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The third album by The Doors is an entirely different record than what it was originally supposed to be. In 1968, the four of them showed up in the recording studio ready to reaffirm their brilliance established by the previous two masterpieces, aiming for the next step forward. The belief that they could create a new epic chapter was dashed by time constraints due to the exhausting tour they came from, as well as a songwriting repertoire that had been significantly drained to provide material for the previous two albums. Not forgetting that they were practically unable to rehearse the arrangements and develop the songs live, as was their custom. For these and other more contractual reasons, they were unable to produce a Side A containing both atmospheric and chart-topping tracks, in their style, and a Side B occupied solely by the long, expansive "Celebration Of The Lizard"—a musical poem composed of various sections (dating back to their early days) that was meant to give the album its title.
Meanwhile, the assassinations of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy (April 4 and June 6, 1968) and the student movements were turning what had been, until then, at most Strange Days into tense times. Despite the unsettling atmosphere, the new album's title became "Waiting For The Sun." Indeed, the title track itself wasn't included (but was later recovered on "Morrison Hotel" in '70). Thus, they chose to use a couple of their songs from 1965, both written by Morrison: the melancholic "Summer's Almost Gone" and what would be their second and last chart-topping single (after Krieger's "Light My Fire"): "Hello I Love You." Already from these two tracks, it's immediately clear where this new work intends to go. The titles, the lyrics, the pop sensibilities exude an incredible lightheartedness, sometimes giving way to a veil of sadness, but it is the flip side of the dominant theme, which is Love and the couple's relationship. If a summer is ending, then comes the "Wintertime Love" to revisit the same question. The latter is composed by Krieger, as is the flowing "Yes The River Knows"—the water theme in antithesis to the above-mentioned Krieger's '67 hit's fire—and the flamenco of "Spanish Caravan," a hint that Morrison's compositional vein was not at its peak at that time. To show that The Doors were still alive and aware of what was happening in the world, there's "The Unknown Soldier," which due to its anti-war themes (but against war in general, not only the Vietnam War; Morrison, incidentally, was the son of a military man) was strongly boycotted by American radio stations and never reached a significant chart position. Live, the unknown soldier song was theatrically represented, with Densmore's drum roll preceding Krieger's rifle/guitar shot and Jim Morrison being struck down. Another deviation from the romantic song is proposed by the third track of the list, "Not To Touch The Earth"—which is essentially a part recovered from "Celebration Of The Lizard"—but here the atmosphere becomes estranged through visions and images of travelers moving en masse away from civilization, feelings of unease, and a pervasive pessimism also steeped in the musical tension. Otherwise, only the violent "Five to One" seems to stray, albeit slightly, from what seems almost like a concept album on heart palpitations caused by falling in love with you.
Despite themselves, The Doors found themselves with this controversial product in their discography, which was, in any case, not bad, marking a change that would make them swerve towards a search for new sounds in the next album ("The Soft Parade"), adjusting their aim with a more coherent late '60s blues — a return to simplicity after the years of lysergic experimentation—of the last two albums ("Morrison Hotel", "L.A. Woman"). "Waiting For The Sun" was still rewarded with two gold records and one platinum record, and in the remastered version of the CD, the complete work of the Lizard is included—just like on "Absolutely Live" in '70—offering a charm that fans like me can't help but appreciate.
Tracklist Lyrics and Samples
01 Hello, I Love You (02:16)
Hello,
I love you
Won't you tell me your name
Hello
I love you
Let me jump in your game
She's walkin' down the street
Blind to every eye she meets
Do you think you'll be the guy
To make the queen of the angels sigh
She holds her head so high
Like a statue in the sky
Her arms are wicked and her legs are long
When she moves my brain screams out this song
Sidewalk crouches at her feet
Like a dog that begs for somethin' sweet
Do you hope to make her see, you fool
Do you hope to pluck this dusky jewel
06 The Unknown Soldier (03:23)
Wait until the war is over
And we're both a little older.
The unknown soldier.
Breakfast where the news is read.
Television children fed.
Unborn living. Living dead.
Bullet strikes the helmet's head
And it's all over
For the unknown soldier.
It's all over
For the unknown soldier.
hup
hup
hup ho he hup
hup
hup
hup ho he hup
comp'nee.... halt!
present arms!
Make a grave for the unknown soldier
Nestled in your hollow shoulder.
The unknown soldier.
Breakfast where the news is read.
Television children fed.
Bullet strikes the helmet's head
And, it's all over.
The war is over.
It's all over.
The war is over.
Well, all over, baby.
All over, baby.
Oh, over, yeah.
All over, baby..
07 Spanish Caravan (02:59)
Carry me, caravan.
Take me away.
Take me to Portugal.
Take me to Spain.
Andalucia
With fields full of grain,
I have to see you
Again and again.
Take me, Spanish caravan.
Yes, I know you can.
Trade winds find Galleons
Lost in the sea.
I know where treasure
Is waiting for me.
Silver and gold
In the mountains of Spain,
I have to see you
Again and again.
Take me, Spanish caravan.
Yes, I know you can.
09 We Could Be So Good Together (02:09)
We could be so good together
Ya, so good together
We could be so good together
Ya, we could, I know we could
Tell you lies
I tell you wicked lies
Tell you lies
Tell you wicked lies
Tell you 'bout the world that we'll invent
Wanton world without lament
Enterprise, expedition
Invitation and invention
Ya, so good together
Ah, so good together
We could be so good together
Ya, we could, know we could
Alright!
Do da do do do do do bup bup de day
We could be so good together
Ya, so good together
We could be so good together
Ya, we could, know we could
Tell you lies
Tell you wicked lies
Tell you lies
Tell you wicked lies
The time you wait subtracts the joy
Beheads the angels you destroy
Angels fight, angels cry
Angels dance and angels die
Ya, so good together
Ah, but so good together
We could be so good together Ya, we could, know we could
10 Yes, the River Knows (02:38)
Please believe me
The river told me
Very softly
Want you to hold me, oooh.
Free fall flow, river flow
On and on it goes
Breath under water 'till the end;
Free fall flow, river flow
On and on it goes
Breath under water 'till the end
Yes, teh river knows.
Please believe me
If you don't need me
I'm going, but i need a little time
I promised I would drown myself
in mysticated wine.
Please believe me
The river told me
Very softly
Want you to hold me. oooh.
I'm going, but i need a little time
I promised I would drown myself
in mysticated wine.
Free fall flow, river flow
On and on it goes
Breath under water 'till the end;
Free fall flow, river flow
On and on it goes
Breath under water 'till the end.
11 Five to One (04:25)
Five to one, baby
One in five
No one here gets out alive
Now, you get yours, baby
I'll get mine
Gonna make it baby if we try
The old get old, baby
And the young get stronger
May take a week and it may take longer
They got the guns but, we got the numbers
Gonna win yeah, we're takin' over!
Come on
Your ballroom days are over, baby
Night is drawin' near
Shadows of the evenings
Crawl across the years
You walk across the floor
With a flower in your hand
Tryin' to tell me no one understands
Trade in your hours for a handful of dimes
Gonna make it baby in our prime
Come together one more time
Come together one more time
Get together one more time
Get together one more time
Get together one more time
Get together one more time
Get together one more time
Get together one more time
Get together one more time
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Other reviews
By joe strummer
The psychedelic runs through the entire album, even though it is not the principal genre of the album, it influences the group in many songs.
Ultimately, Waiting For The Sun is an excellent album, not a masterpiece and certainly inferior to the first two.
By TelevisionTHMan
"Waiting for the Sun is the only Doors album to reach number one on the charts."
The album contains songs with very strong lyrics, like The Unknown Soldier, but compared to the first two it is more "soft."
