Take the highway to the end of the night 
End of the night
End of the night 
Take a journey to the bright midnight 
End of the night
End of the night 

Realms of bliss
Realms of light 
Some are born to sweet delight 
Some are born to sweet delight 
Some are born to the endless night 

End of the night
End of the night 
End of the night
End of the night 

Realms of bliss
Realms of light 
Some are born to sweet delight 
Some are born to sweet delight 
Some are born to the endless night 

End of the night
End of the night 
End of the night
End of the night 
 


End of the Night not only showed off Jim Morrison's ability to deliver a moody ballad, it also again demonstrated the depth of his literary frame of reference. The title and general conceit of the song came from Louis Ferdinand Celine's* Journey to the End of the Night. "College doesn't usually help out rock 'n' roll too much," observes Kim Fowley, "but Jim brought a lot of that academia to his music, and used it in a very effective way."

Celine, who was also a doctor, packed his phantasmic novels with all sort of grotesquerie - frightening giants, murderous dwarves and scenes of bloody physical torture. The characters in his novels are continually overwhelmed by waves of both despair and apathy, and his stories convey a gloomy, exceedingly pessimistic view of the world. That view was reflected in Celine's personal life - the writer was prone to near-psychotic rages and bouts of madness.

Though an unusual role model, Celine must have impressed Morrison, who originally wrote the lyric "take a trip to the end of the night," but by the time the Doors were ready to record the song, he felt the term "trip" was already trite, so he turned to one of his favorite "road" images, using highway, instead.

End of the Night represents some of the earliest lyrics from Jim's Venice rooftop notebooks, and was one of the songs featured on the demo recorded by the Doors before Robbie joined the band.

Somewhat curiously, this sombre, haunting song was released as the B-side of the single Break On Through, perhaps suggesting to listeners that the end of the night is where one might end up after breaking on through.

*1894 - 1961


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