I can't see your face in my mind
I can't see your face in my mind
Carnival Dogs consume the lines
Can't see your face in my mind

Don't you cry
Baby
Please don't cry
And don't look at me with your eyes

I can't seem to find the right lie
I can't seem to find the right lie

Insanity's horse adorns the sky
Can't seem to find the right lie

Carnival dogs consume the lines
I can't see your face in my mind

Don't you cry
Baby
Please don't cry
I won't need your picture
Til we say goodbye




I Can't See Your Face In My Mind isn't generally seen as a tremendously important Doors track, but it is, in some ways, thoroughly representative of their work. It has a conventionally beautiful melody, and a pop theme, with the addition of Jim's usual dark edge - he can't seem to find the right lie. But Jim's sad voice and otherworldly images blend with the group's hauntingly delicate arrangement to create a very affecting piece of music.

Robby uses his subtle bottleneck to set the mood, and the addition of marimba adds new range to the group's sound. Perhaps most interesting, is that John's cymbal track is recorded backwards, making use of the sound decay, to realize the soft whooshing underscore.

When the Strange Days sessions were concluded, Jim felt that all the studio experimentation had paid off handsomely, and that the Doors had created an album which lived up to every bit of their potential.


Copyright 2003 by The Doors, Chuck Crisafulli/Waiting-forthe-Sun.net