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.
Zombies.
What?
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.
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.
What?!
No one had his or her Bible handy?
For real?
So sorry I ate your plums in the freezer but they was yummy?
How profound.
Except I think he does say “family” in the lyric, not “memory.”
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…
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.
I found it very profound- it captured a small bit of life very succinctly, and revealed a beautiful meaningless interaction between two people.
Sorry, ascenray: it is memory.
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.
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”.
Heh, clever catch.
Though I’d hope most hitchhikers do not pee all over you when you ‘pick them up’. 
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.
For what it’s worth…
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
Grade A dreck, and often referenced by me as one of the worst songs ever sung.
Probably a Mondegreen, but I always heard it as “Sweet Emily will die” – presumably a victim of the toad-brained killer on the road.
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.
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.”