The Doors: Alabama Song



Well, show me the way
To the next whiskey bar
Oh, don't ask why
Oh, don't ask why

Show me the way
To the next whiskey bar
Oh, don't ask why
Oh, don't ask why

For if we don't find
The next whiskey bar
I tell you we must die
I tell you we must die
I tell you, I tell you
I tell you we must die

Oh, moon of Alabama
We now must say goodbye
We've lost our good old mama
And must have whiskey, oh you know why

Oh, moon of Alabama
We now must say goodbye
We've lost our good old mama
And must have whiskey, oh you know why

Well, show me the way
To the next little girl
Oh, don't ask why
Oh, don't ask why

Show me the way
To the next little girl
Oh, don't ask why
Oh, don't ask why

For if we don't find
The next little girl
I tell you we must die
I tell you we must die
I tell you, I tell you
I tell you we must die

Oh, moon of Alabama
We now must say goodbye
We've lost our good old mama
And must have whiskey, oh you now why



Brecht & Weill's opera, The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, which premiered in Berlin in 1930, details the rise of a city of paradise, born from the ashes of a world destitute in faith, and so permeated with evil, resulting in a world in which no peace is possible. The original settlers of the city are called the "Sharks".

As the main female figures arrive in Mahagonny, they break into the Alabama Song, which expresses the central theme of a world governed by leaders so alarmingly disconnected from their own fundamental humanity that even prostitution seems virtuous in comparison. The original lyrics were written from the women's perspective, necessitating the Doors rewriting some of those concerning man and money, but the essential theme remains intact.



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

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