The following essay about songs by The Doors was written by Bob Lefsetz, and is reprinted with his permission.

Because of the length of some of the individual song stories, this essay will be broken into sections.

Here are the twelfth & thirteenth songs he wrote about ........

THE DOORS  TOP 16

 12.  Moonlight Drive 

Maybe you haven't been to L.A.  Maybe you're not aware of its topography.

Yes, L.A. is flat.  Except for mountains almost as tall as the Rockies.

And a band of hills running right through the city that are junior in scope, but still quite large.

That's an ACTIVITY in L.A.  Going for a drive.  Not to grandma's house, but to a barbecue joint, a newsstand off Hollywood Boulevard.

You feel so ALIVE!

Then again, here Jim is singing about being parked down by the ocean on this moonlight drive.

You come off the 10, or Wilshire Boulevard.  You're deposited on PCH and in front of you is the whole BAY!

On a clear night, which is not uncommon, you can see from Redondo to Malibu.  Ten odd miles in either direction. 

And when the moon is full, it reflects off the water.

It's positively magical.  

When I'm feeling it.  When I know it's not friendship, but romance. 

I steer the car onto PCH.  It sets the mood.

 

 13.  The WASP (Texas Radio And The Big Beat) 

Yeah, I know it's stupid.  Not far different from that ZZ Top-type stuff on "Morrison Hotel".

Then again, after talking about Texas radio, there's some quite bizarre imagery.

And the organ is like a sixties civil rights demonstration. 

You get the feeling the police are gonna break up this act at any moment. 

It's on record, but it seems so LIVE!!!
 

Copyright Bob Lefsetz 2004

e-mail address: lefsetz@aol.com

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