case of this song. I don’t have to think it the most profound thing out there (and I don’t), but I do think it has _some_ intended meaning, and it isn’t too difficult to determine, more or less, what it is. ---
**Author:** ![Theodore\_Striker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Theodore\_Striker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theodore_Striker)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riders-on-the-storm-profound-poetry-or-dreck/485720/24 "2009-02-13T20:13:40Z")
I was a big fan of the Doors in my misspent youth, and I’ll admit that Riders on the Storm is not a lyrical masterpiece. However, the lyrics, combined with the music and delivery make for a fairly hanuting general feel. I guess it really depends on how you judge lyrics and poetry in general to how you feel about the quality. Back to the OP- I think **Malthus** did a pretty good job with the interpretation. ---
**Author:** ![omni-not](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8dc957/32.png) [@omni-not](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omni-not)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 8:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riders-on-the-storm-profound-poetry-or-dreck/485720/25 "2009-02-13T20:26:43Z")
What?! No one had his or her Bible handy? > **[Riders on the Storm](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riders_on_the_Storm)** > > "Riders on the Storm" is a song by American rock band the Doors, released in June 1971 by Elektra Records as the second single from the band's sixth studio album L.A. Woman. It is famous for being the last song that Jim Morrison recorded prior to his sudden death in Paris on July 3, 1971. > The song reached number 14 on the U.S Billboard Hot 100, number 22 on the UK Singles Chart, and number seven in the Netherlands. > "Riders on the Storm" has been classified as a psychedelic rock, jazz rock, art ... ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riders-on-the-storm-profound-poetry-or-dreck/485720/26 "2009-02-13T20:27:17Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > No problem: > > [This is just to say.](http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15535) For real? So sorry I ate your plums in the freezer but they was yummy? How profound. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riders-on-the-storm-profound-poetry-or-dreck/485720/27 "2009-02-13T20:30:19Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > Also, using “sweet memory will die” - some lyrics sites have it as "sweet family will die - personally, I think “memory” is more clever, a better way of conveying the same message (no family = soon, no happy memories; without your family, you will be forgotten). Except I think he _does_ say “family” in the lyric, not “memory.” ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riders-on-the-storm-profound-poetry-or-dreck/485720/28 "2009-02-13T20:32:34Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > For real? > So sorry I ate your plums in the freezer but they was yummy? > > How profound. The poem was offered (he says, attempting to speak for **RealityChuck** , which I have in NO way been authorized to do ;)) because it is simple, unpretentious and unprofound - but is perfectly efficient - not a single unnecessary word or addition needed - and it frames a feeling with perfect clarity. They were yours, I wanted them, I bit into them; they were delicious - we’ve all been there. It is a master class in “Western Haiku” - and not a fair comparison for Mr. Mojo Risin’ (do we \*really \*need to debate whether a guy is a good poet if he actually presents himself with such a stoopid anagram???). \*\*RealityChuck \*\*brought a gun to a knife fight… ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riders-on-the-storm-profound-poetry-or-dreck/485720/29 "2009-02-13T20:42:32Z")
> [@Theodore\_Striker](#): > > However, the lyrics, combined with the music and delivery make for a fairly hanuting general feel. Which is the reasonable way to evaluate them. Taking the lyric by itself and saying it doesn’t measure up to great poetry is like listening to a TV show with your eyes closed and complaining that it’s not as easy to follow as an old-time radio drama, or watching a dramatic actor with your ears plugged up and saying Marcel Marceau was a better mime. Anyway, I’m not a Doors fan but I have to admit “brain is squirming like a toad” turns an abstract idea into a vivid, visceral image and is, as far as I now, a completely original simile. “His mind is a dark abode” is, well, dreck. Sorry, Lochdale. And it doesn’t even scan well. The emphasis would fall on the word “is,” which is about as passive as a word can be and still be a verb. The nouns don’t help to create an image, as “mind” is abstract and “abode” is hopelessly vague. ---
**Author:** ![Theodore\_Striker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@Theodore\_Striker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Theodore_Striker)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riders-on-the-storm-profound-poetry-or-dreck/485720/30 "2009-02-13T20:45:39Z")
> [@Hampshire](#): > > For real? > So sorry I ate your plums in the freezer but they was yummy? > > How profound. I found it very profound- it captured a small bit of life very succinctly, and revealed a beautiful meaningless interaction between two people. ---
**Author:** ![omni-not](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8dc957/32.png) [@omni-not](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omni-not)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riders-on-the-storm-profound-poetry-or-dreck/485720/31 "2009-02-13T20:46:55Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > Except I think he _does_ say “family” in the lyric, not “memory.” Sorry, **ascenray** : it _is_ memory. ---
**Author:** ![tds1273](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/df705f/32.png) [@tds1273](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tds1273)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riders-on-the-storm-profound-poetry-or-dreck/485720/32 "2009-02-13T21:10:13Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Heh.. I was thinking just the opposite. The toads under the deck used to just sit there looking brown & lumpy. Sure, they wiggled and pee’d if you picked 'em up, but who’s picking up killer brains? 😛 Well there you go, you just added another layer to the line. What do you do with a hitchhiker? I’m not sure why the lyrics have to be one or the other. They aren’t profound, but are by no means drek. **Theodore Striker** put it well. The lyrics aren’t necessarily the focal point of the song. Combined with the music and sound effects, it is intended to invoke a particular mood or scene, and it does that quite well. No part of this song is greater than it’s whole, but as a whole it is nice bit of art. Listen to this song while driving on down a lonely, rural stretch of road at night; that’s fun. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riders-on-the-storm-profound-poetry-or-dreck/485720/33 "2009-02-13T21:14:37Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > Except I think he _does_ say “family” in the lyric, not “memory.” When I was listening to the song on the radio, I thought it was “family”, too. However, it appears to be “memory” in some lyrics sites. I dunno which he actually sings, but if given the choice I’d prefer “memory”. ---
**Author:** ![Malthus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/85f322/32.png) [@Malthus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malthus)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riders-on-the-storm-profound-poetry-or-dreck/485720/34 "2009-02-13T21:16:04Z")
> [@tds1273](#): > > Well there you go, you just added another layer to the line. What do you do with a hitchhiker? Heh, clever catch. Though I’d hope most hitchhikers do not pee all over you when you ‘pick them up’. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riders-on-the-storm-profound-poetry-or-dreck/485720/35 "2009-02-13T21:34:41Z")
> [@Malthus](#): > > When I was listening to the song on the radio, I thought it was “family”, too. However, it appears to be “memory” in some lyrics sites. I’ve always been sure it was “family,” but listening to it with this in mind it’s really hard to tell. I can check the official sheet music when I get home, if that would count with anyone. ---
**Author:** ![omni-not](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8dc957/32.png) [@omni-not](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/omni-not)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riders-on-the-storm-profound-poetry-or-dreck/485720/36 "2009-02-13T21:57:41Z")
For what it’s worth… [http://www.musicbabylon.com/artist/The\_Doors/LA\_Woman/77662-riders\_on\_the\_storm-lyrics.htm](http://www.musicbabylon.com/artist/The_Doors/LA_Woman/77662-riders_on_the_storm-lyrics.htm) Couldn’t find the lyrics on the Doors official website ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2009, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riders-on-the-storm-profound-poetry-or-dreck/485720/37 "2009-02-13T22:24:53Z")
Grade A dreck, and often referenced by me as one of the worst songs ever sung. ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2009, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riders-on-the-storm-profound-poetry-or-dreck/485720/38 "2009-02-14T00:22:26Z")
Probably a Mondegreen, but I always heard it as “Sweet Emily will die” – presumably a victim of the toad-brained killer on the road. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2009, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riders-on-the-storm-profound-poetry-or-dreck/485720/39 "2009-02-14T00:30:28Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > The poem was offered (he says, attempting to speak for **RealityChuck** , which I have in NO way been authorized to do ;)) because it is simple, unpretentious and unprofound - but is perfectly efficient - not a single unnecessary word or addition needed - and it frames a feeling with perfect clarity. They were yours, I wanted them, I bit into them; they were delicious - we’ve all been there.. Essentially, yes. And the poem has some amazing depth to it because it clearly portrays a relationship between two people without ever mentioning what it is. Who is the “speaker” of the poem? How old is he? Who is the other person? Have they known each other long? How do they interact? What is the speaker like? All these are evoked without any reference to the relationship at all. That is genius. Morrison was not a genius, of course. But “his brain is squirming like a toad” is a first-class lyric – evocative and memorable. The first part (“his brain is squirming”) clearly gives a feeling of a sick, ugly and perverse way of thinking; “like a toad” equates it to a reptile – also an image of ugliness. Objecting to it on the grounds that it doesn’t describe toad behavior it like objecting to Shakespeare “taking arms against a sea of troubles.” If you want to be that literal, you’re missing the point. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [February 14, 2009, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riders-on-the-storm-profound-poetry-or-dreck/485720/40 "2009-02-14T00:36:15Z")
I always wondered who “Memoly” was. The word definitely starts with an "M’ sound. Running it back through earbuds, it clearly (well, not so clearly) says “memory.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riders-on-the-storm-profound-poetry-or-dreck/485720.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/riders-on-the-storm-profound-poetry-or-dreck/485720.md?page=3)