My Wild Love

Album: Waiting For The Sun (1968)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • "My Wild Love" is unlike any other song the Doors ever produced. It's minimalistic, using only handclapping, a rattle, and a primitive drum for backing music.

    The song tells the story of a "wild love" who rides out through an unnamed desert, farm, and sea. Japan and Christmas are mentioned as locations, but set as they are in the generally abstract lyrics, those places seem to have any literal importance.

    Early in the song, the wild love deals with the devil, but the "devil is wiser" and asks her "to give back the money she's spent." What all of this means, exactly, is never explained. The song is one of the more inscrutable of the Doors' repertoire.
  • The song was never released as a single and has never been studied as closely as many other Doors songs, but Jim Cherry, author of The Doors Examined, believes that the song was a "kind of work song."

    Cherry told Songfacts, "They were just starting out with it, clapping and stuff for the rhythm and everything, and somehow they couldn't work out the music angle to it. So they've just decided to expand on the format of the work song.

    There's a song, well not a song, but this thing that came out of something they were working on for Morrison Hotel, or possibly LA Woman. It's called 'Whiskey, Mystics, and Men.' It's a poem of Morrison's that I think they were working on as a song. It's a work song. It doesn't sound like 'My Wild Love,' but it has some of the same elements, like the hand clapping to the beat and everything. It's very a cappella.

    So, that's why I think 'My Wild Love' is a kind of a work song that they couldn't work out the music to, so they just decided to go totally experimental."

Comments: 1

  • Sb3This song is obviously about Pam Courson, Jim's longtime girlfriend and eventual common-law wife, with whom he had a volatile relationship.

    The lines about asking the devil to pay and the devil wanting his money back is about all the money Pam spent on clothing, travel, and her boutique store Themis. By all accounts, it eventually caught up with him and even though the Doors were one of the biggest bands in the world at one point between Jim's legal troubles and Pam's spending they were practically broke during their time in Paris.

    The lines about traveling deal with Pam's escapades as she traveled back and forth to Europe feeding her own demons on Jim's dime. "My wild love is crazy, She screams like a bird, She moans like a cat, When she wants to be heard" is about their many fights, most of which seemed to occur any time the Doors had an important event such as a particularly big concert appearance or the beginning of a new tour.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Frankie Valli

Frankie ValliSong Writing

An interview with Frankie Valli, who talks about why his songs - both solo and with The Four Seasons - have endured, and reflects on his time as Rusty Millio on The Sopranos.

Danny Clinch: The Art of Rock Photography

Danny Clinch: The Art of Rock PhotographySong Writing

One of rock's top photographers talks about artistry in photography, raising funds for a documentary, and enjoying a County Fair with Tom Waits.

Artis the Spoonman

Artis the SpoonmanSong Writing

Even before Soundgarden wrote a song about him, Artis was the most famous spoon player of all time. So why has he always been broke?

90210 to Buffy to Glee: How Songs Transformed TV

90210 to Buffy to Glee: How Songs Transformed TVSong Writing

Shows like Dawson's Creek, Grey's Anatomy and Buffy the Vampire Slayer changed the way songs were heard on TV, and produced some hits in the process.

Rick Astley

Rick AstleySongwriter Interviews

Rick Astley on "Never Gonna Give You Up," "Cry For Help," and his remarkable resurgence that gave him another #1 UK album.

Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake & Palmer

Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake & PalmerSongwriter Interviews

Greg talks about writing songs of "universal truth" for King Crimson and ELP, and tells us about his most memorable stage moment (it involves fireworks).